By Virginia Sen. Chap Petersen
Appearing in The Virginia Pilot, July 16, 2022
Billy the Kidden Rescue Inc. is a charity located in Virginia Beach which specializes in caring for homeless cats. For years the charity existed on a shoestring budget, supported by intermittent donations by animal lovers. In fall 2020, a life raft appeared. Earlier that year, the General Assembly had approved a new game, Texas Hold ‘em, as part of its portfolio of charitable games.
Armed with this opportunity, Billy the Kidden partnered with a local “poker room” which opened up a game and split the profits with the charity, per state law. Two years later and funded by the proceeds of the legal game, Billy the Kidden was the largest cat rescue operation on the East Coast, servicing 550 felines at any one time and receiving referrals from veterinarians all over Hampton Roads. The dream of its president, Emilie Jackson, had become a reality.
Now Billy the Kidden is on the verge of closing. Why? Because the General Assembly, notwithstanding its own laws legalizing Texas Hold ‘em poker, voted in 2022 to effectively put charities out of business for playing this legal game. A last-second lawsuit to enjoin the new law prior to July 1 was unsuccessful. Barring a reprieve from the Virginia Supreme Court, Billy the Kidden — like all Virginia charities that rely on gaming proceeds — will be marked for extinction.
How the heck did this happen?
The seeds of charitable gaming’s demise were ironically planted in the same session as its triumph. In 2020, my legislation (Senate Bill 936) legalized Texas Hold ‘em poker for qualified charities. The purpose of the bill was to expand the menu of charitable gaming options beyond bingo, which had been losing its audience for years, and thereby revitalize Virginia charities. The legislation was warmly received by the American Legion, volunteer fire departments, Elks Lodges and other fraternal organizations that depend on gaming to support their mission.
At the same time, the assembly passed legislation in 2020 that authorized five casinos in Virginia, all in the southern half of the state where charitable gaming has its strongest foothold. A conflict of some type was foreseeable, because why would someone travel to a casino to play a card game which was available at the nearby Veterans of Foreign Wars hall?
What was not foreseeable was how the agency meant to regulate charitable gaming would work so ardently to strangle it, first suspending the enabling regulations for poker and then deferring them indefinitely. Or how the assembly would accept the canard that there was a “problem” in charitable gaming that required a “state commission” culminating in an inspector general report in October which was a Seinfeldian statement of nothingness: no criminal allegations, no ill-gotten profits, no examples of fraud or mismanagement.
Armed with the report, the commission and agency bamboozled the assembly into voting on a series of punitive measures which effectively “re-criminalized” Texas Hold ‘em poker for charities by stating that the game could not be played with “chips denoting a cash value” or in a tournament “with no predetermined end time” — both staples of poker itself. Any charity violating these laws would be subject to a $25,000 minimum fine.
Yes, that fine applies to charities like Billy the Kidden, which has no “profits” because all proceeds are going to save homeless animals. Sadly, the Youngkin administration signed these bills into law without any amendment.
Meanwhile, as the Virginia charities have seen their hard-won freedoms taken away, the professional casinos — all owned by out-of-state companies —- have moved forward with minimal scrutiny as they prepare to open four gaming palaces in 2023. Any comment regarding their practices will simply bring the rejoinder that the games are “played by consenting adults” — a key detail somehow lost in the alleged controversy over charitable gaming.
As the Virginia Beach judge stated in denying Billy the Kidden’s emergency injunction, the General Assembly has a history of passing “strange and contradictory laws,” such as a poker regulation that bans the wagering of chips with a cash value. These laws are an affront to common sense and the ability of Virginians to make their own decisions. They also discriminate against Virginia charities and openly favor out-of-state professional casinos.
Unless the courts act, the assembly must correct this wrong and repeal these archaic restrictions which punish charities and operators for letting their customers play legal card games.
Virginia Sen. Chap Petersen, a Democrat, represents the 34th District, which includes part of Fairfax County.
Click here to access the article in the online version of The Virginia Pilot
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Walk-in List Will be Open at 5pm August 4th
Unfortunately, the laws of the State of Virginia have changed and we need to await the lengthy licensing process in order to get back up and running. However, that doesn't mean that we need to wait to play some poker! We are offering Freeroll poker tournaments, every Thursday @ 6pm for the month of July!
The freeroll has NO BUYIN, just play poker, have fun and win money. While you are here, check out Pop's, eat some great food, and let's keep our poker community in touch and playing while we wait for the law to settle down.
This is an entirely free event, with NO ENTRY FEE. We simply want to introduce our poker room to new poker players and continue to engage with our loyal following of existing players while we continue to wait for our license. If you have a player's card, please bring that with you. If you do not already have a Pop's Poker player's card, please bring your ID in order to register, and anticipate a delay in registration, so please show up EARLY to register. Registration will begin at 5pm.
The payouts are as follows:
Registration will open at 5pm, cards in the air at 6pm.
The $100 high hand requires that the hand is at least the rank of a full house and you must use both of your hole cards to make your hand. The high hand is ONLY through the first 10 levels of play.
You must sign up through our EventBrite page in order to reserve your seat. Only one registration per name allowed. We are issuing more invitations than we have space for, so players will be seated according to reservations (through EventBrite) on a FIRST COME FIRST SERVED basis BEFORE 6pm. Walk-ins (not registered on EventBrite) will be placed on a "walk-in" list (as early as 5pm) and allowed to register at 6pm based on a first come first served basis.
Please note: All players arriving after 6pm (even if you signed up on EventBrite) will be registering first come first served along with all of the other players on the walk-in list, so please get there on time!
Due to security and staffing, the game must end at midnight. This can be accomplished by chopping using either ICM or even chop. If the remaining group cannot decide how to chop the tournament, it will be based on an ICM Chop Calculator.
Good luck and see you at the felts!
The fight for charities and their ability to conduct charitable gaming, as permitted by Virginia law, has moved to the courts. A Virginia charity and operator has filed suit against the state (VDACS) with 2 main counts:
As for the timing of the case, there’s a motion for an emergency injunction set for June 30, 2022, before Judge Bullock.
There are many variations of outcomes to this case. We are not in a position to forecast how the chips may fall; however as we receive information, we will pass it along to our customers.
We feel that the Plaintiffs have a strong case and very capable legal team to represent them, and a favorable ruling on the emergency injunction would be favorable for Pops. The Pops’ crew is ready to continue to give the Richmond poker players a wonderful product within the confines of the newly enacted laws.
Please check our site for details as we will publish them as we receive them.
Thank you for your continued support of Pops and we look forward to playing poker with you for years to come.
The Pops Team
Poker Atlas is the primary software that we use to operate our poker room. Using the app from your phone, you are able to view our games, reserve a seat, check the wait list, view tournament clocks, check schedules, etc. all from home!