MR. PLEASANT, SC (AP) -- Five men seeking to make a popular poker game legal in South Carolina are appealing their gambling convictions.
The players' attorney, Jeff Phillips, told The Post and Courier of Charleston that the men hope their appeals will highlight problems with an 1802 state law that, read literally, makes any game of chance with cards or dice illegal.
A Mount Pleasant municipal court judge agreed with the players' argument that the Texas Hold 'em poker game hinges on skill, but still found them guilty of illegal gambling. They were ordered to pay a $262 fine for the misdemeanor tickets.
The men were arrested after a 2006 raid on a poker game that organizers said was played casually among friends but prosecutors characterized as a for-profit gambling operation.
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