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Gray Areas in Colorado Poker Laws

COLORADO – As reported by the Colorado Springs Gazette: "The Colorado attorney general says poker games played in bars and restaurants statewide are illegal, but 4th Judicial District Attorney John Newsome, like other district attorneys, doesn't plan a massive crackdown on poker nights.

"State gaming authorities allow Newsome that latitude. They say enforcement of Colorado's gambling laws is subject to broad interpretation — a matter for individual district attorneys to decide.

"…Gambling enforcement was brought into focus in April, when 24 people were arrested in Guadala-Jarra's restaurant during a Texas Hold 'Em poker game in Palmer Lake. Felony charges against owner Jeff Hulsmann and his wife, Peggy Jardon, were deferred for a year last week, and the charges will be dismissed if the couple adheres to conditions attached to the court order.

"Most of the cases against the 22 card players, all charged with professional gambling, have been dismissed.

"Newsome has said Hulsmann's game violated the law because it featured a buy-in of up to $15. Also, undercover officers did not know other players at the tables, which meant that the games violated the state law's requirement that players have a 'bona fide social relationship.'

"There are many opinions, legal and otherwise, about precisely what constitutes a bona fide social relationship…"

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