Texas Hold ‘Em poker is no different than golf under Idaho law, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe argues in its response to a lawsuit from the state – it’s a game of skill, in which players can pay fees to enter tournaments and win prizes for how well they do. “As the statute provides, even if the game of poker is prohibited, that prohibition does not apply if the game can be shown to be a ‘contest of skill,’” the tribe wrote in legal arguments submitted in court Friday; you can read my full story here at spokesman.com.

The state of Idaho sued the Coeur d’Alene Tribe in federal court on May 2, after the tribe opened a poker room at its Coeur d’Alene Casino in Worley. The state argued that poker is flat illegal in Idaho, prohibited both by the state Constitution and law. But the tribe said the type of poker it’s offering – Texas Hold ‘Em tournament play – is legal, and is widely played in Idaho. That makes it a type of Class II gaming, not Class III, under federal law, the tribe argues, so if anyone else can offer it in the state, tribes legally can, too.