Posted on 12/03/2007 9:33:01 AM PST by SubGeniusX
Maybe Dallas wouldn't be ranked as the 34th most dangerous city in America if Dallas police weren't devoting precious resources to raiding friendly poker games played by veterans. In his latest video for Reason.tv, Drew Carey examines a paramilitary-style raid on a poker game at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1837 in Dallas, which has now been forced to close its doors.
"Poker is about as American as baseball and apple pie," Carey says in theReason.tv video. "It was born here in America. Mark Twain loved it. He's a great American. Until recently, Supreme Court justices had a monthly game. They're great Americans. You'd think playing poker in a VFW hall would be about as American as anything you could do."
"This story highlights the hypocrisy that surrounds gambling in this country," said Nick Gillespie, editor of Reason.tv. "States will gladly take your hard-earned money if you want to play the government's lottery. But if you sit down with some veterans to play Texas hold 'em you may end up with cops, in full riot gear, busting down your door. No one gets hurt when consenting adults sit down for a game of cards. And there's no reason for the government to get involved."
The busted poker players have a court date on December 5, 2007.
I was on duty as bartender at an American Legion post when we were raided for our poker machines. Two of the cops were members as the community were pretty tightly knit. They took all of the machines, fined us big time, and then two of the officers were at the back bar after their tour was up! They never could stop the real game in the back room..
PING
Drew Carey + Price is Right = Disaster
What’s next? Dominoes in Elk Lodges?
Before gambling of various kinds was approved by legislation, the Attorney General of Iowa, Richard (the) Turner used to conduct raids like this on church bingo games. He would tip the Des Moines Register about his next strike. Great photos the next day of grandma being taken out in ‘cuffs...
How do you figure?
I wish more people would play poker instead of throwing dice at the bar. That’s got to be the most annoying thing ever. They have to slam the stupid cup down as hard as they can on every g#$damn throw. I’d like to put the dice in their mouth and use their head as the cup.
I remember back in the early 80s when the FBI raided a bowling alley in Granada Hills, California (Los Angeles suburb) where a bunch of housewives were betting quarters on their bowling scores.
I haven’t seen the new show. It’s bad huh?
Cranky? Out of sorts? Sounds like you need to drink a little more. :)
Found it (OK it was the LAPD not the FBI)
OCTOBER 1989: GAMBLING HOUSEWIVES BUSTED; L.A.’S FINEST PROTECT CITY FROM BOWLERS.
OCTOBER 1989: GAMBLING HOUSEWIVES BUSTED; L.A.’S FINEST PROTECT CITY FROM BOWLERS.</a>
Byline: Dennis McCarthy
Book ‘em, Dano. The Valley is a safer place this morning.
Los Angeles Police Department vice officers from Devonshire Division busted five San Fernando Valley housewives in a Granada Lanes bowling league Thursday morning for gambling.
The stakes were large - a buck a woman.
Acting on a tip from an anonymous source - a disgruntled league member, officers say - two vice officers staked out the Granada Hills bowling alley shortly after 9 a.m. and watched the women bowl. They say they saw the women pass loose change back and forth. After two hours, they saw $8 change hands.
Shortly before noon, as one of the gamblers - Sandy Scholnick of Northridge - was leaving the bowling alley to pick up her son at kindergarten, the vice officers moved in.
Scholnick was cited for violating section 43.01 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code - to wit, gambling.
Also cited were Anne Barnette of Sepulveda, Esther Martinez of Chatsworth, Pamela Waizenegger of Panorama City and Olga Shores of Chatsworth.
The women were ordered to appear in San Fernando Municipal Court on Nov. 9 to answer the charges.
There it is, folks - your tax dollars at work. Sleep soundly tonight. No longer will our security be threatened by bowling housewives who like to spice up a morning with a little sidepot action on strikes and spares.
Police said they busted the housewives because they were tipped that a crime was being committed, and because they could sit behind the bowlers and watch the money change hands themselves.
Responding to a question on whether his vice squad had better things to do than bust bowling-and-gambling housewives, Sgt. Frank Reynoso of the Devonshire vice squad replied, ``Hey, there’s no king’s X just because they’re housewives.
``It doesn’t make any difference to us,’’ he added. ``You gamble, you gamble. It’s illegal, and if we see it, we’ll enforce the law. We saw it.’’
That they did. But late Thursday afternoon, LAPD had a change of heart. Deputy Police Chief Ronald Frankle, in charge of the Valley area, instructed Reynoso to issue the women certificates of release.
In other words, they were being un-arrested.
``We hashed it over and decided a warning would be the best way to go,’’ Reynoso said. ``We’ll contact the ladies and basically tell them, `Now you know it’s illegal. Don’t do it again. We’ll release you from arrest.’ ‘’
Could it be that the LAPD - which for so long has explained it has too few resources to successfully combat the soaring crime, gang and drug problems - saw itself as looking a little foolish for spending its valuable time busting housewives gambling with a little milk money?
Or maybe the LAPD just wanted to bring a little excitement to the lives of housewives whose only diversion on a morning was wagering a few cents on picking up the 7/10 split between car pooling the kids to and from school.
``We wondered who this woman was, hanging out, watching us Thursday morning,’’ Sandy Scholnick said, after picking her son up from kindergarten an hour late.
``She (the vice officer) was talking to people, wanting to know how the sidepot worked. She told them she was interested in joining the league.
``I didn’t know she was a vice officer until she stopped me outside, on my way to pick up my son,’’ Scholnick said.
The gambling, it turns out, is a weird sort of poker. Each woman who wanted to participate - obviously the anonymous tipster didn’t - put a dollar ante into a pot. The money was held by one person. A deck of cards was shuffled and placed face down.
Each time a bowler got a spare or strike she picked up a card from the deck. At the end of the bowling game, whoever had the best poker hand won the pot - usually about $8.
``I’ve been in this league almost seven years and we’ve been doing it for seven years,’’ Scholnick said. ``No one ever complained. I guess the tipster never won.’’
Sitting around fuming after the vice officers left and reading their citations, the women questioned whether the LAPD didn’t have better things to do than stake out their bowling alley for two hours.
``What’s the harm, we wanted to know?’’ Scholnick said. ``We’re all law-abiding citizens. We’ve never been arrested. I’ve never even gotten a traffic ticket.
``Aren’t there more important things (for the LAPD) to do, than sit in a bowling alley from 9:15 a.m. to noon, watching a bunch of housewives bowl and bet a few bucks? Is this high crime?’’
My Knights of Columbus hall used to have an annual “Vegas Night” kind of fundraiser but that got busted, too. I do believe that the state does not want any gambling money going anywhere but to them. In general, government is not interested in going after criminals who they will have to pay to incarcerate and prefers going after folks violating silly laws and collecting the fines.
Could be me but,
He looks out of place, dumpy, skittish, twitchy demeanour.
TPIR seems to have taken on a self parody type of stance.
I love how stupid and self centered libertarians are. You have no sense or morality because you are so busy navel gazing. You have no idea if they players are fathers loosing the family income. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A VICTIMLESS CRIME. IT IS THE BIGGEST LIBERTARIAN CHEAP MIND GAME YOU BOYS USE EVERY TIME.
Years of study of the Bible might teach you something. Morality has its practical side. God does exist and gives rights with limits. Rights are not the god itself. I don't think you will ever get it because you might have to think of someone other than yourself. I don't think Libertarians can do that. You are all a bunch of selfish BA$Tards. It is the same shallow reasons you always have without looking past yourself.
Neither do you........AND IT IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS anyway.
Well a poker game takes away the monopoly of the state and Indians to run gambling.
Sorry this is ridiculous.
What a failtard. And BMW motorcycles are lame, too.
God is pissed at the VFW. Waaaaay too much hootin’ and hollerin’ and jaywalkin’.
I think Carey needed to come out with the subtext here. I know there are women soldiers and good women poker players. But the VFW and poker are traditionally associated with masculine pursuits. Which makes me wanna ask do queers play poker? I wonder if the CNN queer general played poker? If they did would they be raided? This seems like just another attack on the traditions of white heterosexual masculinity as much as it is anti=American as claimed by Carey.
” I do believe that the state does not want any gambling money going anywhere but to them. In general, government is not interested in going after criminals who they will have to pay to incarcerate and prefers going after folks violating silly laws and collecting the fines.
“
I’m not a big fan of gambling but it is quite silly. Play the lotto and you are good. Go to the organized crime controlled casino’s and you are ok. Play a game in the back room with $50 and you are a major criminal.
Of course if you’re an Am. Indian you can do anything you want on your reservation.
So therefore, it's government's responsibility to throw Dad in jail 'for the children'. Spoken like a true socialist.
Onward to that shining, drug/alcohol/tobacco/trans-fat (and now) poker-free future, Comrade!
Either legalize gambling or shut up about the enforcement of the law.
We have become a nation of sheep.
“You have no sense or morality because you are so busy navel gazing. You have no idea if they players are fathers loosing the family income.”
Very true, but there is no difference between a game in the back room and one at the state sponsored casino.
“Years of study of the Bible might teach you something. Morality has its practical side. God does exist and gives rights with limits.”
Years of bible study isn’t showing with the insults and name calling.
People like this clown are always shocked to find out that the laws in this counrty are not and should not be, Gods laws to a letter.
My mom used to bowl there when I was in Kindergarten. To think she may have been a cold-hearted criminal this whole time makes me shudder. They used to call Devonshire division Club Dev. Now I know why.
Neither, do you ... some may be, then again most I can say are most decidedly not... but why is it the Govt's job to tell me or you how to raise your family?
I find it sad, that you are so weak in your own faith and convictions, that you need the threat of Govt. force to tell you and your family how to be moral people
but please understand, that there are those of us, confident in our faith and our will, that we can make those decisions for ourselves. we do not need the Govt. telling us how to spend our money or raise our kids ...
we are not as you call us "selfish bastards" (the image of Christ just oozes out of you with comments like that)... we simply believe in PERSONAL RESPONSABILITY ...
unlike Socialist Conservative Theocrats such as yourself...
also many Conservatives are poker players and Gamblers
William Bennet
Justice Clarence Thomas
Justice Scalia
Robert Bork (although said to be a "fish")
Richard Nixon
Rush Limbaugh
Al D'mato
in closing stop being a jerk ...
I’m sure if the state was getting a cut off the poker game at the VFW, there would be advertisements for it all over the city.
What it boils down to is the state is upset they aren’t getting a cut.
The morality argument is bunk if a state operates lotteries, scratch tickets (in amount up to $50 in some states).
Neither do you. Apparently it's okay for you to cast your righteous judgment on people you don't even know.
Your years of "study of the Bible" also apparently missed one important verse that you should probably memorize. John 8:7
Your years of "study of the Bible" would also tell you that the Bible does not say gambling is a sin. That is something that man has decided later on. No where in the Bible does it condemn gambling itself. Closest you get is warning against the love of money and attempting to get rich quick. I really don't think a low stakes poker game at the VFW qualifies as an attempt to get rich the easy way.
Yup - that jaywalking’ll do it everytime :)
Tricky Dick Nixon was reported to be a pretty good poker player back in his day.
not quite true, Tribal Authorities must jump through many hoops also ... but they pretty much should be able to do as they wish on their land ... Govt. interference there is just another example in a long list of broken treaties
Cool. I grew up there too.
“I’m sure if the state was getting a cut off the poker game at the VFW, there would be advertisements for it all over the city.”
Here in central Florida our guboner (Crist) approved a deal to allow the Am. Indians to add full vegas style gaming. They agreed to pay the state 100 million a year.
The day after he pushed that through the Am. Indian tribe had commericals on TV supporting him and his job as a gov.
Where does that money come from? It sure doesn’t come out of the winnings of the people gambling. It comes from their losses. IMO stupid people gamble at these casino’s.
They play a game called "Hide the salami" also they have their own version of texas hold'em, and I think they have a queer version of 7" stud.
Can anyone get word to the defense lawyers - This is selective enforcement. Every year, the Governor’s of Okla and Tx have a “bet” on the football game. They’re extremely brazen about it too. I hear about it every year on the radio. Why aren’t they getting busted for gambling?
By asking the question and by your answer, I am once again reminded that there is more than one way to be the “straight” man.
lol...
I never thought I would see the words “Drew Carey” and “Masculine” in the same post
If I have to bail my mom and her bridge club out of jail I’m going to be so mad at her....
You have to look at this from the cops’ perspective.
Look at the advantages of the VFW bust:
1) You get to dress up in SWAT gear, handle automatic weapons, plan and execute a dynamic entry with little risk of return fire.
2) You get to seize cash and property.
3) You get to harass a bunch of veterans who cannot afford high-price legal counsel for misdemeanor charges.
4) You’re virtually assured of criminal convictions because the evidence is unambiguous.
What’s not to like about this? It’s even easier than a drug bust!
Why do the hard work of investigating and prosecuting stuff like armed robbery, assualt, murder, rape, etc. when this is so much more rewarding? Such crimes seldom yield property for seizure, require extensive investigation to obtain evidence, often involve personal or professional risk, and just aren’t as fun.
Same old story....liquor up front, poker in the rear.
Laughing out loud. Your reply was too good for LOL.
Yup...............and I tend bar in just such a place :)
You’d think the feds would have something better to do with their time. This is ridiculous.
Place?
Sure, it is easy to take shots at guys like Carey who have to walk around in life with the middle name Allison.
Another nanny-stater lamenting that freedom means the right be stupid. The very idea that these 'ol vets need you or pappa government to tell them how they can spend their retirement money is insulting.
Shut up and go vote for Huckabee.
The fact is, if money is exchanging hands and Big Government isn't getting it's cut, there IS going to be hell to pay.
Having written that, why does it seem every local pub in my town has a poker "tournament" going on that leads to the World Series of Poker. They aren't playing for free either.
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