November 3, 2011: DOJ Calls Poker a ‘Game of Chance’
Back in November, the Department of Justice committed, what poker players would call, a pretty big tell when they let slip their opinion that poker is a game of skill, not a game of chance. If you’re thinking this line of thinking sounds like something straight out of Poker Players Alliance press release, you’re not alone.
The DOJ’s move was all the more puzzling because it came shortly after a DOJ prosecutor’s voiced the exact opposite opinion in a 51-page indictment of Black Friday figure John Campos. Rather than backing up their argument with the reams of statistical analysis from mathematicians like poker advocates have been using, the DOJ backed their argument with lyrics from Kenny Rogers’ hit song, The Gambler.