Bar owners upset over debut of Argosy poker pit

Bar owners upset over debut of Argosy poker pit 01/17/05 2theadvocate.com staff From a report by WBRZ's Ken Pastorick Baton Rouge's Argosy Casino debuted its new poker pit on Monday after taking a seven-year hiatus from the card game. But some local bars are crying foul because the state has been moving toward shutting down their poker games. In a time when Texas Hold'em is sweeping the nation thanks to national broadcasts of the game by ESPN and Fox Sports Net, Argosy Casino decided to get back into the action by providing seven 10-player poker tables on the third deck of its casino riverboat. "Texas Hold'em is a lot more exciting, significantly faster, and, as you can get more hands out per hour, it becomes a little bit more profitable for an operation like ours," said Argosy General Manager Frank Quigly. Owners of local bars like The Rack have been hosting poker tournaments several times each week in the last six months. But state authorities have begun shutting down poker games at bars, and owners are wondering why the casinos are getting their chance. "We don't have any money coming out of the pot to pay for lighting or to pay for the tables, or to pay the one gentleman that actually takes the money and does the list," said Marion Willett, manager of The Rack. "The dealers are all independent volunteers." While The Rack does not take a cut off the pot, Argosy collects a 10 percent cut up to $4 per hand. For this reason bar owners feel they have a legal right to host poker tournaments.