Poker and
playing for money are as inseparable as coffee and a donut to
a majority of people. But for Shawn Riley, president, CEO and
CFO of the Amateur Poker League (APL) with headquarters in
Wichita, Kan., poker and playing for fun is the jackpot
combination.
“We’re not
about gambling,” Riley insists. “Poker in itself is fun. We
emphasize the social aspect of the game. Go to any one of our
events and there may be a 21-year-old college kid, a
40-year-old woman and an 80-year-old man sitting there having
fun playing, talking and laughing. Poker is a great social
activity. Your physical attributes don’t matter. Some bad
mouth us by saying ‘It’s not poker if there’s no money’. Well,
we disagree.”
The APL
sanctions free Texas Holdem Tournaments at locations around
the country. Participants earn points which can qualify them
for special tournaments as well as regional and national
events. In Iowa, the APL is active with regularly scheduled
events at locations in Council Bluffs.
Riley and
his boyhood pal Kurt McPhail, who serves as vice president and
COO, were longtime poker fans who envisioned organizing a
national amateur league in which people could just play for
fun. Their dream came true in January 2004 when they launched
the APL.
“We
started with about nine locations in the Wichita area,” Riley
explained. “Part of our plan was to launch a Web site with
information and rankings. Once we completed that, interest
soared. Very soon we wanted to expand into a major
metropolitan city, so we took our idea to Kansas City. Within
60 days we had some 30 venues up and running. We quickly
realized that we were on the right track. The rest is
history.”
APL events
are held at restaurants, lounges, fraternal organizations,
bowling alleys and similar venues where people gather to have
fun. Earlier this year the APL had tournaments running in nine
states. By the end of this month they hope to be in 18.
“We use
48-inch fold-out Texas Holdem layouts with room for eight
players which fit on an average table,” Riley said. “The
equipment, including chips, is leased for a one time fee. We
ship out directly to the site.”
Regional
directors representing the APL are responsible for overseeing
the conduct of the events and for setting up new locations.
Riley has
encountered numerous regulatory obstacles is his efforts to
expand his concept mainly because of the gambling stigma
that’s connected with poker.
“Every
state has a little bit of a different twist to it,” he said.
“We have even found some counties within states that have very
strict rules, including Illinois, and some of the Southern
states where it’s actually illegal to have a deck of cards on
a bar.
“In 90
percent of the states, three components comprise gambling:
Consideration, which is some form of a buy-in, a game of
chance and a prize. If you take one of those three out, then
it’s legal. And that’s what we’ve done. We’ve taken away
consideration. At any and all APL events there can be no door
charge, no entry fee, no minimum drink and no mandatory food
purchase. It has to be possible for a person to walk in, spend
no money and participate in the event.”
The APL
was in the Chicago market late last year. According to Riley
they had a couple of locations up and running which were doing
quite well, but they have since had to cease operations.
“The
appropriate regulatory commissions in Chicago signed off on
APL events, then several weeks later all of our venues in
Illinois got letters saying that they were doing illegal
activities and needed to cease operations,” Riley said. “We
did so immediately, because we try to be very proactive. But
we continue to talk with the authorities to clarify our
position and intent.”
You can
access a lot of information about the APL at
www.amateurpokerleague.com There are links to maps of the
states where regional tournaments are being held and the
locations of venues. There is also a data base with
information about participating players and their rankings, as
well as news of special events.
