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The Battalion
Page 3 • Monday, March 22, 2004
♦♦♦V What happens in Vegas...
Gambling not strictly limited to Sin City; Aggies ante up in town, on campus
B
By Jimmy Hissong
THE BATTALION
ryan Jolly, a freshman general studies
major, entrusts a small fortune to the
click of a mouse and the glare of a
computer monitor.
“Between the swings Fve lost as much as
DO and won as much as $2,000,” Jolly said.
Fueled by endless late-night television cover-
:,the growing interest in gambling has
reached a whole new stake level. Everyone from
movie celebrities to college students has been
bitten by the betting bug.
For many gambling enthusiasts, the only
true game is poker with an emphasis on the
game Texas Hold ‘Em. Hold ‘Em is the icon of
the poker syndicate hailed by ESPN's Poker
irld Series and the Travel Channel’s Poker
irld Tour.
Hold ‘Em and other poker games can be read
ily found online, in most casinos or in the study
lounge of most residence halls between the hours
of 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.
“Games are pretty easy to find. People are
always talking about poker. I’ll hear them all the
time in class or around campus,” said Greg
Davidson, a junior English major. “All you usu
ally have to do to play is ask. Everyone is
always looking for one more player.”
With most traditional poker games, the more
players involved and the more money invested,
the more interesting the game is. And money is,
of course, an excellent motivation to play.
“It’s all about numbers,” Jolly said. “The
more people you have, the bigger the pot gets. I
, it’s fun to sit around and talk to a lot of
people, but it’s more fun to take their money.”
However, the money swings and changes are
far surpassed by the emotional ups and downs,
which are the real reason most players claim to
play, The emotional elation experienced while
dragging a gigantic stack of chips in the winner’s
direction is paralleled only by the pitfalls of dis
tress expressed by the loser.
Thate losing, but it happens,” said John
Wahrenberger, a senior civil engineering major.
“I guess it’s just money.”
In “no-limit” games, where there is no limit to
the amount of money a player is able to wager on
a single hand, the emotional ante is raised ten
fold, Davidson said. Stacks of chips and ‘chip
leader’ titles move around the table faster than
the dealer’s button. But a disciplined player
learns to focus on the actions of fellow players
rather than these entertaining shifts of dollars and
depression.
“You try to get good and be better than
everyone else by studying everyone else for a
sign or a tell or something,” Davidson said.
“The problem is, for some reason, everyone
thinks they are good.”
The social atmosphere of a poker game can be
the source of laughs and arguments.
“There is definitely a level of intensity when
money is on the table,” said Elhindi Al-Barazi, a
junior accounting major.
As is to be expected with any competitive
game, poor losers and cocky winners can cause
tensions to run high. Some individuals try to
compensate by keeping games friendlier.
“People can get mad over a hand. We try to
keep pots low so games aren’t as serious. At
most we play for $5 a person,” said Jordan
Phillips, a freshman mechanical engineering
major.
As long as poker games are in accordance
with Texas law, arguments between players are
the only problems the participating individuals
will have to deal with. There are three main cri
teria that state law prohibits regarding in house
poker games as expressed by the College Station
Police Department.
“No player may have an unfair advantage over
another player, an entry fee cannot be assessed to
players choosing to participate in the poker game
and the ‘house’ cannot take a percentage of any
player’s winnings,” said Lt. Mark Langwell of
the College Station Police Department.
Basically, no one can profit off of the sponsor
ship of a game. Participants ard permitted to
wager whatever they wish in a game and are the
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All tickets $25 at the door or in advance
at Cavenders, Baskins, and the Hall
♦ With special guest: Dave Jorgensen
—
i
With Special
Guest: Ricky
Calmbach!
All tickets $12 in
advance at
Cavenders, Baskins,
or the Bailor $15 at
the door
The Texas Hall of Fame encourages you to drink responsibly and always
designate a driver. Free soft drinks to designated drivers over 21.
only individuals able to make money as long as
there is an equal opportunity for winning among
the players.
“Blackjack, dice and other games of chance
are also illegal,” Langwell said.
There are no separate governing regulations
for on-campus games.
“Poker games are permissible on campus as
long as they follow Chapter 47 of the Texas
Penal Code,” said Sgt. Allan Baron of the
University Police Department. “But if you are
going to play poker, just make sure you take
other student rules and regulations in mind when
doing so.”
The poker attraction might circumvent legal
Ivan Flores • THE BATTALION
conditions, but some may express moral convic
tions on players. However, the decision is ulti
mately up to the individual.
“If you have the money, it’s your choice,” Al-
Barazi said.
That said, the only obstacle that might remain
in an individual's way is personal. Character can
have a lot to do with a person’s ability to perform
rationally around a poker table.
“Whether or not you can be a good poker
player depends on what kind of person you are,”
said Clint Walling, a junior sociology major.
“You have to manage your money well and keep
from getting too frustrated. Poker only becomes
a problem when you let it become one.”