Phil Gordon has had his ups and downs playing poker in recent years, but he was able to finally win in court. Courthousenews.com reports that Tony DeRosa-Grund, lost an appeal to pay $600,000 to Gordon for lining up fellow pros to play in a scheduled series of poker tournaments against amateur players on CBS called Projo Poker.

Apparently DeRosa-Grund wouldn’t have made an offer to Gordon if he knew that he was a shareholder in Full Tilt Poker, because Gordon had only mentioned he was a consultant. Gordon eventually won summary judgment in January 2008. DeRosa-Grund appealed the decision, saying that the disclosure of Gordon’s ownership in FTP could not have been discovered in time for a new trial. He also said that he found the information about the ownership details from a different 2008 lawsuit filed by a former business partner of Gordon’s. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote stated that lawsuit had no bearing on this case and upheld the judgment, while declining to award Gordon no additional monetary sanctions.

Pete Campana, esq.

We clearly have our first finalist for Best Poker Lawyers ‘09: Pete Campana of Williamsport, PA, successfully defended two clients caught up in an undercover police investigation into a $1/$2 NL game held in a garage (a dealer and a garage operator) on the grounds that they couldn’t have been engaged in any sort of gambling under Pennsylvania law — because poker is a game of skill.

Click here to read the complete ruling. (via PPA-premium.)

But in a nutshell, what Campana convinced successfully convinced the courts:

Commonwealth and Defendant both agree the controlling issue is whether Texas Hold’em poker is “unlawful gambling” under the Crimes Code.

… the controlling sub-issue is whether Texas Hold’em is a game of skill or chance, or, if both, does skill trump chance or vice-versa. Simply, if chance predominates, Texas Hold’em is gambling. If skill predominated, it is not gambling.

… Pennsylvania courts have not specifically addressed the issue … Our courts have found that poker is gambling within the context of the Liquor Code.

… With the advent of internet poker and tournament poker has come a spate of very intrusive law review analyses of gambling law and poker.

… Using the predominance test, in conjunction with analyzing skill versus chance using the four prong dominant factor test, it is apparent that skill predominates over chance in Texas Hold’em poker.

… Skill comes with varying degrees of competence, but that is the case with any competition involving skill.

The academic studies and experts generally agree that a player must be skillful to be successful at poker. At the outset, chance is equally distributed among the players. But the outcome is eventually determined by skill. Successful players must possess intellectual and psychological skills. They must know the rules and the mathematical odds. The must know how to read their opponents “tells” and styles. They must know when to hold and fold and raise. They must know how to manage their money.

This court finds that Texas Hold’em poker is a game where skill predominates over chance. Thus, it is not “unlawful gambling” under the Pennsylvania Crimes Code.

Big Chris the Commenter went to trial yesterday for his presence in the Aces bust in Dallas (June 2006), and he’s requesting an attorney recommendation.

I’ve gone ahead and passed on the name and number of Brady Wyatt, in Dallas, mostly because my fellow high school alum is the one accomplished poker attorney — president-elect of the Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and undefeated in the Jackie’s cases he represented — who’s contact info I had handy. (Brady also played a little nickle-dime-quarter mixed games with me back in the late ’80s/early ’90s.)

I know there are others though, some with even much more experience handling poker cases in Dallas and elsewhere around the country. I figure we might as well start compiling a list … so if you have any poker attorneys to recommend, or if you are one actively taking on poker cases, please let us know here.

UPDATE: The PPA has a litigation support network for its members.

Lee Rousso has handled some of the bigger poker cases out there, most recently online issues in Washington state. We’ll add him to the list.