Dispute over $2.50 Senior Citizens Games Appears Resolved

Common sense has prevailed in an almost farcical dispute between the gaming commission of a US state and a senior citizens centre over a US$2.50 card games night.

It was originally reported that the Indiana Gaming Commission had ordered the Delaware County Senior Citizens Center to put a stop to the prize element of the euchre games. The games saw prizes including toilet paper, tins of peaches and hand soap given to winners.

The order to close the games, which have been likened to “$5 poker nights with friends”, was met with anger by some of the senior citizens’ relatives, and the story quickly gained headlines in Indiana.

The coverage prompted the state’s Gaming Commission to respond to the backlash which has occurred, denying that there was ever any intention to take any action against the Center. That did not stop Indiana’s Governor, Mike Pence, to put forward his staunch support for the Senior Citizen’s Center, however.

Mr Pence said the euchre games at the Center were not worth using state resources on and that the Commission should use common sense when reviewing any complaints against the games.

The decision to not take any further action against the games is likely to bring a big sigh of relief from its regular players, some of whom have been playing them at the Delaware County Center for as long as 15 years.

While the dispute defines making a mountain out of a molehill, there are some positive signs to be seen for poker and other similar forms of gaming.

Firstly, it shows that there is a general acceptance of gaming that may not have seen just decades ago. The reaction of the players’ relatives, the state Governor and the general population show that most people rightly believe that low stakes gaming is harmless and should not be adversely interfered with.

It also shows that lawmakers are willing to use common sense in situations that obviously call for it.

This is something that could benefit the pro-online poker lobby against the relentless efforts to ban online poker in the US, given that many online poker games and events are also low stakes.

Photo: heraldnet.com