Home Poker Games Would Be Legal under S.C. Proposal

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Home Poker Games Would Be Legal Under S.C. Proposal

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Seventy-nine-year-old Amelia "Midge" Cheseborough thought it was a joke when police raided a home poker game, seized her $20 in chips and handcuffed her.

It wasn't. A 200-year-old law in South Carolina bans any game with cards or dice. So state Rep. Wallace Scarborough introduced a measure last month that would make playing poker legal as long as the house does not take a cut.

Arrests involving poker games in South Carolina are infrequent, but when the Charleston lawmaker heard about the poker raid on the radio, he thought it was ridiculous and decided to introduce the proposal.

"This would allow a friendly game of cards," said Scarborough, who has played in a charity poker tournament in Charleston.

A House Judiciary Committee sent the proposal back to subcommittee without debate.

Last April, police raided a poker game in Mount Pleasant that was advertised on a Web site. Authorities handed out citations and seized nearly $6,000 in cash.

Cheseborough said she lost her chips and $85 from her purse when police charged into the home. At first she thought it was a joke.

"Then we realized it was real when we saw guns and masked faces," the Charleston resident said. She thinks the officer felt guilty because the handcuffs were loose, and she said she could slip out if she wanted.

Cheseborough was initially among 18 people who asked for a jury trial to challenge the state's law. But last month, she decided to plead guilty and ended up paying $50 in court fees.

Fourteen of the 22 arrested at the raid are headed to trial, according to town officials.

Michael Bolcerek, president of the California-based Poker Players Alliance, said laws governing poker vary widely, even among municipalities. His groups supports any proposal updating antiquated gambling laws, he said.

"We're very excited this is happening," he said. "It's about time there was sanity in legislation addressing people playing at home enjoying a nice game of poker."

Cheseborough applauds the new legislation and admits she's played poker since her arrest.

"It's about time because everybody's doing it anyway," she said. "It's a nice pastime. Nobody's hurting anyone."

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