Poker Anorak / Editor / 16 May 2008 /

HANDS up who thought the Poker Players' Alliance would overturn Washington State's ban on playing online poker for money?

So that's - none of you. Well, have we got news for you...

You were' right!

Playing online poker is still a Class C felony.

Other Class C felonies in the state of Washington include: possessing child pornography, stalking, drive by shootings, threatening the governor, family abandonment, heroin possession, unauthorized abortions or committing grand theft auto.

Playing poker might not make you a gun-toting pervert, but it will put you in their company. It's a Class C felony, punishable by five years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.

"The state loves gambling, it's a gigantic business. It's just the state protecting its turf," says Lee Rousso, the PPA's man in the dock. "The turf he refers to is the state-sponsored lottery, Indian casinos and horse racing where the state gets money directly and indirectly."

"The politicians are dictating what you can do in the privacy of your own home. It makes it look like a pretty backward place," says poker pro Barry Greenstein.

Meanwhile in North Carolina, 14 people have been busted for playing poker for money at home.

Such is life in the land of the free...

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