Taking a gamble

COEUR d'ALENE - The Idaho Constitution outlaws poker, but the Coeur d'Alene Tribe is going all in.

"Poker is basically played all around the state every night in people's homes, at family reunions, at nursing homes and in family rooms," said Helo Hancock, the Tribe's legislative director. "It goes on every day."

And, Hancock said, the state is doing little to stop it.

This spring, the Coeur d'Alene Casino will open a poker room offering live games of Texas Hold 'Em and tournament play. Hancock said the Tribe views the poker games that will be offered as Class II gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and not subject to state law.

Adding poker is a strategic move, Hancock said, that will allow the casino to compete with Washington casinos.

"We have patrons who want a place to play," he said. Hancock said hopefully the poker players may also play a round of golf, stay at the hotel and have a meal.

"The casino is one of the biggest employers in the region," he said. "We're trying to protect the jobs we have here."

The Tribe informed the Idaho Lottery Commission last year of plans to add poker, according to Idaho Lottery Commission Director Jeffrey Anderson.

"We told them we did not think it was legal in Idaho," he said. "I don't have any authority to do anything about it."

Anderson said the commission monitors the Tribe's compliance with their tribal video gaming machines - making sure the Coeur d'Alene Casino doesn't exceed the limits on the number of machines and that the proper type of games are being played.

Anything else is not in the commission's purview, Anderson said.

According to the National Indian Gaming Association, Class II gaming includes "non-banking card games" if the games are "otherwise lawful" in the states in which they are played.

Hancock said the casino's poker games would be "non-house banked" with the casino only taking a "small rake" - or percentage of the pot - to cover the cost of the dealer.

He described the "player versus player" game as similar to pari-mutuel betting.

The Idaho Legislature last year passed a law allowing instant video gaming machines where gamblers can wager on "historical horse races," as long as it is done at licensed horse-race tracks. Those machines are classified as "pari-mutuel betting machines."

Hancock said the Tribe viewed the state's authorization of historical horse racing gaming machines as "a pretty clear nod for the expansion of casino gaming."

"In the past, Idaho has been pretty concerned about the expansion of gaming," he said. "With the authorization of these instant racing machines, that's pretty clear that this has changed. Idaho appears to be pretty comfortable with an unprecedented expansion of gaming."