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Copyright 2005 WorldNow and WISH-TV

November 21, 2005

HEADLINE:
Poker Parties - Part 2 (see Poker Parties - Part 1)

Body:
This week Indiana lawmakers and researchers from Purdue will meet to talk about families and gambling.

One sure topic will be poker and its tremendous popularity among young Hoosiers.

Though the law may not allow it a teenage player can find a game every night in every town in central Indiana.

Noon on a Sunday on Indy's east side, 7 high school friends with time to kill between church and a school play stroll in, sit down, and shuffle up.

Brothers Michael and Tyler Key host the party

"How much did you throw in?" one of brothers ask.

"I'm risking it all," the poker player answered.

All in this case means a $5 buy-in, "no-limit" style.

By party's end, 6 players will walk away down one Lincoln. A single winner will rake them all in.

"I've heard of $50 buy-ins and $100 buy-ins. Mostly they'll do $20 buy-ins, but those are people with jobs, too," Tyler Key explained.

Small stakes or big bucks you don't have to search far for inspiration.

ESPN's events and a half dozen similar shows are in regular rotation on cable TV. They've made celebrities out of career gamblers.

"I like Hellmuth cause he just knows the game so well. He knows everything so when something doesn't go his way he acts up. I think it's funny and stuff," Tyler said.

If TV tournaments sparked the craze cardmakers, chipsellers even publishers happily feed it.

A few years ago, poker took a small stretch of shelf space at local retailer, The Game Preserve, now it commands entire display cases.

"I don't know, maybe 10, 20 times the amount of poker chips we used to," The store owner told News 8. "People want them to be heavier, fancier, have their initials on them, things like that."

Tyler and Michael's basement game reflects both trends. The players use a set of chips that retails for a hundred dollars and bears the brand of the most famous TV tournament.

It's all evidence of a booming business and in the view of poker parents, a fairly safe way for teenagers to spend time.

"You want your teenagers to be home. They're not out driving, you know who they're with and they're spending less than they would to go to a movie and they're in your house," Gayle Key told News 8.

Critics of young gambling disagree.

"I'm a grandparent, and I'd no sooner teach them to play poker than buy them a bottle of scotch or a line of cocaine. They are that closely related," teen gambling critic Bruce Roberts explained.

"When we've got immature brains who don't have a lot of rational thinking going on, that level of excitement and stimulation of the brain is about a 4 times greater chance for young kids to develop a problem," George Brenner said.

The law could also be a problem though local prosecutors see it many ways.

Marion County's view is that money games of any age are clearly on the wrong side of the law and subject to charges.

Your best bet, don't deal cards for dollars here.

Hamilton County's opinion is that the games probably violate the letter of the law but chasing down small stakes games would be a poor use of time and resources.

Call this a wild card, whether you gamble may depend on your conscience allows it because the law probably will.

Delaware County represents a more permissive approach. The Prosecutor is on the record as viewing home poker as a game of skill not chance thus not subject to gambling laws.

Local gamblers say poker is all aces here.

"If the powers that be decided that this was a major issue and they were gonna crack down then we would stop," Steve Key said.

"If she said no, I'm sure I could find somewhere to do it," Tyler Key said.

Tyler Key talks tough, but one gets the sense he has sense and would stop if ordered.

There's no way to say for sure, though. Which is why mom and dad Key say they'll always keep close tabs.

"You trust 'em, but you also have to keep tabs on what they're doing," they added.

No one has done a definitive study on teenage gambling but several counselors call it an "80-15-5" equation. They say 80 percent of young players will never have a gambling problem, 15 percent may develop some issues and 5 percent will become addicted.

While gambling advocates may disagree with the estimates, they agree that some people will have problems.

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