"Token Liberal" on the Virginia Lottery

Here is a guest post from a friend who will be known from this point forward as Token Liberal. He's a fair and decent person despite his politics. Shocking I know. Let's just say he's the Colmes to my Hannity:

Anyone watching the final four last night could not help but watch ads for the Virginia lottery’s “newest scratcher,” 5 card no-limit texas holdem. http://www.valottery.com/scratchers/scratcher_detail.asp?GameID=654

This despite the fact that:

state law forbids all gambling in Virginia, with four exemptions:
• bingo and raffles held by charitable organizations;
• the state lottery;
• off-track pari-mutuel betting;
• and games held in private homes.

Poker is not outlawed by state statute, Christman said, but playing it for money anywhere but at a private residence is illegal.

http://www.vachiefs.org/vacp/news/2004-09-12.html

In fact, a weekly game played by 150 of the state’s finest was shut down by the Virginia Beach Commonwealth Attorney, despite the fact the police officer that organized the event did not take any cut off of the winnings (in other words everything that was paid in was paid out). http://www.vachiefs.org/vacp/news/2004-09-12.html

I have always had mixed feelings about state run lotteries. I am not convinced by arguments that they prey on the poor (studies, albeit ones by lottery companies, show that the rich are just as likely to play), and without lotteries many state’s education budgets would be even more underfunded then they already are. My beef with the lottery has always been that the state is profiting from something that is illegal, something that is illegal because the state believes it to be “immoral.” But my ambivalent feelings quickly turned to rage last night, as I watched the state profit off of a game of skill that I am prevented from playing in a public place. If it is a Tuesday night, and my friends aren’t playing, or I want to play in a tournament, my only option is to drive 5 hours to Atlantic City. Or I guess I can now spend 5 dollars at my local grocery store. The lottery isn’t preying on the poor, but is preying on the millions of Virginians that are prevented from playing any form of organized poker that is not sponsored by the state of Virginia. If texas hold-em is immoral, it should be illegal-and we shouldn’t have a scratcher. If it is not, I should be able to play at my local rotary club, favorite bar, or anywhere else that is sponsoring a tournament on one of the few nights I have free, especially if they pay out everything that comes in. One would think that some state delegate would like their name on a bill that allows millions to play a game that thousands of Virginians would like to play (and do play regardless).