David Bischoff thinks he got a raw deal last year when state gambling regulators raided his bowling alley, shut down his weekly Texas Hold’em poker tournament and confiscated his cards and chips.

For months afterward, the threat of criminal charges hung over Bischoff – and his card tables sat vacant – until prosecutors concluded that Minnesota’s laws against poker were too vague to enforce.

Minnesota is now one of several states in which legislators are looking to rewrite their laws to strengthen their hand against card games at a time when poker is becoming an all-out craze.

“These are just people who have been watching poker on TV and they want to come out and play and be like the people on TV,” said Bischoff, whose tournaments are up and running again. “It’s not about spending money and winning money. It’s just about the competition and seeing who can be the best.”

The game at the center of the poker mania is Texas Hold’em, in which players are dealt two cards each and can use five community cards flipped over in the middle of the table to make the best hand.

As the popularity of the game has grown, so have problems for gambling regulators.

In Iowa, a couple of American Legion posts heeded warnings and halted their regular tournaments rather than jeopardize their charitable gaming licenses. A similar concern led a firehouse outside of Pittsburgh to call off its games.

Police in Wyoming started breaking up Texas Hold’em tournaments in bars, and the state’s attorney general advised that the events were probably illegal. In Texas – where the game thrived in smoky back rooms before becoming a hit on cable TV – prosecutors are questioning whether bars are improperly profiting from tournaments.

“The popularity of the poker shows has created a whole new beast for us as far as regulations,” said David Werning of Iowa’s Department of Inspections and Appeals.

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Author Contact Info: Brian Bakst, Associated Press