I know that it is illegal to host large poker games across America and some places like Oklahoma even go as far as to declare it a potential felony to host any type of game where money is exchanged.  So naturally authorities are going to keep cracking down on those who host the games (especially if they’re taking a rake) and, in many cases, those who play in them too.  But do authorities really need to be raiding bars and such that are located out in the middle of nowhere?

I recently saw where a poker game in the small town of Castalia, Ohio was raided by police after it was suspected a bar was running illegal tournaments.  Sure enough, all of the hard police work paid off and the bar was indeed holding illegal poker games as authorities confiscated $5,000 in cash, poker chips, and other gambling supplies.  In short, C & C’s Cold Creek Pub won’t be holding poker tournaments any time soon.

But to raid a bar in Castalia, Ohio – which has a population of under 2,000 people – goes a little far in my opinion.  Sure, the owners were probably getting some rake off of the games and the players were doing a little betting in the tournaments, but what else do people in a town of this size have to do?  Is robbing them of a venue to play poker tournaments really going to make any major impact in America’s war against gambling?

I think not and all the authorities really did in this situation was rob the residents of Castalia of a popular pastime.  Now I certainly understand raiding huge games where the hosts are taking big cuts off of the players and not paying taxes to the government.  But in the case of Castalia, Ohio, I don’t understand this raid at all.