Throughout the Cedar Valley, organizations are preparing for the change in state law Friday which will outlaw poker tournaments by hosting final games.
At the Cedar Falls AMVETS, organizers are mourning the loss of a 2-month-old Texas Hold'em tournament that was wildly successful in attracting business on slow Wednesday nights.
"We had big plans for this thing," said Rene Johns, bar manager of AMVETS Post 49.
The game at the AMVETS hall cost players $20 to join, with all the money paid out to the winners. Money raised from the extra business was earmarked for the Veterans Blind Golf Tournament in Iowa City.
Steve Hunemuller, president of the group's board of trustees, said the games brought 30 to 40 new members or renewal memberships. The tournaments attracted around 20 people each week, increasing liquor sales on those nights by 50 percent to 60 percent, Johns said.
The change in the law is actually more of a clarification, state officials say. It does away with a loophole that allowed poker tournaments. The old law, which officials said was too vague, allowed for tournaments, and did not specifically forbid poker tournaments. The new law clarifies that poker cannot be considered a "bona fide" activity.
Now, the issue seems ironclad.
"We've had people check into it," Johns said. "But pretty much everyone says we have to shut it down."
The new law may also effect the group's other tournaments, such as bowling, golf and a "pepper" game held every Thursday night. Johns said the organization will check into the legality of each event before continuing.
"We will not do anything to risk our liquor license," she said.
At Mr. G's, a bar in Cedar Falls, the poker games were popular, attracting between 30 and 40 players each week. Wanda Andree, a bartender, said the attraction increased liquor and food sales.
"We're a neighborhood bar," she said. "This brings in the neighborhood."
Owners of the bar intend to adapt the tournament to fit the new rules by separating the tables and lowering the stakes dramatically. The last regular tournament was played Monday.
At the Sports Page in Waterloo, a popular Monday tournament had what could be its last game Monday. General manager Daniel Wells said he'll keep fighting to host the tournaments.
"I will be lobbying with the Legislature myself," Wells said. "I know a few (legislators), who are neighbors. I will just continue to talk to them until I'm hoarse."
Wells, who started the game as a way to promote business, said it wasn't fair for the state to shut down the tournaments. He said there was more risk in other poker-based businesses than in Texas Hold'em game at the Sports Page.
"We're talking about $20," he said. "Nobody's losing their mortgage, nobody's wiping out their life savings, and we're not taking people's ability to buy rent or food. However, the Legislature has determined that we can have that little lotto machine in the corner where people can lose a hundred dollars. If you can lose there, why can't you lose here and have more fun?"
Earlier this month, the local Shriner's organization hosted its first and last tournament, a fresh way to raise money for Shriner hospitals.
State Sen. Bill Dotzler, D-Waterloo, said he was largely opposed to the law because it will hurt fund-raising by nonprofit organizations and rob businesses of revenue.
His mother, Jeanie, owns the Embassy Lounge in Waterloo, and allows regulars to play poker in the establishment. The bar, Dotzler said, holds a "social gaming" license that allows it to permit, but not organize, games among people with pre-existing social relationships.
Dotzler said he voted for the bill due to a miscommunication, but wanted it held back to add amendments to loosen restrictions on social gambling, where players win or lose less than $50 in a 24-hour period, and restore privileges to nonprofit organizations.
The bill, Dotzler said, was spurred by a rash of for-profit games where organizers were making large amounts of money.
His attempts to file an amendment, he said, were blocked by anti-gambling senators. He plans to renew his effort.
Officials at the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, which regulates gambling, say poker tournaments have always been illegal in Iowa, but differences in interpretation of Iowa law among county officials allowed some to continue.
Some tournament holders have drawn connections between the rise of casino development in Iowa and the new laws, and suggest casino lobbyists were behind the legislation. The lobbyist declaration sheet for the bill listed a number of gambling agencies as interested parties in the bill's progression, but listed themselves as "undecided."
