This is all we needed from Arizonas Gaming Department. A response. Now we should be safe to begin offering poker tournaments in bars and restaurants. -------------------------------------------- Thank you Ms. Momich. The fact that we asked before proceeding should be sufficient evidence that there was no criminal intent, should your agency or any other take umbrage. Our attorneys have given us the thumbs up, pending any response from ADG or AG offices. John -------------------------------------------- On Tue, 8/12/14, Jelena Momich wrote: Subject: RE: Petition for statement/letter/affirmation re: ARS 13-3301(1)(d)(iv) poker contest To: jschnaub@yahoo Date: Tuesday, August 12, 2014, 9:26 AM Dear Mr. Schnaubelt: We are in receipt of your August 5, 2014 email correspondence seeking an “umbrage/no umbrage” statement regarding proposed gambling activities. Your email was also transmitted to the Consumer Protection and Advocacy Section of the Attorney General’s Office who forwarded it to us (ADG). Your Email states: “We are not seeking a legal opinion or legal advice. I am seeking a statement that says ADG takes no umbrage in our proposed activity, or, in the converse, that the department does take umbrage in the proposed activity.” Although you state that you are not seeking a legal opinion or advice, your request for an ADG determination whether the Department takes “umbrage” or not can only be interpreted as a request for a legal opinion as to its legality under A.R.S. 13-3301(1)(d)(iv). As you must know by now, given your numerous attempts to illicit such opinions, ADG is not authorized to provide them. Only the Attorney General is authorized to issue legal opinions upon request of “the legislature, or either house or any member thereof, and any public officer of the state or a county attorney”. See, A.R.S. 41-193(A)(7). In addition, Public Officers may not “relay” a constituent request for an opinion to benefit a private individual. See, Ariz. Op. Atty. Gen. No. I78-81 (Ariz. A.G. 1978). Regardless of any concerns that ADG might have regarding your “amusement gambling” scheme, we are simply not authorized to give advisory opinions. We suggest you consult your attorney to ascertain its legality before implementation in possible violation of Arizona gambling law. Sincerely, Jelena -----Original Message----- From: John Schnaubelt [mailto:jschnaub@yahoo] Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2014 9:08 AM To: Jelena Momich; Gary Vigneault; Darren Baldwin; Rudy Casillas; Courtney Coolidge Cc: [email protected] Subject: Petition for statement/letter/affirmation re: ARS 13-3301(1)(d)(iv) poker contest Dear Ms. Momich, et. al. As the State regulatory and enforcement agency for all gambling-related activity, I am petitioning the State gaming department for a letter/affirmation that no umbrage is taken in a poker tournament conducted pursuant to A.R.S. 13-3301(1)(d)(iv) as detailed below. While not required, such letter/affirmation will help us to secure liquor-licensed venues in which to conduct our lawful poker contests. We have spoken to several attorneys who have advised us that the contest appears to lawfully comply with the statutory requirements for amusement gambling, but we have been advised us to seek an affirmative statement or, in the alternative, injunctive relief from the gaming department or a declaratory judgment on our behalf from a court of proper jurisdiction. Statutory Compliance TPR poker tournaments are played primarily for the social interaction, entertainment, and amusement of the members of the Tecumseh Federation and the general public that want to play professionally dealt, traditional poker tournaments in public places such as sports bars and restaurants. Participants of the contest do not need to be members of the Tecumseh Federation, but do need to have a valid ID showing they are of a legal age (21+). The contest is open to the general public. All players actively participate in the poker tournament, which is not in the control to any material degree of any person other than the players. As a not-for-profit organization conducts the contest, the lure analysis fails. In fact, TPR and the Tecumseh Federation both operate as co-operatives, where every member can freely be an equal owner with equal vote. TPR has an arms-length relationship with any commercial venue in which we contract to conduct our contests. TPR pays the venue a fee for space rental within their facility. TPR provides all equipment and personnel necessary to conduct the contest. Poker is predominantly a game of skill, as District Judge Jack B. Weinstein ruled in August 2013 in USA v. DiCristina, New York Eastern District Court, Case No. 1:11-cr-00414. While the not guilty verdict was overturned on appeal, the matter of the predominance of the skill factor in poker was not challenged. TPR will obtain all state and local business, TPT, and special licenses (if any) required to conduct amusement poker contests. TPRs part-time staff members (dealers and tournament directors) are paid as employees by a third party payroll service. Lee Hill, Arizona Liquor Board, has provided a statement that no rule or law prohibits excluded gambling activities from being conducted in licensed establishments. During the tournament, which will typically have a $50 buyin with a $10 dealer appreciation addon, players win a ticket (or other marker) for every single hand/pot they win. Regardless of the number of wins, the winner of the tournament (1st place) will be able to exchange all of their tickets for an ipad or similar merchandise prize with a wholesale fair market value of not greater than five hundred fifty (550) dollars. Additional prizes for second through fourth or fifth place may also be awarded, but none of the prizes will exceed the new cap allowed pursuant to ARS 13-3301(1)(d)(iv), The Dave & Busters Clause. Immediately following the award of such merchandise prizes, TPR will conduct a public auction for the items. The tournament director is authorized by the co-operative members to start the bidding at the stated wholesale fair market value. Unredeemed tickets have no value. There are no prizes offered for single tickets. Tickets are good only on the day of the event. TPR has also considered treating individual tickets as a bounty in the tournament, meaning, if player A wins all of player Bs tournament chips, they would also win their collection of tickets. The law appears gray in this respect: ...no benefit for a single win is given to the player or players other than a merchandise prize which has a wholesale fair market value of less than four (4) dollars *or coupons* which are redeemable only at the place of play and only for a merchandise prize which has a fair market value of less than four (4) dollars and. As *coupons* is plural, meaning more than one coupon can be won for a single win, which is certainly the case in terms of playing Skee•Ball at Chuck E. Cheeses or Dave Busters. But we realize that any response to this confusion would likely be considered “legal advice or opinion” but we would be interested to know if any umbrage is taken in either event, regardless. Background Organization Founded in 2011, The Tecumseh Federation is a not-for-profit grassroots movement that seeks to educate, create awareness and enact change in public policy reflecting a belief that the Bureau of Indian Affairs should be dismeantled, and Native Americans granted fee simple title to their ancestral lands and management of their own trust responsibility, and that the patently offensive Indian Removal Act of 1830 should be repealed or removed from the record. In 2012, some members of the Tecumseh Federation have started a subsidiary not-for-profit organization called The Poker Revolution (TPR). TPR has been created to provide poker players with an alternative to BIA reservation casino poker games. These members have a personal ethos that prevents them from patronizing BIA casinos in Arizona, believing that such patronage furthers the continued genocidal policies of the federal government against Native Americans by empowering and funding the Bureau of Indian Affairs and those tribal governments besotted with the BIA. In 2013, TPR filed an amusement gambling exclusion pursuant to ARS 13-3301(1)(d)(iii) with the Attorney General’s office. Within 30 days of filing, we received a notice letter stating that while the office was not able to provide legal advice or opinions, they felt the contest, as described, did not comply with the amusement gambling requirements. In 2014, TPR filed a new amusement gambling exclusion pursuant to ARS 13-3301(1)(d)(iii) with the Attorney General’s office. No notice letter for this registration has been received, and it has been past 30 days since filing. We are not seeking a legal opinion or legal advise. I am seeking a statement that says that the ADG takes no umbrage in our proposed activity, or, in the converse, that the department does take umbrage in the proposed activity. TPR plans to begin operation of our contest in several sports bars and grills as soon as possible, and definitely by Q4 2014. Thus, a prompt response is appreciated. Thank you, John Schnaubelt The Poker Revolution co-founder The Tecumseh Federation co-founder jschnaub@yahoo 480-694-7292 cc: Arizona Attorney Generals Office Maricopa County Attorneys Office (via web foam)
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 19:55:19 +0000