Just a technical update, I believe … but courts in South Carolina have officially and full-on thrown out gambling charges against five South Carolinians caught up in a poker raid (that nabbed 20), after having their convictions reversed at least in part on the grounds that poker is a game of skill.
“It is important to note that while we have successfully argued that poker – specifically Texas Hold’em – is a game that is predominantly skill, this does not open the door to any other game found in a casino, since we would agree that every other game found in a casino are unquestionably a game of chance,“ [Greenville Attorney Jeff] Phillips said.
“Although this opinion is a Circuit Court opinion, and thus has no binding authority over other courts in the state, this is a huge victory for the tens of thousands of South Carolina citizens who enjoy the great game of poker. It is our hope that other judges in other counties will see the tremendous logic of this opinion and find it to be persuasive in the cases that come before their courts. Should the Attorney General decide to appeal this decision, the Court of Appeals or Supreme Court will then have the opportunity to make this opinion the law of our state.â€
The South Carolina legislature will likely consider a bill proposed by Senator Glenn McConnell that would make some sense of gambling activities throughout the state.
