It seems that by giving a little in the form of relaxed gambling laws is costing the State of Minnesota big.
Last year, they allowed games of small stakes Texas Hold’em to be played across the state in bars and clubs as long as they stuck to strict rules that wouldn’t see punters going utterly berserk, blowing a week’s wages on a game they could never win and then getting rowdy when they had no cash left for beer. The key criteria for these games were that entry to tournaments would be free and prizes could not exceed $200.
However, now it has become clear that bars are transgressing the law by charging between $1 and $10 entry and giving out prizes far more than the $200 limit. Basically, these games of low risk Texas Hold’em weren’t making money for the operators of the games because good clean fun doesn’t equal profit. As such, the State is now on a mission to either get the good folks of Minnesota to stop poker playing altogether or head to the casinos where they can quite happily relieve themselves of their life savings without a worry for the law getting involved.
It seems that by giving a little in the form of relaxed gambling laws is costing the State of Minnesota big.