Monthly Archives: March 2018

Bombay High Court says poker involves no skill whatsoever

A court in India has ruled that poker is a game of chance that involves no skill whatsoever, dealing a major blow to efforts at expanding legal poker’s reach in the Asian subcontinent.

On Friday, a division bench of the Bombay High Court refused to torpedo a police complaint against Nasir Patel, head of operations for Spartan Poker. Patel had been hit with numerous charges under the Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling Act for hosting a poker game for 29 individuals in a private apartment in Mumbai in 2016.

Patel petitioned the court to scrub the charges, arguing that the poker activity was taking place in a private residence among friends, and wasn’t being played for money or any other stakes than bragging rights. Patel also argued that poker, as a recognized game of skill, was exempt from the chance-based Maharashtra gambling laws.

Bollocks, said Bombay Justices RM Sawant and Sarang Kotwal, according to DNA India. Their exact retort couldn’t have been more unequivocal: “We have perused the description of the game, we find that it is not a game of skill but of pure chance. Prima facie we find that a case under the gambling act has been made out.”

Villanova vs. Kansas final four betting preview

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

It’s a nice little opening matchup in the Final Four on Saturday from the Alamodome in San Antonio as Cinderella story and No. 11 seed Loyola-Chicago takes on No. 3 seed Michigan. Frankly, that’s just the appetizer.

What many are calling the de facto national championship game is the nightcap as No. 1 Villanova faces No. 1 Kansas, with the Wildcats as 5-point favorites. The Nova/KU winner will be favored Monday (barring injury) in the national title game regardless of the first game’s result.

Since 1985 when the NCAA Tournament first expanded to 64 teams, Villanova and Kansas are the Nos. 55 and 56 top seeds to reach the Final Four. Then 32 of those have reached the championship game and 20 have won it all.