POKER
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Keep your gambling
‘social’ and you’ll stay
clear of the cops
IT'S SUNDAY night in Kaimuki, and a small group of friends is getting together to play a little poker.
Green felt is laid out on a table, cards are dealt, chips fly and at the end of the night, a couple of players end up walking away with more money than they started with.
As one of the winners stands up to leave, he peels off a $20 bill from his winnings and hands it over to the friend who hosted the game.
"To help pay for the food and drinks," he says, motioning toward pupu on another table nearby.
In terms of state law, up until this point there was nothing illegal about the poker game. But according to the Honolulu Police Department's Lt. Walter Ozeki, once a player spends some of his winnings on something as innocuous as food and drink, technically, he's turned the friendly game into a criminal activity.
According to Ozeki, who supervises the gambling detail in HPD's narcotics/vice division, "there really is no reason the person who is running or sponsoring the game should be collecting money for anything, other than the wagers themselves."
In Hawaii it is possible to engage in certain forms of gambling, provided no one makes a profit. The term used by HPD and defined by state law is "social gambling," and participants should be mindful of elements that would cross the line into illegal gambling.
By definition, gambling comprises three elements: consideration, chance and reward. A player must pay some sort of fee to take part in the action, the game must be one of chance and all players compete for some sort of reward.
To keep the game legal, Ozeki says participants must compete on equal terms and cannot receive anything of value or profit, other than their winnings.
"In other words, they can't charge fees to enter the game," he said. "That would include charging for food, drinks, service, whatever."
The law referring to social gambling also prohibits gaming "in or at a hotel, motel, bar, nightclub, cocktail lounge, restaurant, massage parlor, billiard parlor or any business establishment of any kind, public parks, public buildings, public beaches, school grounds, churches or any other public area."
And forget about letting the keiki play for their lunch money -- the law also states that all participants must be at least 18.
The best strategy for the next time you're heading to poker night at someone's house? Pick up some food and drinks to share with your friends before you get to the party.
"Bring something along," Ozeki says. "Then I don't see a problem with it.
"If they're following the law, in terms of it being social gambling, then it's not something we even care to address. ... As long as it's legal in Hawaii, we're not going to take any action."
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