US Poker Players Want their Day in Court - 05-07-08

May 7- Five poker players from South Carolina have found an ingenious way of drawing the public's attention to the state's controversial wagering laws - dating back from 1802 - which forbid any form of entertainment that consists of dice or cards.

Using this law as a basis for a raid on homes, following a ten-month surveillance mission on four homes in the state where it was suspected that illegal poker activities were taking place, authorities arrested a total of 65 people and brought charges against the majority of them under the antiquated gaming laws of the state.

To date, nineteen of those poker players charged have already pled guilty to misdemeanors and have been handed fines ranging from $150 - $250.

However, instead of settling these charges quickly by paying a fine, five of those arrested, including a couple of businessmen, a navy officer, a teacher and - yes - a policeman, have decided to fight the law by refusing to plead guilty and instead demand their day in court.

One of the poker players arrested last October in a raid that resulted in the authorities seizing $62,000, Bob Chimento, told the press that he had been grabbed by an undercover policeman in one of the homes where a poker game was taking place.

"The reason we're fighting the law is because we want to get our state representatives to change the law," explained Chimento. "We're just a bunch of average Joe's playing cards. We want to be able to play cards in our homes. They're trying to intimidate people to quit playing poker."

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