South Carolina Lawmaker Seeks to Legalize Home Poker Games

South Carolina gambling rules may be about to change.

One of South Carolina's state lawmakers is in the process of drafting legislation that would allow in-house poker games in the state.

Under the legislation that is now being drafted by Rep. Wallace Scarborough, poker games would be permitted, given that they are played under the category "recreational activity".

The bill would be one of the components of the state's effort to try and update South Carolina's gaming laws, which have been in place for 200 years. According to analysts, the state's laws technically make card and dice games illegal, even common forms of board games like Monopoly.

The new proposal on poker comes after a 28-year old man named Nathan Stallings was charged with operating a gambling establishment in a raid on Mount Pleasant. Stallings plead guilty and lost $747 in fines and court costs, yet he was able to avoid jail time.

Stallings' poker games regularly took place in his home, but were advertised on an internet site, drawing in more poker players from the area. Players who liked to participate would pay $20, and Stallings would get a percentage of that buy-in.

18 of the poker players present during the raid are seeking jury trials. According to them, the move is an attempt to replace the state's anti-poker laws.

January 21, 2007
Jeremy Evans