Court overturns sentence for illegal poker club

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This article was published 13/04/2011 (5412 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg businessman caught running a black-market poker game will no longer bear the burden of a criminal record.

Livio Foianesi was one of 63 people arrested in 2007 as part of a major crackdown on illegal Texas Hold’em tournaments in the city. The vast majority were players found at various tables. Foianesi pleaded guilty to keeping a common gaming house and was given a $14,000 fine, which automatically registers as a conviction.

Foianesi, 46, had been seeking a conditional discharge, arguing his ability to travel and conduct business would be greatly impacted by any other sanction. He took his case to the Manitoba Court of Appeal, which overturned the original sentence this week on the grounds it is too harsh. However, he still has to forfeit $2,300 in cash seized by police, pay a $2,000 victim surcharge and perform 150 hours of community-service work.

The appeal court said the fact this is believed to be the first case of its kind in Manitoba in at least 50 years is a sign the crime isn’t in need of widespread deterrence. They also noted the amount of publicity that followed the initial raids and arrests four years ago appears to have sent the required message.

“Since the arrests, there has not been a single prosecution for common gaming house-related offences,” Justice Richard Chartier wrote in his decision. “Should this type of offence begin to re-emerge, sentences may have to be harsher in order to address its increasing prevalence.”

Chartier described Foianesi as an otherwise law-abiding citizen who wasn’t trying to flout the law but simply misunderstood it while trying to share his “love of the game” with others by starting up the club.

“Indeed, he is an accomplished poker player who has travelled in the United States and Europe to play the game,” said Chartier. “The accused’s illegal conduct morphs into a lawful activity when it is conducted under the auspices of government control.”

Winnipeg’s poker community was in an uproar after police seized almost $25,000 from the three locations raided. Two were card clubs in the Corydon Avenue area and a third was a condo in Tuxedo. A fourth location was also raided on Pembina Highway, but it was closed so police only seized poker chips and a computer.

Police said they began targeting unlicensed Texas Hold’em poker tournaments in 2006 after the Manitoba Gaming Control Commission received several complaints about unapproved games.

Texas Hold’em has exploded in popularity in the past several years, with TV tournaments rivalling traditional sport events. Online poker’s popularity is also through the roof. Some players seem to mistakenly believe that if poker is legal on the Internet and on TV, it must also be legal in a live game in a card club.

It’s not always. MGCC spokeswoman Elizabeth Stephenson said poker games have to be licensed in Manitoba by the MGCC to ensure fairness and that proceeds are going to worthy causes, like churches or legions. Morals unit Sgt. Kerry Baldwin told the Free Press police launched Project Kaleidoscope to pinpoint the who’s who of live Texas Hold’em games in Winnipeg.

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