The popularity of Texas Hold ’Em poker could mean jackpots for Jackson County nonprofit groups following the Oregon Legislature’s approval this week of an expanded gambling law.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s signature is all that’s needed to finalize House Bill 2311, which allows charities to conduct Texas Hold ’Em tournaments as fund-raisers.

The bill expands the definition of a "Monte Carlo" event to allow games in which players wager against each other, not just the house. Essentially the change adds poker to the current mix of casino games — like blackjack, craps and roulette — that are legal for charity events.

Charity casino events involve players who exchange cash for chips they wager to compete for prizes. The charity keeps the cash and the incentive prizes are often obtained as donations or bought at a discount.

Some local nonprofit directors said they hadn’t considered using poker to fund their programs, but they might now.

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"My husband loves that game," said Karen Holt, director of the Kids Health Connection, which provides health services to low-income children. "He plays it on the Internet."

Holt said she might bring up the idea at a board meeting.

"A lot of people would pay $100 to play," she said.

Community Works, one of the region’s largest nonprofits, may ponder the notion, said Ed Roussell, director of development and communications.

"I would like to think we would consider anything that would capture our contributors," he said.

But Roussell, who is chairman of the Rogue Valley Development Professionals group, cautioned that garnering public attention with a gimmick like poker is only a small part of effective fund-raising.

"Once you get people’s attention, you have to do good follow up," he said. "Make them like you, and then make them love you."

Dee Anne Everson, director of United Way of Jackson County, agreed.

"The real key to fund-raising is you connect people to the passion of your program," she said. "And I’m not sure Texas Hold ‘Em accomplishes that."

Some nonprofit organizers balked outright at the notion of gambling for charity. Peg Crowley, director of the Community Health Center, criticized the Legislatures willingness to create yet another venue for social gambling.

"I think that gambling addiction is such a serious problem," she said. "Have you been in a Hold ‘Em room? People are losing money they don’t have to lose."

Crowley said providing charities with such a means of making money ignores larger problems of declining state funding for social services.

"Our public policy in addressing the needs of the most vulnerable in our state is completely lacking," she said.

A representative for Addictions Recovery Center, a Medford agency that treats problem gamblers, said his group wouldn’t host poker games.

"I don’t know that it’s necessarily a bad thing. People can gamble for fun and keep it in that context," said Ed Burns, program manager for the ARC. "But it kind of erodes that line."

Like nonprofit groups throughout the state, some local organizations have held poker tournaments that may have skirted the law.

The Ashland Elks Lodge held a tournament in March that raised about $1,200 for charity.

"We knew that it’s kind of a gray area, but we haven’t had any problems with it," said Steve Brewington, bartender for the Lodge.

The Elks and others weren’t alone, said Victoria Cox, spokeswoman for the Charitable Activities Division of the state Department of Justice.

"We’ve gotten so many inquiries, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if it was going on," she said.

Technically, Texas Hold ’Em games in which organizations take a cut of the wagers have been illegal, Cox noted. But, once enacted, the new rule would change that.

Players still can’t play for cash, but they can play for big prizes such as a trip to Las Vegas or a lavish TV, said Rick Walker, owner of Wild Bill’s Northwest, a Portland firm that puts on casino nights for charity.

Walker’s company pushed for the change in the law because of burgeoning interest in Texas Hold ‘Em games.

"We were getting two or three calls a week from nonprofits and we had to tell them, ‘No,’ " said Walker, who has been hired by local groups such as Rogue Valley Medical Center’s Children’s Miracle Network.

The popularity of Texas Hold ’Em tournaments could provide the spark for a successful nonprofit fund-raiser, Walker said. Because there are no cash prizes, problem gamblers wouldn’t be likely to come.

"Even with the Casino Night, it doesn’t draw the average gambler," he said. "The people who play want to support the organization and have fun. How many auctions can you go to?"

Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail jaleccia@mailtribune.com