南卡罗来纳州加强反真人扑克法律(2)

　　译文：

　　SOUTH CAROLINA REINFORCES ANTI-POKER LAWS

　　The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that poker is illegal in the state, even if games of poker are organized in the privacy of citizens' homes.

　　The Supreme Court of South Carolina ruled in a six-year old case that poker is illegal in the state. In a 3 to 2 vote, Supreme Court members decided that it's against the law to organize poker events in the state even if they take place in private homes and don't involve large amounts of money.

　　The ruling refers to a six years-old case involving around two dozen individuals who were charged of organizing an "illegal high stakes poker tournament". The "high stakes" poker tournament in question offered a total prize pool of $200.

　　Five of the accused individuals decided to challenge the initial 2006 ruling which in the end was overturned in 2009. However, in 2010 the case reached the Supreme Court of South Carolina that this week decided to overturn the initial 2009 overturning.

　　The Supreme Court explained that the fact the tournament was organized in a private home is irrelevant. Likewise, according to the court the fact that only $200 was as stake is also irrelevant since the organizers of the tournament were charging rake from the prize pool.

　　During the hearing the defendants argued that poker is a game of skill and therefore the state's gambling laws cannot be applied in this case. Again, the Supreme Court ruled that it's irrelevant if poker is a game of skill or a game of chance. What made the tournament illegal was the fact that real money was at stake.

　　The Court explained that "Whether an activity is gaming/gambling is not dependent upon the relative roles of chance and skill, but whether there is money or something of value wagered on the game's outcome."

　　One of the defendants, Bob Chimento commented on the ruling that "they [the Supreme Court] are cowards. They don't have the guts to bring the law into the 21st century." Chimento explained that he already paid his fine long ago and for him the real goal at the heaving was to make sure the state's gambling laws won't be applied on poker anymore in the future.

　　Legal experts argue that South Carolina's gambling laws are some of the most outdated laws in the whole United States. The current gambling laws of the state were adopted in 1802 （！） and effectively illegalize all kinds of games （gambling or not） that involve cards if money is at stake.