Poker News

CARTER LAKE, Iowa - A local business plans to capitalize on the popularity of poker by starting a tournament here Jan. 7 similar to the World Series of Poker, but on a smaller scale.

The ultimate winner of the 10-week tournament featuring Texas Hold 'em poker, in fact, would receive $10,000 to pay the entry fee for the World Series of Poker.

David Richter, a Council Bluffs attorney, told the Carter Lake City Council that the tournament would be played at Chez Paree, 1301 Locust Ave.

"It's going to be a very small-scale event," Richter said.

The tournament would be operated by David Richter Jr., Richter's son. The younger Richter plans to rent the building from M & F Inc., which is owned by businessman Butch Levell. The building formerly housed the White Horse Grill, which closed recently.

During the 1930s and 1940s, Chez Paree was the name of an illegal gambling casino in Carter Lake. Often described as the biggest gambling house between Chicago and Las Vegas, the Chez Paree was closed by Iowa authorities in 1949 and burned down four years later.

How the tournament proposed at the new Chez Paree stands under the law, however, is being debated by the State of Iowa and the Pottawattamie County Attorney's Office.

City Attorney Joe Thornton said he has not come to a conclusion on the matter.

Richter said he initially sought an opinion on the tournament's legality from the state. The Iowa Attorney General's Office indicated that his question was not clear.

Richter sought a determination from Pottawattamie County. County Attorney Matt Wilber responded by saying that the type of tournament Richter had described "would not likely be prosecuted by this office."

Wilber said it appeared that state law allows "bona fide contests" if certain requirements are met. Such contests can include "cribbage, bridge, chess, checkers, dominoes, pinochle and similar contests, leagues or tournaments."

"It is my opinion that the type of poker tournaments that you describe could fall under 'similar contests' and would therefore be lawful as a bona fide contest," Wilber wrote.

However, the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals describes Wilber's position in a letter sent Monday as "contrary to law."

Wilber disagreed in his reply to the department, essentially arguing that the tournament would fall under a loophole in the law.

Councilwoman Marcy Hawkins asked how Richter planned to proceed in light of the differing opinions.

Richter said he believes that the tournament is "clearly an exception" to Iowa law and would proceed. He has advised tournament operators that the event would be a "window of opportunity" that the Iowa Legislature probably would close.

"Right now it's legal, and I'll stand on that," he said.

The tournament would be run on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The entry fee initially would be $50. Once in, participants would not be able to cash in or leave.

"This has to be run like a tournament," Richter said.

Prizes would be awarded at various levels, and there would be various ways to qualify for a grand event.

The Chez Paree would not hold a liquor license, but operators might give beer to participants, Richter said.

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