HARRISBURG, S.D.
- The Lincoln County Commission has
pulled the beer license of a Harrisburg bar owner after the owner admitted
sponsoring illegal poker tournaments at the bar.
Todd Erks "has been running an illegal card game in his
business since its inception," according to State's Attorney Tom Wollman.
"There's no difference between his operation and Deadwood, Flandreau or
other Indian casinos. The difference is those operations are legal."
Commission member Dennis Weeldreyer said the board had
little choice.
"You put this commission in a position where our state's
attorney says you're breaking the law," Weeldreyer told Erks. "When that's
true, we can't renew the license," which expires Thursday.
Poker, unlike pool or darts, is classified as a game of
chance and is illegal outside of Deadwood or casinos, Wollman said.
Erks doesn't agree with the law's description of poker.
"Ask any poker player, and they will tell you it's a game of skill," he
said.
Erks said his lawyer told him the description is a "gray
area" in the law and that he will talk with state legislators about
possible changes.
Wollman went to the bar, Todd's Place, Saturday night
and said he saw four felt-covered tables with people playing poker at
them.
"From this day forward, if that activity continues,
we're going to come in there with the sheriff's department and start
issuing citations," Wollman said.
Erks was warned once before and continued to host the
tournaments, the state's attorney said.
At the tournaments, players pay $25 to take part and
then get chips for the games, Erks said. Erks retained $5 of the fee, and
rest went for prize money, he said.
Wollman said some businesses have sponsored poker
tournaments in a way that didn't break the law. In those cases, the chips
had no monetary value, and the prize money was provided by a sponsor, not
from an entry fee.
Charging a fee in exchange for chips is illegal, Wollman
said.
Over a year ago, the state Lottery told more than 1,400
bar owners that having poker tournaments violated state law, warning them
that if they didn't shut down the games, they could face a $10,000 fine.
Erks said he told county commissioners when he first got
his beer license that he planned to hold tournaments. Commissioners,
however, said Erks talked about dart and pool tournaments but didn't
mention poker.
