California is both the most populous state and the state with the most poker rooms. In fact, America’s favorite card game has a long, storied history in the Golden State. It reaches back to the mid-19th century gold rush, an era of gaming dens, and continues through the famous Gardena card clubs of the 20th century and the explosion of card rooms following the state’s legalization of Texas Hold ’em poker and stud in the 1980s.

1. Poker Tournaments Bakersfield Ca
2. Poker Tournaments In Bakersfield Ca

With nearly 40 million residents and a huge number of poker players among them, California has long been looked upon by online poker proponents as an obvious and attractive choice for legalization. However, despite the numerous bills proposed by lawmakers since the late 2000s, an inability to satisfy the priorities of rival factions, including the state’s multiple tribes with gaming interests, has prevented legal online poker in California.

What follows is an overview of California poker. We start with a short synopsis of the current debate on real money online poker in California. Then we cover the consideration of alternatives like sweepstakes poker and offshore poker sites. We continue with a review of current California poker laws, including what is OK when it comes to home poker games. Next, we share a comprehensive list of the state’s many card rooms and a detailed timeline of poker in the CA, including online poker legislation. Lastly, we look ahead to the possible future of online poker in California.

Poker Tournament Series Play in one of our monthly signature events featuring guaranteed prize pools and plenty of action. Top three finalists in the $10,000 Guaranteed events earn a seat into the next Guaranteed event. Find the best tournament in town with our real-time list of all upcoming poker tournaments in the Los Angeles area, including Compton, Eastern LA, Gardena, Inglewood, and SE LA. To customize your search, you can filter this list by game type, buy-in, day, starting time and location. Full poker tournament schedule and poker calendar with listings of each poker room and the poker games they offer. Venue: Where is the poker tournament being held. Usually this will be in the poker room of a casino, but can also be a cruise line or other venue. Day/Time: What day and time is the tournament occuring on. Poker Game: The type of.

Global Poker offers online poker in California

No Limit Hold'Em Poker Tournament. Don't know how to play poker? No problem because lessons are included. 1416 17th Street Bakersfield, CA 93301 Phn.

Is online poker legal in California?

No, real money online poker is not legal in California; however, that’s not due to a lack of trying.

There is a long list of California lawmakers who have introduced bills that, if passed, would legalize online poker in the state (see below, “California poker timeline”), with such efforts dating back more than a decade.

An attempt was made in 2014 when the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabeltribe tried a different path by attempting to launch real-money online gambling on its own. The tribe is one of the more than 100 federally recognized Native American tribes in the state. The federal government filed an injunction, and the site was shut down. After a lengthy legal battle, the Ninth District Court of Appeals in December 2016 ruled the poker site to violate the UIGEA for allowing access to those not located on the reservation.

That ruling made it clear that tribes in the state would not be able to launch online poker rooms without some sort of statewide legislation. Alas, California lawmakers have been unable to reach that milestone.

Will California regulate online poker?

The push to legalize and regulate online poker in CA has recently slowed as attention has shifted to the possibility of introducing online sports betting.

In May 2018, the US Supreme Court removed the federal prohibition against states other than Nevada offering sports betting. By the following year, California lawmakers began holding hearings to consider the viability of bringing legal sports betting to CA, including online sports betting.

Like other states, however, the legal environment for gambling in California is complicated significantly by the competing interests of the state’s commercial gambling properties and its many tribal casinos. That same conflict has presented obstacles in the past for those who have previously tried to legalize online gambling, including online poker. No doubt that it will continue to be the case going forward when the issue arises again.

The California Bureau of Gambling Control currently regulates gambling in the state and would potentially serve as the regulatory agency overseeing online poker if it became legal. The California Gambling Control Commission also plays a vital role in licensing card rooms and casinos within the state. Both of these state agencies work together with California tribes to regulate gaming on tribal lands as well.

How to play online poker in California & sweepstakes sites

With no real money online poker available, players in California do have an alternative in sweepstakes online poker sites. The most popular example is Global Poker, a site that legally welcomes players from every state, aside from Washington.

Rather than play with cash, those who play on sweepstakes sites do so with virtual money. In the case of Global Poker, there are two different virtual currencies: “gold coins” and “sweeps coins.” Players can purchase the gold coins to play cash games and tournaments. When buying gold coins, players also receive sweeps coins as a bonus, which they can use to play specific cash games and tournaments.

Players can purchase sweeps coins other ways as well, including through Facebook giveaways or by writing to Global Poker and requesting them. Players can also win more sweeps coins in the cash games and tournaments. Once they’ve accumulated a minimum amount, players can exchange them for dollars that can be redeemed.

What about offshore poker sites? Are they safe?

Some poker players choose to play online poker in CA on “offshore” sites located outside of the US that permit Americans to play. Are players who play on these sites breaking the law? That’s a question that gambling law experts continue to debate.

The California Penal Code includes a section on illegal gambling that specifically prohibits games “with cards, dice, or any device, for money, checks, credit or other representative of value.”

The section goes on to say that anyone doing so is committing a misdemeanor and can be fined between $100 and $1,000 and imprisoned for up to six months. While no players in California have ever faced such penalties for playing on offshore online poker sites, they are, nonetheless, still taking risks by doing so. Since such sites are not regulated in the US, they don’t necessarily have to adhere to measures like fraud prevention and ensuring the security of players’ funds the way legal, regulated US sites do.

In fact, there have been instances of such sites closing and making off with players’ money, and in which case, the players don’t have legal recourse to help them recover their funds.

Players who use such offshore poker sites and suspect cheating, collusion, ghosting, multi-accounting, or other issues affecting game integrity simply have to trust the sites will respond to their complaints and take appropriate action. That’s because if the sites don’t, there’s little the players can do about it.

California poker laws

While online poker is not legal in California, live poker in brick-and-mortar card rooms is legal in the state, with players fortunate to have more card rooms to choose from than in any other state.

Charitable, nonprofit organizations are also allowed to host “poker nights” along with bingo games and raffles, but only once per year.

In December 2019, the California Bureau of Gambling Control proposed new rules for the state’s card rooms. However, many CA card room operators objected, saying the new rules would have a negative impact on their businesses and even force some rooms to close.

Because of the compacts between the state and its tribes, Native American-run casinos have the exclusive right to offer “house-banked” games. As a result, commercial card rooms must employ someone other than the dealer to act as the “banker” (or the “house”). This person represents a licensed third-party business since the rooms aren’t technically allowed to have a financial stake in the games. The banker collects from the losers, pays the winners and takes a fee from each of the players.

The new rules being proposed would do away with the third-party banker and force the players to take turns performing that role. Players refusing to do so would not be allowed to participate, and if no one wants to be the banker, the game would have to stop. The card rooms are understandably unhappy with the idea of instituting such an arrangement, pointing out how playing the games will become more complicated and that many players will be loathed to have to take on the banker’s role.

More hearings will need to be held as well as a study conducted measuring the financial impact should the new rules be adopted.

Are home poker games legal in California?

Yes, home poker games are legal in California, as long as the host of the game doesn’t take a rake from the pots or require any sort of fee from the players.

The California Penal Code is quite clear in the way it describes home poker games as excluded from “controlled games” for which operators need licenses. The law states that a “controlled game” does not include “games played in cards in private homes or residences, in which no person makes money for operating the game, except as a player.”

California card rooms

California has more places to play poker than does any other state in the country. There are around 100 rooms, ranging from tiny two-table establishments tucked away in strip malls to massive 200-plus table poker palaces like The Commerce in Los Angeles and The Bicycle nearby in Bell Gardens.

The small rooms generally only spread low limit ($1/$2) no-limit hold’em, whereas the medium and larger rooms also feature other variants like pot-limit Omaha, seven-card stud and different mixed game formats. All but the smallest rooms host regular daily and/or weekly tournaments, while the largest venues are often the site of major tournament series such as the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker Circuit.

California poker timeline

During the gold rush of the mid-19th century and afterward, hundreds of gaming houses were in operation up and down California, with poker among the most popular gambling games.

During the century’s later decades, prohibitions in various locations led to the closure of many houses, although stud poker continued to be especially popular. That led to more explicit laws against what was described as “stud-horse poker,” and it was that specific targeting of stud that later provided a kind of legal loophole for California card games.

Birth of the California card club

In 1931, Nevada legalized gambling and, over the subsequent years, game the eventual building of casinos and card rooms. A little later in 1936, in California, a businessman named Ernie Primm opened a gambling club in tiny Gardena (not far from Los Angeles), where draw poker was a featured game.

There was a legal challenge, but Primm was able to point back to the earlier law that outlawed stud but said nothing about draw poker. The law specified that draw poker card rooms, like Primm’s, could operate as long as the community did not object, and thus over the following years, Primm and others opened more card rooms in Gardena, all of which again spread only draw poker.

The legal battles never really ceased, but over the middle decades of the 20th century, and to the start of the 1980s, Gardena became known throughout the country as the only legal alternative to Las Vegas and other rooms in Nevada for poker. The small city advertised itself as the “Poker Capital of the World,” and it wasn’t a total exaggeration.

Hold’em and stud made legal; poker explodes in popularity

The situation began to change in the 1980s when other communities started legalizing poker themselves, thus taking away Gardena’s special status.

By then, Texas Hold’em had started to become better-known thanks to the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. California lawmakers interestingly argued over hold’em’s legality in part by raising the question of whether hold’em was a variant of draw poker (and legal to play) or a variant of stud poker (and, therefore, prohibited).

Finally, in 1987, both Los Angeles and Santa Cruz counties settled the issue by legalizing stud and Texas Hold’em, a development that heralded the introduction of Vegas-style poker rooms to replace the smaller card clubs in terms of popularity. Soon those variants were made legal throughout the state as well.

The state’s first Native American casinos opened shortly thereafter, and by the time of the “poker room” of the mid-2000s, there were already about 100 legal card rooms operating in the state.

Early online poker battles

By the late 2000s, California lawmakers began introducing online poker legislation regularly. While the bills generated a lot of interest and hope among the state’s many poker players, none managed to garner enough support to move up the legislative ladder.

It was in early 2008 that Assemblyman Lloyd Levine introduced AB 2026, a bill that would charge regulators with studying the feasibility of California introducing intrastate online poker. The California Assembly Governmental Organization Committee passed the bill and was amended by both the Assembly and Senate, but stalled after that.

Near the end of 2009, Sen. Roderick Wright made known his intention to introduce an online gambling bill, and SB 1485 or the Internet Gambling Consumer Protection and Public-Private Partnership Act of 2010 appeared early the following year, though was withdrawn after encountering pushback from various groups.

More bills and a tribal alliance

Later in 2010, a couple of different alliances of California tribes formed the California Online Poker Alliance and the California Intertribal Intrastate Poker Consortium. While representing those groups’ interests, State Sen. Lou Correa introduced a new bill, SBSB 40, known as the State Funding, Job Creationand Online Gaming Accountability Act. Correa’s bill was revised and reconsidered during the following year, but it, too, eventually stalled.

Sen. Wright tried again in 2012 with SB 1463, also proposed with the tribes’ backing, but it failed as well, and by the end of the year, the tribes’ online poker alliance dissolved. New online poker bills from both Wright (SB 51) and Correa (SB 678) followed over the next year, though neither advanced.

Further conflicts including over the ‘bad actor’ issue

In 2014, Correa introduced SB 1366, an online poker bill with a “bad actor” clause that would prohibit online poker sites that had served American players after 2006 from operating in California. Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer introduced the similar AB 2291, though, in his bill, the bad actor question was left open. The California Assembly Governmental Organization Committee did hold a hearing to discuss the topic, but nothing further came from it.

In 2015, multiple online poker bills came from the state assembly, then a similar “shell” bill (AB 431) was co-authored by Assemblyman Adam Gray and Sen. Isadore Hall, though, it also stalled.

The “bad actor” question became a central sticking point over the next couple of years. The tribal coalition emerged to argue that PokerStars (that had served Californians post-2006 through Black Friday in April 2011) and its then-parent company Amaya be banned from operating in the state for 10 years. Meanwhile, PokerStars had established partnerships with other tribes in CA as well as some commercial rooms. The operator was lobbying for a shorter five-year ban or the payment of a cash penalty to enter the state.

Amid this furor, a new online poker bill from Assemblyman Gray made it out of committee, one including a five-year ban for “bad actors” but potentially worded in a way that could close such operators out permanently. It was understandably unfavorable for PokerStars and its partners. In any case, that bill never went further, and another legislative session ended with no online poker law.

Assemblyman Jones-Sawyer tried again in 2017 with AB 1677, a bill that left out the bad actor issue entirely. But it failed to move, and by year’s end, PokerStars’ partnership with California tribes ended.

Focus is taken away from online poker

In 2018, the US Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), thus bringing sports betting to the foreground and pushing online poker to the side. The continued divisions between interested parties lessened the momentum for online poker legislation even more.

For the first time in a decade, 2019 came and went without any online poker bills being proposed, and 2020 began without much interest being shown from lawmakers or other potential stakeholders.

What does the future hold for California online poker?

After years of discussion over online poker, the prospect of legalizing sports betting has drawn attention away from the subject, meaning California poker players will likely be unable to play real money poker online in California in the near future.

Player liquidity would not be a problem for California, a state with more than three times the population of Pennsylvania and more than four times that of New Jersey — two states where online poker has been legalized. That said, until California can come together to legalize sports betting, including online sports betting sites, the prospect for legalizing online gambling, including online poker, will remain dim.

Poker Tournaments Bakersfield Ca

As noted, poker players have no shortage of live options in the state, as well as other forms of gambling like pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing, casino-style games in the state’s many tribal casinos and the CA lottery. But for the near term at least, online poker sites will not be among those choices.

[Fundraisers how to host a legal casino fundraiser how to make the most money with a casino fundraiser no purchase necessary]

Casino Night Fundraisers – Charity Casino Events – Charity Poker Tournaments
Raise money at your charity event with a charity poker tournament or casino night fundraiser.

Looking for a great fundraising idea for your non-profit or charity organization? Bakersfield Casino is providing top quality, exciting casino night fundraisers and charity poker tournaments in Bakersfield, CA.

Casino fundraisers, casino night charity events and charity poker tournaments are great ideas to raise money for your non-profit group or charity organization while entertaining your guests with exciting Las Vegas casino night fun.

If you are planning a casino fundraiser or charity poker tournament, we understand that your primary goal is to maximize your fundraising potential while providing an authentic “Las Vegas” style casino event. We’ll show you how. Visit our “How to run a casino night fundraiser” page. We have many proven ideas to help you achieve those goals. As casino fundraiser and charity poker tournament specialists, we guarantee your casino fundraising event will not only feel authentic, but your guests will be thrilled with the excitement it brings.

Casino Fundraisers are a great idea for the following:
PTA Fundraisers and PTO Fundraisers
School Fundraisers
Church Fundraisers
Pet Rescue Fundraisers
Youth Group Fundraisers
Athletic Team Fundraisers and Sports Team Fundraisers
Any Fundraiser Idea

How to run a Casino Night Fundraiser – How Does a Casino Fundraiser Work

A casino night fundraiser is a great idea for raising money for charities. This page should serve as a guide to anyone planning a casino night fundraiser event. There are certain points listed that might not be applicable to your event. However, we have attempted to address the typical scenarios an organizer will likely encounter. Always be sure to check with the state Attorney General’s office and/or the State Gaming Commission as to the legality of your event.

Table of Contents
1. Goal
2. Revenues
3. Expenses
4. Determining Ticket Price
5. Things to know/do before the event

1. Goal

Generally when asked the question, “How much money would you like to raise at this event?” most hosts realize that they haven’t given it enough thought. Having a realistic goal of how much money you would like to raise is the key starting point. It should determine the price of your entrance fee and the limit of your expenses.

Decide how much money you would like to make from this event.
Draft a statement of your proposed Revenue and Expenses.

Obviously the key is to maximize your revenue and minimize your expenses. As fundamental as this concept is, most organizations disregard it when running one of these events.

2. Revenues
Revenue for a fund-raiser will typically take the form of one, some, or all of the following:
Ticket sales
Table sponsorship
Drink sales
Food
Auctions
Additional script purchases

Ticket Sales:
Delegate the task of ticket sales to more than one person. It is far easier for 20 people to each sell 10 tickets than it is for 1 person to sell 200 tickets. Hold each of these 20 people responsible for the sale of their allotment of tickets.
Bottom Line: This is usually your primary source of revenue and the financial success of your event depends on meeting your goal of tickets sold.

Sponsorship:
Find at least one table sponsor for each casino table being used and the sponsored amount should generally at least cover the table cost. Encourage your sponsors to provide “gag” gifts that promote their business to be distributed at “their” table. For example – a poker table sponsored by a dentist could give away a free toothbrush (with the sponsor’s name imprinted) for each 3 of a kind that is dealt. Or, the dealer could be dressed in the sponsor uniform. Make your sponsors feel as though they are getting value for their donation and not only are they more likely to attend the event, getting a similar sponsorship the next year
will be much easier.
Bottom Line: Table sponsorship should cover at least the entire rental cost of the casino equipment and staff.

Drink Sales:
This will vary depending on the “upscaleness” of your event. Ticket prices and what people are getting for their money will generally determine whether guest’s drinks are included in the ticket price or if they need to pay for them. Typically, the more expensive the entrance fees the less likely you are to charge additional for drinks. On “drink inclusive” events a limited bar (beer, wine, soda) is suggested to curb costs. On other events entrance fee usually includes two “drinks tickets” which are typically redeemed at a rate of one ticket
for a soft drink and two tickets for wine or beer. Additional drinks require the purchase of more drink tickets.
Bottom Line: Drinks can vary between being a good source of revenue to being a very large expense. Manage your bar wisely.

Food:
This follows a similar format to your drinks.
Bottom Line: Don’t leave people feeling “short changed” because of poor quality or insufficient food. However, don’t spend all your money on providing a spectacular meal because that is not the focus of this type of evening.

Silent Auction:
These are often incorporated into a casino evening and I offer the following advantage/disadvantage thoughts on the inclusion of a silent auction:
Advantages:
Opportunity to raise more money

Disadvantages:
Requires additional sponsors to donate auction items
Interrupts flow of casino evening and takes people away from tables
Much more organization and coordinating involved
Guest often feel “hit-up” two or three times in one evening
Bottom Line: Silent auctions are often the backbone of revenues generated at fundraising parties. However, they do require a lot of time and effort to coordinate successfully. Delegate at least one person whose sole responsibility is to manage the silent auction of the event.

Live Auction:
Live auctions can generate a tremendous amount of revenue for the event, if done correctly. There are several key ingredients to a successful live auction. Maintain a captive audience – shut down all other activity during this time Shorter is better – your live auction should run no more than 30-40 minutes
Less is more – have only a few; generally less than 10 – high ticket items for auction. Use a dynamic auctioneer.
Bottom Line: Keep the live auction short and it can be very, very sweet.

Additional Script:
As part of their entrance fee guests are usually given an initial “stake” of script or funny money. If they lose this initial stake they should have the option of acquiring more money for a token “donation.” This is an additional source of revenue though generally not to the extent that hosts expect it to be. Primarily because guests, for the most part, gamble conservatively. You want to give your guests a sense of having received value for their entrance ticket so be sure to include enough script money in their package. We suggest a $100 script. Anything less and guest might feel a little “short changed”, anything more and you will reduce your chances of having additional script purchases. Make the additional “donation” an amount that is a round number and covered by a single bill ($5, $10, $20,$50 etc.).
Bottom Line: Keep the “donation” to an amount that encourages people to get more script rather than setting it too high and not having anyone buy in again.

3. Expenses:
Again, the fundamental rule regarding expenses is to keep them to a minimum without compromising your event.

Typical expenses incurred hosting a casino event:
Facility costs
Decorations and props
Casino equipment rental and dealers
Beverage costs
Food costs
Insurance
Security
Clean Up

Facility Costs:
Invariably, free is the key word here. Attempt to secure a facility at no cost to your event. There are generally several organizations that are open to making their facility available at little or no charge.

Decorations and Props:
Often balloons and streamers or ribbon will suffice when decorating the event facility. Always weigh up the cost of any props you are considering using. People are typically not at your event for the decorations. Solicit donations if possible however, prioritize a table sponsorship donation ahead of a prop donation almost every time.

Casino Equipment Rental:
Try to provide as accurate a head count as possible so the appropriate amount of equipment is supplied. Too much equipment on hand results in a bigger expense and having too few tables to accommodate your guests is one of the surest ways to spoil your event.

Dealers:
We can staff the tables with our professional, fun, courteous dealers. However, you may consider asking for volunteers to staff some of the easier gaming tables, in order to reduce your expenses.

Beverage Costs:
Arrange with your beverage supplier to be able to return all unopened bottles. This way
you only have to pay for the beverages you have sold.

Insurance:
Some facilities might require a one-night insurance coverage policy for your event,
especially if you are not being charged for the venue.

Security:
The same applies to security and parking. This will vary with different locations and
organizations. Be aware of this possible cost when selecting a location.

Clean Up:
Designate a team of volunteers to take care of the facility cleaning.

4. Determining Ticket Price
Ask the following questions:

How much money do you want to make? = NET PROFIT
How many tickets can you sell for this event? = TICKETS
What is the total of all expenses? = EXPENSES
What is the total of my net profit plus all my expenses? = GROSS

NET PROFIT + EXPENSES = GROSS
GROSS / TICKETS = TICKET PRICE

Example:
We wish to raise $3500 from our event
Our intention is to sell 200 tickets
Our total expenses are $1500
$3500 + $1500 = $5000 (Gross)
$5000 / 200 tickets = $ 25 per ticket

What then needs to be determined is if this price is appropriate for what you intend to provide your guests and will your market support the sale of your proposed quantity of tickets at this price. Remember that you might even be under charging your guests!

By selling the proposed number of tickets and following the guidelines above you will always realize at-least your intended net profit and in most cases a higher amount. However, if you don’t sell your intended number of tickets or if your expenses are higher than budgeted; your net profit is adversely effected in both cases.

Poker Tournaments In Bakersfield Ca

5. Things to know before the event:

Set up early at the facility
Have change available at the “cash desk”
Arrange to have a credit card machine set up
Consider having “runners” to solicit additional script purchases from players
Have additional script and drink tickets at cash desk
Have a public address system on hand to announce prizes, raffles etc.
Have sponsors signs in place on all tables
Have bow-ties, uniforms etc. available for volunteer dealers
Have dealers assigned to a specific table ahead of time
Post signs or flyers prominently indicating chip denominations
Post information about buying more script or make frequent announcements
Clearly indicate location of cash desk
Have change or drink tickets available at bar or bars
Designate all tasks ahead of time – specifically breakdown and clean up
Keep thorough notes for your next event – the second time is always easier

Good Luck!

Information from http://www.casinonightfundraisers.com

The client is responsible for obtaining all city, county and state permits if necessary. For additional legal information, legislation and statutes please visit: oag.ca.gov/gambling