New York Poker Club Loses Court Battle

A poker club in New York lost a court battle yesterday, as the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals rejected their argument that a recreational poker club would be considered protected assembly under First Amendment law. The club, which was located in the upstate New York town of Wallkill, hosted Texas Hold’em tournaments on a regular basis.

The poker club, named AK Tournament Play, began operation in 2007 – much to the chagrin of town officials, who apparently began attempting to shut the club down immediately. The first attempt to condemn some of the space they were using was unsuccessful, but club officials said that the town continued to use “threatening and coercive conduct” in an attempt to close the club.

At one point, the club had as many as 130 members. However, membership dwindled as the town’s aggressive attempts to shut the facility down continued, and the club eventually became inactive.

It appears as though the main argument used by lawyers for the club was that the association of club members should qualify as at least “minimal First Amendment activity,” and that these activities should be protected under US law. However, the appellate court disagreed.

“Even assuming arguendo that there might be some circumstances under which a poker club’s activities could involve sufficiently expressive or political content to merit protection under the First Amendment, plaintiff’s conclusory and vague complaint fails to set out facts from which a court could draw that conclusion here,” stated the court’s ruling, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Jeffrey A. Hoerter, a lawyer representing the poker club, reaffirmed his belief that the club should have legal protections. However, he admitted that it was unlikely that the club would seek a review of the decision in a higher court.