Asian Betting Games Upheld by L.A. Judge

In a major victory for operators of seven Southland card clubs, a Superior Court judge barred the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on Friday from shutting down three Asian-style betting games.

Almost two months after deputies conducted a series of casino raids and temporarily closed tables where pai-gow, pai-gow poker and super pan 9 were being played, Judge Kurt J. Lewin rejected the county’s argument that the controversial games violate the state’s 98-year-old gambling law.

County attorneys have argued that the games are illegal because they feature a rotating banking system in which players take turns acting as the dealer, collecting from losers and paying winners. State law prohibits banking games.

Lewin, siding with casino lawyers, issued a five-page decision stating that “in an unbroken line of decisions, the appellate courts in this jurisdiction have held that pai-gow (along with the two others) is not a banking game.”

Injunction Issued

Lewin issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the Sheriff’s Department from taking further action against the seven card clubs, which are in Huntington Park, Gardena, Bell, Bell Gardens and Commerce.

Bell Gardens and two of the clubs, the Commerce Club and the Bicycle Club, filed suit against the county after the raids on Dec. 29 and Jan. 2, seeking unspecified damages for money lost during the closings.

Sheriff Sherman Block then agreed to allow the games to continue while Lewin studied the county’s argument that the games violated state law.

“We are extremely pleased,” attorney Guy Nicholson, who represents the Bicycle and Commerce clubs, said after the judge issued the preliminary injunction.

“This (ruling) is good for us because one of the elements we had to prove was that there is a substantial likelihood that we would prevail” in the lawsuit, Nicholson said.

Deputy County Counsel Kevin Brazile, saying he had not read the decision, declined to comment Friday except to say, “It’s not a final decision on the merits of our argument. It’s not over.”

Lewin’s decision ensures that card club owners and city officials will continue to benefit financially from the popular Asian games at least until a full trial is held on the lawsuit. No trial date has been scheduled.

City officials and card club owners have complained that they would lose millions of dollars in revenue if the card clubs stopped offering the games. Almost 50% of the casinos’ business is derived from the high-stakes games, and cities receive a percentage--usually ranging from 7% to 13.5%--of the profits.

Recognizing that, Lewin said: “Plaintiffs have established by substantial evidence that great and irreparable harm will result if enforcement of (state law) against them or their customers by the Sheriff’s Department continues.”

Bell Gardens City Manager Claude Booker said the city would lose up to $6 million if the games are stopped.

Booker is spearheading an effort by administrators of the five cities that host card clubs to draft legislation that would modify the state law to ensure the legality of the games. The city officials expect to find a lawmaker to sponsor the legislation before the end of the month, Booker said.