Knox County Bars and Restaurants Told to Stop Poker Tournaments
The poker gaming community is worried about the fact that Knox County bars and restaurants are no longer running poker tournaments. Many of them want to know the reasons for this. It has already been confirmed that Knox County bars and restaurants such as Stillhouse Tavern, Bucket Head Tavern, and Bailey’s Sports Grille no longer hold poker tournaments.
According to a couple of dealers, the sheriff’s office has declared the games to be illegal. Paul Zolkowski, owner of Bailey’s Sports Grille, who used to run poker tournaments for the past 10 years, says that he was ordered to stop running the games three months back. He also says that he does not know the reasons for this, but hopes that he will be able to run poker tournaments again.
He said: “Someone with the sheriff’s department walked into Bailey’s and told Bailey’s what they are doing was illegal and it needed to stop.” Speaking about the poker tournaments, he said that players did not have to risk anything of value to take part in them. He said: “At the end, they would get gift cards from Bailey’s or different prizes that they could win from Bailey’s but they didn’t have to pay to get in. People enjoyed just getting together enjoying a common interest.”
Sean McDermott, the assistant district attorney, said that gambling is defined in Tennessee as risking “something that’s worth something to you and whether or not you win is based on chance.”
According to McDermott, the sheriff’s office is currently investigating several gambling-related crimes. He said: “I’ve known of occasions where they go in and tell the bar owner, ‘If I come back and I see this activity going on we are going to have a different conversation. I’m going to take your chips and your tables with me.’”
Lewis Leach, who used to work as dealer in Still House Tavern as well as Bucket Head Tavern, said that both places stopped holding poker tournaments recently. He is of the opinion that the bars and restaurants are not breaking any law because nobody profits from the tournaments.
Although dealers say that the sheriff’s office has been warning the bars and restaurants to stop running poker tournaments, the sheriff’s office says it has done nothing of the sort. Sheriff J. J. Jones, however, has issued a statement that assures the establishments that they don’t have to worry about getting visits from the sheriff’s office as long as they comply with the laws of the state.
While the dealers do not want to have anything to do with illegal gambling, they definitely want to hold poker tournaments in a legal manner. They also want the sheriff’s office to inform them how exactly they can do so. Besides, they want to know why some establishments have been warned not to hold poker tournaments while other establishments are permitted to do so.
While the sheriff’s office continues to state that it has not forced any establishment to stop organizing poker tournaments, it has not released any other information.
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