Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2007

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Police lay it down on Nova Scotia poker host

By Erin Warner

A Nova Scotia bar owner says he plans to fight charges of allowing illegal gaming on his premises "all the way." Police issued the seldom-laid charge last week in the Atlantic-Canadian town of Truro.

Kevin Dawe, the owner of Calico's Lounge, is charged with violating the province's Liquor Control Act after hosting Texas Hold'em tournaments to draw customers.

Officers are currently investigating a spate of illegal poker games in the province, mostly Hold'em tournaments offered by pubs and businesses, police announced last month.

Provincial law requires anyone hosting a poker game outside a casino to apply for a permit from Nova Scotia's alcohol and gaming regulator.

The government department sent a letter to the 1,600 licensed liquor establishments across the province in January, detailing why games of chance with money at stake aren't allowed to take place where alcohol is sold, with the exception of casinos and VLTs, reports the Halifax Chronicle Herald.

A police spokesman said after Calico's Lounge was informed of the regulations, officers investigated the pub for illegal gambling and decided to lay a charge under the liquor licensing section of the Liquor Control Act.

Nonetheless, Dawe told the Chronicle Herald he isn't going away without a fight.

"The games should really be under my entertainment license," he said. "I don't make any money off these games - just off the liquor."

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