[Easy E]

Nicely done, Derek. I would caution anyone reading this that they should not consider this a legal opinion and base any of their own risk-management decisions on this post. Translation- don't think you can find a loophole and use Derek's post to justify the legality of your decision.

Also, if I ever need to get involved in another debate on whether poker is gambling or not, I'm lifting this verbatim:

[ QUOTE ]
IS POKER GAMBLING? SKILL VS LUCK

Gambling differs from other kinds of contests in that in gambling "the outcome depends in a material degree upon an element of chance, notwithstanding that skill of the contestants may also be a factor therein." Games of chance range from those that require no skill, such as a lottery, to those such as poker or blackjack which require considerable skill in calculating the probability of drawing particular cards. Nonetheless, the latter are as much games of chance as the former, since the outcome depends to a material degree upon the random distribution of cards. The skill of the player may increase the odds in the player's favor, but cannot determine the outcome regardless of the degree of skill employed."


[/ QUOTE ]


Whether we poker players will ever be able to convince legislative members that, over the long term, skill can and does outweigh the luck factor is anyone's guess.