AUTHOR: Jerry "Jet" Whittaker TITLE: Police organization will fold poker game in Portsmouth DATE: 10:33 AM ----- BODY: Texas Hold 'em charitable tournaments will end June 10, Skip Blanchard, an
event organizer and a second vice president for the Virginia Fraternal Order
of Police, said Wednesday. The FOP's one-year contract with the bingo hall
where the games are played ends in June. "We're done," Blanchard said. The
FOP's charitable foundation has been sponsoring the games, which are played
at 2880 Airline Blvd., since last summer. "We're keeping our promise that we
have with the city - that if they asked up to stop, we would," Blanchard
said. The decision comes after months of e-mails, a Portsmouth Police
Department inquiry, and questions about the legality of the tournaments from
city officials as far away as Lynchburg, documents obtained under the
Virginia Freedom of Information Act show. The FOP "certainly didn't go into
this thinking it was wrong, and when it was pointed out to them, they agreed
to stop," Councilwoman Elizabeth Psimas said. Organizers say they've raised
about $88,000 for Portsmouth Catholic Elementary School and the state FOP's
charitable foundation. Local officials currently decide whether charitable
poker tournaments are legal. Virginia law defines illegal gambling as "the
making of any bet... of money or other thing of value made in exchange for a
chance to win a prize, stake or thing of value... the outcome of which is
uncertain, or a matter of chance." Commonwealth's attorneys in Hampton Roads
have differed on the legality of charitable card tournaments. A key factor
is whether the games are primarily of skill or if they largely involve
chance. Virginia Beach's commonwealth's attorney has shut down a similar
tournament. Others have determined that the charitable games are gambling
because they mainly involve chance. Portsmouth Commonwealth's Attorney Earle
Mobley has pointed to another section of Virginia law that says "that
nothing shall... prevent any contest of speed or skill between men, animals,
fowl or vehicles, where participants may receive prizes or different
percentages of a purse, stake or premium. " Bill Prince, a spokesman for
Mobley's office, said local leaders need clear direction from Virginia
lawmakers or the attorney general. Prince said prosecutors need guidance on
whether "the Texas Hold ' em tournaments fit into the statute as it's
written now, or whether it needs to be rewritten." Mobley never told
Blanchard that Texas Hold ' em tournaments were legal, Prince said. "We told
him that we were reluctant to prosecute, based on the way the statute was
written," Prince said. Earlier this year, Portsmouth City Attorney Tim
Oksman and Mobley asked former Virginia Attorney General William G. Broaddus
to issue an advisory opinion on the tournaments. Oksman relied on Broaddus'
opinion to ask the City Council for permission to request that organizers
end the games or face a lawsuit. Oksman outlined his position in an April 6
letter that was provided to The Virginian-Pilot. Mobley refuses to rely on
Broaddus' opinion, which stated that the tournaments are illegal. "With all
due respect to Mr. Broaddus, he doesn't make law for the state of Virginia,
and the c ommonwealth's a ttorney never intended to rely on his opinion one
way or the other," Prince said. Virginia lawmakers have already debated the
tournaments.

Del. John Reid, R-Henrico, sponsored a bill last year that would have
allowed the state to regulate charitable card tournaments.

He argued that the regulation could generate a gross amount of about $300
million annually for Virginia.

The bill was tabled until this year. However, members of the House of
Delegates' General Laws C ommittee refused to take action on the
legislation.

Reid, who has announced his retirement from the legislature, did not return
repeated calls.

Del. David Albo, R-Fairfax, who serves on the committee, recalled police
groups stating that the poker tournaments already were occurring.

"They are correct when they say the law is not clear," Albo said. --------