Licenses For Several Michigan Charitable Poker Rooms Suspended

Although there are a few live casinos around the state (and a quick jump across the border will land you in Windsor, Canada’s casino world), some in Michigan prefer to take part of the poker tournaments and games in charitable poker rooms across the state. Recently, several of those rooms were shut down due to differing violations of Michigan charitable gaming laws.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board, which has overseen the games since they took over regulatory responsibility in October, suspended the license for operating charity games at Snookers’ Poker Room in Utica in December, according to Sherri Welch of Crain’s Detroit Business. Welch reports that the owner of Snookers’ admitted to gaming officials that they had violated the chip limit on tournaments and kept some of those events off the books. The poker room had been one of the more popular outlets, Welch states, operating charitable events for up to seven or eight non-profit organizations at one time.

Welch points out that two other charitable rooms, the Flying Aces Casino in Inkster and the Shark Club in Waterford Township, also lost their licenses in 2012 for undisclosed reasons. The Shark Club has since closed its doors.

The push to keep the charitable games on the level by the MGCB has led to an almost letter-by-letter interpretation of the legalities. Games were suspended at Hamlin’s Pub in Rochester because of an ownership change (the new owner would have to be licensed) and a change in location by Rounders Charitable Poker Room in Saginaw also brought about a suspension of the charity games.

According to Welch, this is making several of the other operations in the Wolverine State a bit nervous about the potential for closure.

“Any type of rules I can follow, I try to follow them,” Welch quotes George Bozin, owner of the Big Beaver Tavern Poker Room, which has operated in the Troy tavern’s basement for nearly four years. “I’m not against regulation. I’m all for making things better for the players and the state, but we’re not casinos. We can’t spend thousands and thousands of dollars.”

Remarking on the constant scrutiny, Bozin is quoted by Welch as saying, “It is stressful. Every day you’re wondering if you’re going to be open. I’ve got people counting on me to follow the rules and stay open.”

Non-profit groups in Michigan are allowed to have No Limit Texas Hold’em tournaments in the state – and offer cash prizes to the winners – if they get through the hoops that are set up. The tournaments are only legal if the charity gets a “millionaire party” license from the state and complies with the various rules and regulations of the state. Those licenses cost $50 per day of the event and must be renewed for each event that the charitable cause holds. The licenses aren’t transferrable to another event, location or timeframe.

Those “millionaire party” licenses have their own set of requirements. Players have to be 18 years of age or older and an event can only be run for four consecutive days. The charitable cause also can only have one license per day and for only one event.

As you can see, there are several potential pitfalls when it comes to operating a charitable poker room in the state of Michigan. While it is a way for a charitable organization to make a nice bit of money for their cause, it is also fraught with potential problems that could raise the ire of the MGCB. For example, if a charity organizer doesn’t wear a nameplate to identify them, it is a violation. If participants in a charity poker event place a bet on a sporting contest between each other, it is also a violation. Although the games continue to be popular in Michigan, there has to be concern about its future with such heavy handed regulation.