There are a handful of these poker regulations that should be amended. I would specifically like to address the following:

Concurrent tournaments: The regulation allowing only one tournament to run at one time limits the amount of people who can play and the ability to hire enough staff to facilitate poker. If poker in Virginia follows the remaining regulations then why does it matter how many tournaments are occurring at any given time? There are variations of poker and this would allow different game options for different players. 

Tipping: Tipping should be allowed because this not only emulates the “real” poker experience but this also allows for dealers to be better compensated. Imagine paying a server in a restaurant their hourly rate but no tips. You’d lose all of your quality talent to better paying jobs. This would harm the organization immensely. 

Game of skill vs game of chance: Yes, there is an element of luck related to poker but I would ask you to name a game or sport that doesn’t have some sort of luck or variable component? Poker is mostly a game of skill. The players who practice and study the game will learn skills that will make them more successful in the long run. This is evident by looking at those who play poker professionally vs those who don’t. 

I appreciate you reading the above comments and I hope you take them into account when deciding to allow the best poker experience possible in Virginia. 

Thank you,

-Nick Harman