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9th Circuit won't let Coeur d'Alene Tribe offer poker games

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

The Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort Hotel in Worley, Idaho. Photo from Facebook

The Coeur d'Alene Tribe has lost a big gaming battle with the state of Idaho.

The tribe started offering Texas Hold’em at the Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort in May 2014. The state responded with a lawsuit in federal court, arguing that poker games aren't authorized by Idaho Constitution or the Class III gaming compact.

The tribe sought to dismiss the case, believing the games to fall into the Class II category. A federal judge disagreed and determined that Texas Hold’em games aren't allowed in Idaho.

The tribe then asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to take up the dispute. But a three-judge panel ruled against the tribe in a unanimous decision issued today, again determining that poker is not allowed under state law.

Indianz.Com SoundCloud: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Oral Arguments in State of Idaho v. Coeur d'Alene Tribe

"Though skill undoubtedly plays a role in Hold’em, the game does not qualify for the statutory exemption for bona fide contests of skill, speed, strength or endurance," Judge Michael Daly Hawkins wrote for the majority. "A contrary reading would impermissibly place the statute in conflict with the constitution’s prohibition on poker."

Since Texas Hold'em is a Class III game, the court said the tribe can be sued in federal court for violating the Class III gaming compact. The agreement waives the tribe's immunity, Hawkins wrote in the decision.

The ruling doesn't have much of an immediate impact because the tribe stopped offering Texas Hold'em games under an injunction that was issued last September. But it comes as the tribe remains locked in another battle with the state over electronic games at non-Indian facilities. That case is pending before the Idaho Supreme Court.

The tribe could ask the 9th Circuit for a rehearing if it wanted to offer Texas Hold'em again. Or it could ask the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case.

Turtle Talk has posted briefs from the case, Idaho v. Coeur d’Alene Tribe.

Get the Story:
9th Circuit upholds injunction against Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s Texas Hold ’em tournaments (The Idaho Statesman 7/22)
9th Circuit rules against CdA Tribe on poker (The Spokesman Review 7/22)
Supreme Court agrees to allow Leroy to offer arguments in instant racing case (The Spokesman-Review 7/22)

9th Circuit Decision:
Idaho v. Coeur d'Alene Tribe (July 22, 2015)