Poker News

United States of Poker

States with a long history of gaming, such as North Dakota, once had poker rooms in the late ’80s and early ’90s. This was before slot machines and video poker had really taken hold; people went to casinos to play card games, for the most part. These poker rooms flourished in those days. When electronicgambling arrived, these poker rooms shrunk or even closed altogether, and it’s only now that the tradition is returning. It’s almost like they’re getting the band back together.

Legalized gambling in North Dakota began earlier than some states: in 1981, the North Dakota Heritage Center opened and charity gambling was legalized.

Though many forms of gambling would eventually be legal in the state, its citizens voted against a state lottery in 1986, the first state to do so. Voters would later change their mind in 2002.

In 1988, gambling was legalized on reservations when the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed. There are now dozens of casinos across the state.

North Dakota is also home to the very first person charged and convicted for online gambling. Based on an ancient statute put on the books in 1913, Jeffrey Trauman was fined $500 in late 2004 and promptly moved to Kentucky. Since then there have been very few online gambling charges throughout the U.S. as states come to find they have little jurisdiction over overseas online gambling operators. In fact, North Dakota seems to have done an about-face. The state house of representatives passed legislation in March 2005 to legalize online gambling. Confident that the proposal would not violate federal law, lawmakers would have to amend the state constitution as well as get around the (possibly irrelevant) federal Wire Act of 1961, which prevents sports betting by telephone.

There are four casinos in North Dakota that offer live poker, all on different reservations. The Spirit Lake is on Devils Lake in the northeast; the Sky Dancer is way up north, close to the Canadian border; the Dakota Magic is in the southeastern corner of the state; and the 4 Bears is to the west, by the Missouri River.

The Spirit Lake Casino & Resort is just now kicking off their poker festival for the 12th year in a row. The Dakotah Jim Dandy Poker Festival runs Oct. 5 to 9 and features five days and four different poker games: No Limit, 7-Card Stud, Limit Hold ‘em, and Omaha 8 or Better, all with guaranteed cash prize pools of $5000 to $15,000.

When asked “how’s business,” Don Chapin, live games manager at the 4 Bears Casino & Lodge, replied “Super! Couldn’t be any better.”

“Of course, the biggest game is Texas Hold ‘em, but we also offer Omaha Hi-Lo Split and 7-Card Stud, plus we can deal other games - but these are the most popular.” Chapin says. “Generally, the biggest game we have is a 10/20 game, but we are exploring other limits that the gaming commission will let us try, like a 1/2 game with a $50 spread.”

The twelve-year-old poker room at the 4 Bears has undergone quite a few changes in the last couple of years. “Before the big poker boom, it was coasting along. It was just there,” Chapin says. He says that years ago, the poker room was doing well, but it had been in a downswing until the poker explosion. “Tournaments are full. Every day we’re open, we have business.”

Chapin says that the demographic has changed as well. “We still have our seasoned players, but there’s an abundance of younger players,” he says. “We’re seeing new players all the time, and they become regulars after awhile. We have more tournaments than we used to - one a day, Tuesday through Saturday.”

The 4 Bears has also been home to some special poker events. “Twice last year, we had the World Series of Poker challenge - a satellite for the WSOP,” Chapin says. “$200 entry fee with as many people as we can get. We play down to 50, then playoff on Sunday for the trip and divide up the rest of the money. We use the same structure and chip amounts as the WSOP.”

The WSOP satellite isn’t the only event run at the 4 Bears. “Every year we have a Winter Classic that lasts three days. A different tournament each day: two Texas Hold’em and one Omaha Hi-Lo.” Chapin says that the 4 Bears runs a Summer Classic event as well.

Chapin doesn’t see poker’s popularity declining anytime soon. “I don’t think it’s going to get any less than it is now,” he says. “Coverage of poker on TV is going to keep going. It might level off, but it won’t decline at all.”

Misty Thompson, poker room manager at the Dakota Magic Casino & Hotel, says of the casino’s poker business: “Good! It’s really picked up because of TV. A lot of our tournaments usually fill up.”

According to Thompson, the Dakota Magic runs two No-Limit Hold’em tournaments on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Because the casino has 6 tables, the maximum number of players is 66. The entry is $5 with $5 rebuys.

“We also run a Saturday WSOP event,” Thompson says. “Every Saturday you get 1 point, then the top 10 is more points. In May, if you have 25 points, you playoff for the $25,000 seat.”

The WSOP event isn’t all the poker the Dakota Magic has to offer. “We have quarterly tournaments that we hold in the convention center - the next one’s in November,” Thompson says. “We have 20 tables set up for that. The July event was 5 days, but this November’s will be 4 days. It’s a $120 buy-in with no rebuys, and $230 buy-in with no rebuts on the final day.” Thompson says that the final-day event is not a qualifying event, but just has a higher buy-in. Thompson also believes in the future of poker. “They are getting younger compared to how it used to be,” she says. “It’ll probably still keep expanding since there are so many younger poker players.

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