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  1. BMATSON1
    04-17-09 07:37 PM
    BMATSON1
    Charity poker in Ohio is a corrupt institution that serves no one well except for the proprietors who control it.

    The poker playing public is forced to pay exorbitant fees to play in sub-standard conditions (if they wish to play poker in legal non-home games). The charities that (presumably) benefit from the poker played receive far less than their due thanks to dubious accounting on the part of those controlling the revenue streams generated. The only people who benefit are the operators who (almost without exception) skirt the laws to hide the large revenues created.
    In most of the US where public poker is allowed, the typical fee for playing in a tournament is 10% or less of the tournament pools created by entrants. In Ohio, there are no poker tournament operators who take less than 20% of the pool, and some take as much as 50%. Any who advertise that they take less than 20% are lying and using dubious accounting (or worse) to cover their tracks. This fee for playing poker is outlandish and would not be acceptable to almost anyone who plays poker anywhere else in the country, even if it was (purportedly) for the benefit of charity. In Las Vegas, a typical take from a tournament is 6%, meaning 94% of the money collected is paid back to the winners of a tournament. Contrast that with an Ohio tournament that takes 100% of the customer’s fees and only pays back 50% - 70% of the money collected.

    But even where the tournament operator announces (as they must) that the money is going to charity, that operator (again, with almost no exceptions) is using tricky accounting to obscure the actual profit created. Certain expenses are allowed under the current law, including (but not limited to) rental of the equipment used to run the tournament, cleanup crews, food expenses, etc. These expense exceptions are used to either disallow income or to shift money to “friendly” subsidiaries. These accounting tricks cost the charity much of the money they deserve to receive. But as if they wasn’t easy enough, poker tournament operators here have other ways of skimming money as well. Poker is (mainly) an all cash business. As we can all imagine, this creates plenty of opportunity to just pocket some of that bounty, with no one the wiser. And believe me, this happens most of the time!

    Occasionally an organization is formed that wants to work honestly within this system to attempt to bring to Ohio poker players a higher quality experience while charging less in fees. I know of one that was created to allow those involved to use their very extensive poker expertise to manage poker tournaments in Ohio, tournaments that gave the player more play for their money. In addition, charities involved with this organization would receive all the money created, those running the operation were considerably less concerned with the revenue created than almost all others currently managing poker operations in the state. This organization was dedicated to providing better-run tournaments with higher paybacks than anyone else in the region. This shouldn’t have been hard to do. The tournaments currently run (in Columbus Grove, at least), are 2nd rate affairs that could not compete in any market in the country, let alone compete with games available in LA or Atlantic City or Tunica Mississippi, just to name a few. Ohio players deserve to know that they can (and should) receive better, in both lower fees and higher quality gaming experiences.

    The laws that govern public poker run for charities are onerous, complex, and filled with technicalities that can be used/abused as needed. These aspects insure that (almost without exception) the only people that will run these events are not honest upstanding citizens. The poker expertise required to run high-quality poker events does not come cheap, and certainly does not come free. The people who have this expertise can go to any of a dozen markets in the US and sell that expertise for considerable incomes. Why should they work here in Ohio for nothing? The level of honesty and integrity required to run charity poker events here in Ohio legally is so high it will eliminate almost anyone honest from even trying to help these charities. To find people with that level of integrity who also have enough poker expertise is akin to finding a needle in 10 haystacks. That needle exists…. maybe.

    So, what can be done to correct this? There is a way to write the laws so they would not be subject to corruption and arbitrary application. Just allow the operators a reasonable profit share, perhaps the profit of the operation could be (as much as) split evenly between the operator and the charity. Believe me, that 50/50 split, if honestly applied, will result in considerably more revenue going to the charities than does currently. Then, after the profit motive is instilled, hold the poker operation to much higher, cleaner accounting standards. Write the laws much more simply with this type of philosophy behind it and it will do wonders for charity poker in Ohio. Honest operators with poker expertise will be able to work within the system, bringing efficiency and higher quality service to every part of that system. Charities will receive more money and will be able to clearly see how and from where that money was acquired. The competition that will result from these changes will mean that the poker playing public will pay less in fees for better service. The only people that will be hurt by the changes suggested will be the corrupt operators of the current (entrenched) system. This last aspect makes me not optimistic about prospects for change in the current law or poker here in Ohio, it is very hard to fight entrenched corruption. But in this case, if poker is to have a legal place in the state of Ohio, I think we should try and make it work honestly. Otherwise we are stuck with the current corruption pretending to be honest charitable work.
    Ugliness that pretends to be beautiful is more offensive than ugliness that is honest about its appearance, I think.

    (Wheelman has-been a few places)

About Me

  • About BMATSON1
    First Name
    Donald
    Gender
    Male
    State or Country
    Ohio
    City
    Columbus Grove
    Occupation
    Welding
    Started Playing Poker
    when i was 12
    What Games & Limits do you play?
    all kinds but like .5 / .10 NL up to 1 / 2 NL
    Poker Goals
    have a good time, be the best player at the table at all times.
    Favorite Poker Books?
    Winning Texas Hold'em
    by Matt Maroon
    Favorite Poker Sites?
    Full Tilt Poker!
    Favorite Poker Players?
    Stu Ungar
    What is your biggest Poker Accomplishment?
    321 players, got 12th busted with the Kings pocket...
    Interests
    This Poker!
    Biography
    Charity poker in Ohio is a corrupt institution that serves no one well except for the proprietors who control it.

    The poker playing public is forced to pay exorbitant fees to play in sub-standard conditions (if they wish to play poker in legal non-home games). The charities that (presumably) benefit from the poker played receive far less than their due thanks to dubious accounting on the part of those controlling the revenue streams generated. The only people who benefit are the operators who (almost without exception) skirt the laws to hide the large revenues created.
    In most of the US where public poker is allowed, the typical fee for playing in a tournament is 10% or less of the tournament pools created by entrants. In Ohio, there are no poker tournament operators who take less than 20% of the pool, and some take as much as 50%. Any who advertise that they take less than 20% are lying and using dubious accounting (or worse) to cover their tracks. This fee for playing poker is outlandish and would not be acceptable to almost anyone who plays poker anywhere else in the country, even if it was (purportedly) for the benefit of charity. In Las Vegas, a typical take from a tournament is 6%, meaning 94% of the money collected is paid back to the winners of a tournament. Contrast that with an Ohio tournament that takes 100% of the customer’s fees and only pays back 50% - 70% of the money collected.

    But even where the tournament operator announces (as they must) that the money is going to charity, that operator (again, with almost no exceptions) is using tricky accounting to obscure the actual profit created. Certain expenses are allowed under the current law, including (but not limited to) rental of the equipment used to run the tournament, cleanup crews, food expenses, etc. These expense exceptions are used to either disallow income or to shift money to “friendly” subsidiaries. These accounting tricks cost the charity much of the money they deserve to receive. But as if they wasn’t easy enough, poker tournament operators here have other ways of skimming money as well. Poker is (mainly) an all cash business. As we can all imagine, this creates plenty of opportunity to just pocket some of that bounty, with no one the wiser. And believe me, this happens most of the time!

    Occasionally an organization is formed that wants to work honestly within this system to attempt to bring to Ohio poker players a higher quality experience while charging less in fees. I know of one that was created to allow those involved to use their very extensive poker expertise to manage poker tournaments in Ohio, tournaments that gave the player more play for their money. In addition, charities involved with this organization would receive all the money created, those running the operation were considerably less concerned with the revenue created than almost all others currently managing poker operations in the state. This organization was dedicated to providing better-run tournaments with higher paybacks than anyone else in the region. This shouldn’t have been hard to do. The tournaments currently run (in Columbus Grove, at least), are 2nd rate affairs that could not compete in any market in the country, let alone compete with games available in LA or Atlantic City or Tunica Mississippi, just to name a few. Ohio players deserve to know that they can (and should) receive better, in both lower fees and higher quality gaming experiences.

    The laws that govern public poker run for charities are onerous, complex, and filled with technicalities that can be used/abused as needed. These aspects insure that (almost without exception) the only people that will run these events are not honest upstanding citizens. The poker expertise required to run high-quality poker events does not come cheap, and certainly does not come free. The people who have this expertise can go to any of a dozen markets in the US and sell that expertise for considerable incomes. Why should they work here in Ohio for nothing? The level of honesty and integrity required to run charity poker events here in Ohio legally is so high it will eliminate almost anyone honest from even trying to help these charities. To find people with that level of integrity who also have enough poker expertise is akin to finding a needle in 10 haystacks. That needle exists…. maybe.

    So, what can be done to correct this? There is a way to write the laws so they would not be subject to corruption and arbitrary application. Just allow the operators a reasonable profit share, perhaps the profit of the operation could be (as much as) split evenly between the operator and the charity. Believe me, that 50/50 split, if honestly applied, will result in considerably more revenue going to the charities than does currently. Then, after the profit motive is instilled, hold the poker operation to much higher, cleaner accounting standards. Write the laws much more simply with this type of philosophy behind it and it will do wonders for charity poker in Ohio. Honest operators with poker expertise will be able to work within the system, bringing efficiency and higher quality service to every part of that system. Charities will receive more money and will be able to clearly see how and from where that money was acquired. The competition that will result from these changes will mean that the poker playing public will pay less in fees for better service. The only people that will be hurt by the changes suggested will be the corrupt operators of the current (entrenched) system. This last aspect makes me not optimistic about prospects for change in the current law or poker here in Ohio, it is very hard to fight entrenched corruption. But in this case, if poker is to have a legal place in the state of Ohio, I think we should try and make it work honestly. Otherwise we are stuck with the current corruption pretending to be honest charitable work.
    Ugliness that pretends to be beautiful is more offensive than ugliness that is honest about its appearance, I think.

    (Wheelman has-been a few places)
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