A Greensburg lawyer is trying to recover more than $11,000 and other property that was confiscated after state police raided a Texas Hold'em poker tournament he operated at a fire hall.
According to court documents filed Thursday, state police are investigating Lawrence Burns, a defense attorney based in Greensburg, for running poker events around Westmoreland County since April in violation of state gambling laws.
Law enforcement authorities contend poker tournaments that are advertised, and held for profit and not for the benefit of a licensed charitable organization, are illegal.
No charges have been filed against Burns, who contends his poker tournaments are not illegal.
In an interview, Burns confirmed that he operated the card games but said he violated no state law. He contends that face-to-face poker tournaments are not illegal in Pennsylvania because poker is a game of skill, not chance.
"I like to play Texas Hold'em, and I enjoy holding Texas Hold'em tournaments. I do not believe my activities are illegal," Burns said. "But I was more or less told I will be arrested."
Through his attorney, David Millstein, Burns filed court documents yesterday seeking a return of more than $11,000 in cash and other property that state police confiscated during a search of his Latrobe home and office, and from a tournament raided by state police at the Seward Volunteer Fire Hall on Aug. 3.
The search warrants for those items are under seal. According to Burns' court filing, the items seized included hundreds of poker chips and other card-playing paraphernalia, advertising signs, documents and cash.
Police also are seeking the names of the players who participated in the Seward tournament.
According to the court records, police are investigating Burns for violating the state gambling statute, a misdemeanor, which prohibits "any person to collect and assemble for the purpose of unlawful gambling at any place under his control; solicit or invite any person to visit any unlawful gambling place for the purpose of gambling; or being the owner, tenant, lessee or occupant of any premises or knowingly permits a location to be used for the purpose of unlawful gambling."
Poker or other specific forms of gambling are not defined in the statute.
Through Millstein, Burns has not denied that he earned a profit from the tournaments.
But Burns contends poker is not gambling under Pennsylvania law.
"All of the cases about poker have to do with machines, where the outcome is decided by chance. When you play in person, it's a game of skill. The courts will have to determine whether face-to-face poker is unlawful gaming. They'll have to rule it's a game of chance," Millstein said.
Authorities say that poker is gambling and, therefore, someone who earns a profit by running a tournament and taking a cut of the money bet, advertises the game and requires that participants pay to play violates state law.
"Texas Hold'em is gambling," said Trooper Linette Quinn, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania State Police in Harrisburg.
But prosecutors around the state have different views of poker, according to Kevin Harley, spokesman for state Attorney General Tom Corbett.
Harley said police typically don't investigate friendly poker games or other types of small-scale gambling, such as fantasy football or NCAA basketball tournament brackets.
"They usually investigate when there is a significant amount of money exchanged or if the house is keeping a cut of the profits for themselves, not for a charity," Harley said. "But there's not a lot of uniformity among prosecutors."
Larger text
Smaller text
Print this article
E-mail this article
