Pennsylvania attorney continues to argue for poker as skill game
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Pennsylvania lawyer and poker enthusiast Lawrence J. Burns continued to press his case for poker as a game of skill before the Pennsylvania courts this week in a hearing where Burns sought the return of cash and property that had been seized from him by state authorities.
The items seized, including books and over $10,000 in cash, were taken from Burns during raids on his home and tournament sites that stemmed from investigation of for-profit poker tournaments run by Burns.
In the hearing this week, Burns argued that since poker was a skill game, he hadn’t violated any law by running the tournaments, and therefore should have his property returned. District Attorney John Peck disagreed. “Whether you win or lose, it’s based essentially in the cards you are dealt and that’s by chance,” Peck said. “It meets the definition of gambling.”
Burns and prosecutors reached an arrangement whereby Burns received the money and book seized from his home in exchange for Burns dropping his request to receive the portion of the money seized from an actual tournament site.
The preliminary hearing on Burns’ criminal charges is expected to occur in November.
