JUDGE CARD SHARP
Nixes poker rap
His gamble paid off. A man who was found guilty of running illegal poker games on Staten Island saw his conviction tossed yesterday when a judge ruled that “Texas Hold ’Em” is a game of skill, not chance.
The decision by Brooklyn federal Judge Jack Weinstein was hailed by poker advocates, who said it should help tilt the table in favor of legalizing and regulating the game.
“As the judge’s opinion aptly notes, poker is an American pastime that is deeply embedded in the history and fabric of our nation, and his decision sets aside the notion that the vague laws render the game criminal,” said John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance.
Weinstein’s ruling exonerated Lawrence DiCristina, of Matawan, NJ, who was busted by the feds last year for running highstakes card games.
DiCristina, 33, was convicted last month of conspiracy to defraud the United States and illegal gambling, and was facing up to 10 years in the slammer.
But he challenged the jury’s verdict on grounds that the definition of “gam bling” in the federal Illegal Gambling Business Act didn’t apply to poker.
In a 120page ruling, Weinstein agreed, saying that “chance [as compared to skill] has traditionally been thought to be a defining element of gambling and is included in dictionary, common law and other federal statutory definitions of it.”
“Expert poker players draw on an array of talents, including facility with numbers, knowledge of human psychology, and powers of observation and deception,” Weinstein wrote.
“Players can use these skills to win, even if chance has not dealt them the better hand.”
Weinstein noted that the federal antigambling law was aimed at controlling organized crime, and that “no such evidence was present in this case.”
He further said that DiCristina’s poker games “were necessarily and properly found by the jury to violate New York state gambling laws,” and that DiCristina could have been prosecuted in state court by the Staten Island DA’s Office.
A spokesman for the Brooklyn US Attorney’s Office said, “We are reviewing the decision and considering our options.”