Poker fever is sweeping the nation, and the bug has hit students at Brown, who have set up regular games in the Lower Blue Room and dorm lounges around campus. But as popular as poker is - ESPN and Bravo both air shows featuring the game - students playing the game on campus might not know one important thing: playing poker for money is illegal in Rhode Island.
Terry Addison, associate dean for judicial affairs, said it is illegal to play poker for money on campus and urged all students to stop gambling.
"Whether it's betting money or betting clothes ... as long as there is a prize in the context of the game, then it's a form of gambling, and any gambling not licensed by the state is prohibited," he told The Herald in an interview. "I would strongly recommend the cessation of poker games for money or any article of value," he added later via e-mail.
Addison said that this law is not limited to public places, but also applies to private property.
"If you and three of your buddies were sitting in your basement off campus playing poker, it wouldn't be legal," he said.
Chapter 11-19 of the Rhode Island General Laws covers state gambling and lottery laws. It states that any type of gambling, except for state-approved lotteries, is prohibited.
Anybody who participates in a game "for the purpose of exposing, setting for sale or disposing of any money, houses, lands, merchandise, or articles of value ... shall be deemed guilty of a felony and shall be imprisoned not exceeding two years or be fined not exceeding two thousand dollars," RIGL 11-19-1 states.
Addison said he wasn't sure how the University would punish students who did not comply with the law, but he said DPS officers would probably try to stop the illicit activities.
"If a DPS officer saw what he considered gambling, I would assume they would say, 'That's an illegal activity, you have to break that up,'" he said.
Despite the illegality of gambling, Addison said that Brown administrators do recognize the recent surge in the popularity of poker and are looking at modifying University policy to possibly allow for poker playing.
Students who have played poker for money in the past were surprised to hear that the law existed and are now thinking twice about playing for money in the future.
"We have games in the Lower Blue Room and we always have people walking by and no one really has an issue with it," said Scott Goldberg '05. "Some DPS officers on duty may have walked by when we were playing, and they didn't seem to have any problems with it." Goldberg added that he will probably not play poker for money on the Brown campus or in public places in the future.
Jon Hasebe '05, who plays in the Minden Hall lounge, was also surprised to hear of the law and didn't fully understand it.
"If you play in a friend's house, I really don't see the danger in it," he said. "It's a fun thing to do with your friends."
He said he understood why such a law might be in place, but said gambling is a relatively minor problem compared to misdeeds such as underage drinking.
"Obviously, (gambling) is something (you) could get addicted to," Hasebe said. "But I guess it's better than underage drinking. If you can come out and gamble $10 or $20, then it's better than getting really, really drunk."
Both Hasebe and Goldberg encouraged the University to change its policy to allow for poker playing.
"I think that poker is becoming more mainstream and the University should look at its policies and possibly update them," Hasebe said.
"You hear of people playing poker games in home all the time, and I assumed it was legal," Goldberg said. "I think the policy should be amended. If money is being exchanged between players and each player understands that they're going into the game, taking a risk, and they're not giving a kickback to the house, they should be allowed to play."
