Poker Bust in Colorado

[juanez]

FYI for you Colorado folks. Source

24 arrested as cops raid poker game in Palmer Lake
By Felisa Cardona and Erin Emery
Denver Post Staff Writers

The Texas Hold 'Em games began as the sun went down every Tuesday at Guadalajara Restaurant in Palmer Lake.

The buy-in was $15, and "you had to try real hard to lose $30," owner Jeff Hulsmann said.

But everyone left the tables a loser Tuesday night after 50 law-enforcement officials raided the restaurant and arrested 24 people, including Hulsmann.

Hulsmann insists he has done nothing wrong. He said he did not receive a cut from the game, didn't charge players rent to play there and wasn't in charge of running the game.

And in poker parlance, he's not folding.

"I'm a small businessman, and it's going to cost me a lot of money to fight this," he said. "But I'm a stubborn man."

A Palmer Lake police officer first heard of the poker games in February, said Police Chief Dale Smith.

An undercover operation ensued in early March with agents from the Metro Vice, Narcotics and Intelligence Liquor Enforcement Team and the state departments of gaming and liquor enforcement.

Officers in SWAT gear went into the restaurant Tuesday night and froze the tables, identified players and confiscated all the chips, cards and money, Smith said.

"People were a little upset in the beginning. Once the processing began, it became a bit more relaxed," Smith said.

Matt Cook of the state's Liquor Enforcement Division told 9News that people came from as far as 150 miles away to participate.

About $3,000 was found in the bar, but it's unclear how much money was generated from the gambling, Smith said.

Hulsmann was charged with owning and operating a bar where illegal gambling was taking place, a Class 5 felony, said Diana May, chief trial deputy for the 4th Judicial District. If convicted, he could serve probation or be sentenced to a maximum three-year prison term and fines from $1,000 to $100,000.

Twenty-three others were issued misdemeanor gambling citations. Their names were unavailable late Wednesday.

A misdemeanor gambling charge carries a punishment of probation or six to 18 months in jail. A $500 to $5,000 fine also could be levied, May said.

Don Burmania, spokesman for the state Division of Gaming, said while the popularity of poker is on the rise, a bust like the one that occurred at Guadalajara's is not the norm.

Colorado law allows for social gambling, such as an office pool. The law says all the participants must have a social relationship outside of the game and no one can profit from the activity, Burmania said.

Hulsmann said the Palmer Lake game used to be played in someone's basement but moved to the restaurant in December.

"There's a lot of pressure coming from the casinos because they feel like these nickel-and- dime games are taking money out of their pockets," Hulsmann said.

He was at a meeting of the town's Save the Lake Committee when police told him to come to the restaurant, where he was arrested.

He posted $1,000 bail Wednesday morning.

Hulsmann coaches YMCA girls soccer, has served on the Tri-Lakes Chamber of Commerce, served on the town's fireworks committee and volunteered with the parent-teacher organization at his children's school.

"I'm not a punk," he said.