There is this bar in KC that forces you to buy $5 worth of food to play. I couldn't find anything about this online but is that legal? They also force you to donate another $5 to play that goes to charity and the prize pool but do not tell you what percentage goes to charity.

I don't know the law in Kentucky but who cares .....

BTW. They don't force you to do anything. They have conditions for playing poker. You voluntarily agree to them or you don't play. That is not the use of force

use of force is the means by which we determine whether a poker game is legal or not now? okay lol

No. Use of force is the test we apply to the claim that you made that you were FORCED to buy an entire $5 worth of food. Or the claim you were FORCED to donate to charity.

Based on the Wizards shirt in his avatar, KC probably stands for Kansas City. Based on his posting on political issues, he probably lives on the Kansas side of town. (Or in the metro on the Missouri side outside of KCMO)

Why would it be illegal to require players to buy a food or drink minimum when it is legal to charge them a cover at the door? Same goes for the charity part. They are allowed to require guests to donate $5 at the door to enter the premises, so I have a hard time believing they aren’t allowed to do that for guests who would like to play a game. But gaming regulations are weird, so maybe that’s really a thing..

Oops I have no idea why I read Kentucky. At my age the mind starts doing weird things

Prolly not illegal as in you can sue them, but could be against the gaming regulations. I used to work at a charity poker room, they definitely bent the rules when it meant more rake for them. Assuming they're governed by some sort of gaming commission, you could very well potentially get them in mild trouble for making you buy chicken fingers.

Not speaking to the specifics of this situation. But it's possible charging a cover or requiring a purchase is illegal. If the gaming laws prohibit the house from making money from gambling, the laws typically will apply to indirect attempts to make that money.

The game itself may not be legal. Don't assume that just because it's happening in the open that it's legal.

Because they are not requiring every patron to do it like they would for a cover charge. They are only requiring the ones that want to play poker to do it. In my home town a bar was busted for doing exactly the same thing and heavily fined. The owners ended up losing the place as a result. Obviously this depends on your state's laws, but why would you want to get a good place to play poker shut down? If spending $5 on food there in order to play is too much to ask of you, then I don't think poker is a good game for you. I'm guessing you pay $5 for food and $5 donation and that's it right? And then the prize pool is completely funded by the house right? So you want to play in a freeroll right?

This is a key statement here ... Gaming can get pretty sticky with any types of 'requirements' that either generate outside income or are tied to only 'the poker'.

In Michigan, a charity poker room can't offer pizza to Players 'only'. It would have to let anyone who walks in to enjoy as well.

In another interesting twist, if an operator wanted to offer a $20 'free roll' they would have to hand out $20 bills to anyone who walks in, with no requirement to actually enter the tournament!!

As stated, why rock the boat? Gaming should eventually catch up with any sideways practices. GL

100% this

Without getting into specifics about what skirts the laws and what doesn't, Michigan Charity poker market is a great case study in how these and similar "membership" rooms emerge.

Michigan went from almost nothing to close to 300 poker tables operating in market in lighting speed. They then collapsed under their own weight.

MGCB got involved and closed rooms left and right. There are still some rooms operating, but not anywhere close to what it was.

Texas, I believe is about to reach a similar tipping point where we've seen recent expansion in "membership" rooms popping up .

Operators can try all sorts of things to skirt the laws, but the more rooms that open in state, the more exposure and thus scrutiny they receive by authorities.

No operator will open a room unless there is profit for them.

Although laws vary widely from state to state, they are all similar in the basic theme that profiting from operating a game of chance is illegal.

The only people being forced to play Poker are those poor fools that ended up in staking deals with makeup. Save your pity for them.

Poker is a game of chance?

Yes. Otherwise AA would always win when all-in preflop.

well thats an entire threadworthy that has been hashed back in forth fo years.

As it relates to charitable gaming laws, again each state is different.

Some are written as just that... game of chance"

Some are written something like "preponderance" of chance

Some are written as to have a "component" of chance

That being said and really doesn't matter for this discussion.

I wish the best of luck to any operator that thinks they can operate legally by proving poker is not a game of chance (they'll need it along with a hope and a prayer)..

there was a case a few years ago in NY where judge ruled poker was a game of skill. I think he was an elected judge and it was a state trial against a defendant charged with running a "illegal game".