December 21, 2005
Recently, one San Jose organization came under the scrutiny of state pokerparty law and had to cancel their fundraiser for a local library. The Almaden Business Association was set to raise between $8,000 to $10,000 for the worthy cause but was stopped short when they received notification from the state that they tournament was illegal.
The threat of legal action is beginning to set in for numerous groups as the penalties are severe for the organizer of the events. According to the law, these charitable souls could face one year in jail and a $5000 fine.
Since the craze took hold, the average age of a poker party.com face has been dropping. Some of its most fervent followers can't even work up a five o'clock shadow. Yet they sit around tables -- from professional mahogany ones to lunchroom benches -- shifting chips and becoming schooled in the art of the bluff.
In a recent Mercury News article, Rich De La Rosa, a member of the business association, claimed the PokerParty players law is unfair and unrealistic. "It's not just our organization doing it. Churches, schools, even sheriff's associations, you name it, just about everybody - they have a charity casino night, a poker party night or a Texas Hold'em night and all of those are illegal based on the Department of Justice's interpretation of the law."
In an informal survey, the Advance found that only one out of 30 high school students didn't count the game among their favorite extra-curricular activities.And it doesn't stop there; a sixth grader from Paulo Intermediate School, Huguenot, said he plays with his friends between classes and before homeroom.
"All my friends play at PokerParty.com," said Mike, a senior at Tottenville High School. Mike tried to think of one person he knew that didn't, and failed.
Only "the corns, the nerds," don't play, said Larry Favorito, 16, of Curtis High School. Favorito plays pokerparty.com every day at lunch, usually hiding the money under the table when he sees a teacher approach. And despite the blatant violation of the Department of Education's discipline code, there are so many lunch time games that the cafeteria sometimes resembles a furtive casino. Favorito also said that twice teachers have "thrown down" money.
Curtis High School and the Department of Education did not respond to requests for comment on the fad.
