Playing poker for cash winnings isn’t gambling!
That’s what a lawyer is claiming in Brooklyn federal court to get charges dismissed against his client, Lawrence DiChristina.
DiChristina allegedly helped run an illegal gambling ring on Staten Island that operated high-stakes poker games attracting players from New York and New Jersey.
But his lawyer, Kannan Sundaram, claims in court papers that poker matches are competitions where players rely on technique and ability, and “skill is a determining factor.”
That makes poker more like “golf, billiards and bridge” than like “luck-driven” games — such as roulette, horse-betting and slot machines — barred by the federal Illegal Gambling Business Act, Sundaram maintains.
Brooklyn federal prosecutors have not responded yet to his arguments.
Judge Jack Weinstein is expected to rule whether poker wagering falls under the statute before DiChristina’s trial begins next week.
Last year, the feds charged DiChristina and 13 others — including an NYPD detective and two city firefighters — with being members of a ring that operated in four locations, where high-rollers played on felt-top tables presided over by dealers.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/...nte_hero_Zg5mFrncAxcHKsD5kXPQ3H#ixzz1zaEJEtCT
That’s what a lawyer is claiming in Brooklyn federal court to get charges dismissed against his client, Lawrence DiChristina.
DiChristina allegedly helped run an illegal gambling ring on Staten Island that operated high-stakes poker games attracting players from New York and New Jersey.
But his lawyer, Kannan Sundaram, claims in court papers that poker matches are competitions where players rely on technique and ability, and “skill is a determining factor.”
That makes poker more like “golf, billiards and bridge” than like “luck-driven” games — such as roulette, horse-betting and slot machines — barred by the federal Illegal Gambling Business Act, Sundaram maintains.
Brooklyn federal prosecutors have not responded yet to his arguments.
Judge Jack Weinstein is expected to rule whether poker wagering falls under the statute before DiChristina’s trial begins next week.
Last year, the feds charged DiChristina and 13 others — including an NYPD detective and two city firefighters — with being members of a ring that operated in four locations, where high-rollers played on felt-top tables presided over by dealers.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/...nte_hero_Zg5mFrncAxcHKsD5kXPQ3H#ixzz1zaEJEtCT
