• Iowa poker tournament specialists are served well in spite of a lack of legal online poker. The World Series of Poker Circuit comes to The Hawkeye State at Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs. Naturally, the Mid-States Poker Tour also comes to the middle of the American Heartland. Satellites to all major events run throughout the calendar year.
• There are 10 poker rooms in the Iowa area, and we at PokerAtlas provide complete and up-to-date information about every room in every location including Des Moines & Central IA, Eastern IA, and Omaha & Western IA.

Think poker would be big in Iowa, they would probably give you a blank stare. Even if this person was from Iowa the resultant response would probably be the same. The state certainly isn’t big on its poker. They do however have a few poker rooms in their casinos and the Texas holdem poker seems alive and well.

READY FOR SOME FUN, FUN, FUN!!

POKER RIDE: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25th.

Rain Date or Back-Up Date (if needed) – Sunday, November 8th

SFHA Poker Horse Trail Ride (open to the public).

Spenceville Wildlife Area – Brushy Creek (off the paved Chuck Yeager Road – southwest of the Waldo Road intersection)

$45.00 entry fee for adults – includes ride + one poker hand + BBQ lunch + goodie bag.

$35.00 entry fee for kids (12 years & under) – includes ride + one poker hand + BBQ lunch + goodie bag.

Non-riders who will be at the event must also complete an entry form, sign the liability form, and pay the entry fee (non-riders will get one hand of poker, the BBQ lunch, and the goodie bag . . . and yes, they will pay the same entry fee amount) and will be included in the total 150 entry maximum. Because of COVID-19, we cannot have anyone at the ride who is not a pre-registered participant.

In addition, everyone has the option to purchase up to 2 extra poker hands (one for $5.00 or two for $10.00) which will increase your chances of winning. In addition to the extra purchased poker hands option, everyone can also wear a Halloween costume or a prior year SFHA poker ride t-shirt, tank top, or sweatshirt and you will get another extra hand of poker for FREE! Sorry, no costume contest this year. The maximum number of hands per person is four (one that comes with your entry + 2 purchased extra hands + 1 FREE hand for wearing a costume or SFHA shirt when you arrive at the table to get your cards opened).

Because of COVID-19, we will not have any SFHA poker ride shirts as an option to purchase this year . . . we will also not have an entry booth so that is why everyone MUST be pre-registered and the liability release form signed prior to arrival. We will have an expedited system when opening the poker cards this year and everyone will be spread out.

Leave for the ride at your leisure anytime between 7:00 and 10:00 a.m. Lunch starts at approximately 12:00 p.m. (will be a “box lunch” type of lunch). Poker prizes awarded at approximately 1:00 p.m. LOTS AND LOTS OF SUPER AWESOME PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED!

SOME OF THE GRAND PRIZES WE HAVE SO FAR – – – more will be added:

TOP PRIZES (best hand/1st choice; 2nd best/2nd choice; 3rd best/3rd choice, etc.):

· HAY – 1 ton of alfalfa cubes or 1 ton of alfalfa hay (20 bales) – winner chooses – donated by White Oak Ranch in Nicolaus.

· HAY– 1 ton of alfalfa (20 bales) donated by Lund Hay in Rio Oso.

· HAY– 1 ton of pasture grass (20 bales) donated by Hofman Hay in Lincoln.

· Ten 50-lb. bags of LMF Horse Feed donated by Douglas Feed and Pet Supply in Granite Bay.

· Donner Lake Village Resort in Truckee – 3 day, 2 night stay.

· Nugget Casino Resort in Sparks – 3 day, 2 night stay.

Wisconsin Poker Runs Motorcycle

· 3-Day Mexico cruise for two donated by Goldrush Getaways in Citrus Heights.

· 2021 Stallion Service – three stallions to choose from: AQHA – Docs Remedy To Win, ApHC – Dream Bud Light Gold (palomino with a white blanket Appaloosa), and ApHC – Bud Light Smokin Doc (bay with a white blanket Appaloosa).

· AND THERE WILL BE LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS MORE PRIZES!! Over 250 prizes were awarded at last year’s poker ride!

Downloads – FLYER + ENTRY FORM + MAP: Poker Ride Flyer

If you do not want to sign up on-line, you can print off the poker ride entry form and mail with a check or money order made payable to: SFHA.

Mail the completed entry form and payment to:

Kim Cristoni
9701 McCourtney Road
Lincoln CA 95648

COME DRESSED IN A HALLOWEEN COSTUME or PRIOR YEAR SFHA POKER RIDE T-SHIRT, TANK TOP, OR HOODED SWEATSHIRT and you will get an EXTRA HAND OF POKER for FREE!

NO COSTUME CONTEST THIS YEAR.

Directions:
Directions from Auburn

Directions from Lincoln (The last 6 miles of these directions is a gravel road.)

This is a DRY CAMP</strong> – no water – bring your own.

EVERY PERSON coming to this ride NEEDS TO BE PRE-ENTERED (this includes extra non-riding people such as spouses, relatives, friends, etc.). No entries will be taken the day of the event. No entry booth. SFHA will be checking in everyone as they are driving in.

Start the ride at your leisure anytime between 7:00 & 10:00 a.m.

Lunch Starts Approximately 12:00 p.m. (will be a “box lunch” type of lunch this year but it will be yummy good!). Lunch is included with every entry (everyone gets to eat).

A Goodie Bag of horse products will be given to every entry (everyone gets a goodie bag).

Poker Prizes Awarded at Approximately 1:00 p.m. Must be present to win!

NOTE: Every person must sign a liability release form prior to the day of the ride. This form is part of the on-line entry (must “X” the box saying “I agree with SFHA COVID-19 Rules & Liability Release and Waiver” which you can click on and read before the site will let you finish checking out – make final payment) and the form is also page 2 of the actual paper version of the entry form (if you are completing your poker ride entry by paper/mail – you will need to make sure you print off the entry form and also the liability form, complete both, and mail both). If the rider is under 18 years of age, a parent or guardian must sign the liability release form indicating acceptance of all responsibility of said minor. All horses ridden on ride or in the area must be entered in this ride – entry form must be filled out and entry fee paid. No refunds will be given. Any and all dogs must be on leash at all times and stay in camp.

More info: Call Kim at 916-276-3033 or send an e-mail: cristonikim@yahoo.com

Iowa does have a considerable amount of regulated gambling, and does restrict legal gambling to what is set forth in the regulations under Title 3, Public Services and Regulation, Subtitle 4, Gambling, of which Chapters 99 through 99G deal with the specific gambling regulations in the state of Iowa. (1)

Michigan Poker Runs

We need not concern ourselves with the specific regulations here as they don’t really apply to poker other than poker that is licensed and regulated by the state, and there are a considerable number of legal live poker rooms in the state, which we will mention later.

What is of not here is that other than explicitly sanctioned gambling, whether it be poker, casino games, bingo, para-mutuel wagering, bingo, raffles, or what have you, these approved forms of gamblingcomprise all of the permitted gambling in Iowa, and all other forms of gambling are deemed illegal, by way of the Iowa Criminal Code.

The crime of “gaming and betting” reads as follows:

“Except as permitted in chapters 99B and 99D, a person shall not do any of the following:
a. Participate in a game for any sum of money or other property of any value.
b. Make any bet.
c. For a fee, directly or indirectly, give or accept anything of value to be wagered or to be
transmitted or delivered for a wager to be placed within or without the state of Iowa.
d. For a fee, deliver anything of value which has been received outside the enclosure of a
racetrack licensed under chapter 99D to be placed as wagers in the pari-mutuel pool or other
authorized systems of wagering.
e. Engage in bookmaking.” (2)

Iowa Doesn’t Mess Around Here With This

So while Iowa doesn’t have a specific definition of gambling, it does outlaw betting or wagering on anything not specifically in accordance with the gambling regulations as set forth in these chapters. So this does serve to provide a lot of clarity, unlike a lot of other states there is no debate as to whether a certain form of betting or wagering is against the law, if it is not permitted specifically in the law then it is against the law.

The penalties in Iowa for illegal gambling are pretty harsh compared to a lot of other states, and the penalties escalate depending on how much money is involved. The least serious offense involves a sum of one hundred dollars or less, although the determination of how this amount is to be counted isn’t made clear.

This involves a serious misdemeanor on the first offense, an aggravated misdemeanor on the second offense, and felony charges for subsequent convictions. The penalties are even harsher for gambling involving higher amounts. All of these offenses involve possible jail time, and the felony charges involve a possible sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment a fine of up to $10,000. (3)

As well, all proceeds of gambling during an arrest for this becomes subject to forfeiture by the state of Iowa, but this is limited to wagers staked, whether this be money or anything else of value that has been wagered or bet. (4)

Of course having harsh laws and enforcing them harshly aren’t necessarily the same thing, and people aren’t being sent to jail in Iowa for merely gambling, although the state does crack down on unauthorized gambling establishments and devices like a lot of states do.

It is still wise to be aware of what the law is of course and all unsanctioned gambling in Iowa, including home games and playing on the internet, is deemed to be a crime and at least potentially risks criminal penalties and forfeiture.

Playing Poker In Iowa

^^ Check out our most trusted poker site for Iowans @ Ignition Poker ^^

Practically speaking, when we are looking at the consequences of actions which may violate laws, we must consider both the legal consequences and the likelihood of conviction. There are two main elements here, the exposure to the risk and the will of the authorities to charge and prosecute for the offense.

For instance if you are gambling in a public place, that obviously involves more exposure than a private game would, although that still may involve some risk. Gambling at home on a computer would involve the least risk, especially if you are not making this known publicly, simply because the authorities would not be aware of the violation even if they wanted to prosecute it.

Then there’s the will to prosecute, and the way to determine that is to look at the history of prosecutions, if something is never being prosecuted then the law may exist basically only on paper and may even serve other functions primarily such as encouraging people to comply and pay fees.

Iowa is actually one of the most liberal states when it comes to gambling regulation, and you can obtain a social gambling license for your establishment or even your home where as long as the stakes are kept fairly small the state has no problem with it provided you qualify and pay the licensing fee. (5)

So it really is more about collecting fees and controlling gambling in this state than going out and looking to throw people in jail for the evils of gambling.

Iowa does have a total of 13 licensed and regulated poker rooms scattered around the state, and the live poker scene there is a pretty lively one. (6).

In addition, in spite of the laws against it, many poker players from Iowa are active in the online poker scene as they perceive the risk as extremely low or even virtually non existent, as do players from a number of other states, due to the complete absence of anyone ever being charged for this.

While we cannot advise you on this or encourage you to do so as well, should you wish to participate in this, we can indeed recommend a couple of very good online poker sites which offer real money play to Iowa residents as well as players from a lot of other states. There are some states which poker sites avoid, but Iowa is fortunately not one of them.

These top sites are Ignition Poker and America’s Cardroom, and should you be interested in learning more, feel free to click on the links we’ve provided to our reviews of them for you.

References:

(1) 2011 Iowa Code, Title 3, Subtitle 4, Gambling.

(2) Iowa Code 2014, Crimes and Punishments, 725-7, Gaming and Betting

(3) Iowa Listing of Common Crimes and Punishments

(4) Iowa Code 2014, Crimes and Punishments, 725-8, Wagers – Forfeiture

(5) 2011 Iowa Code, 3-4-99b

(6) All Live and Online Poker Rooms in Iowa

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