Criminal Old Lady Poker Player Pays the Man

No, this isn’t really her picture, in case you were wondering. But 79 year old Amelia “Midge” Cheseborough probably looked about as threatening as this card playing granny when she was handcuffed along with a couple dozen other home game poker players in Mt. Pleasant, SC back in April.

As I predicted in the original post, at least one South Carolina legislator thought the fallout from this poker raid provided a good opportunity to reconsider long standing laws in the state which make all games of cards and dice illegal. As noted before, the current prohibition includes….ummm, lets see: Uno, Chutes and Ladders, Monopoly, Yahtzee, Sorry, pretty much anything Parker Brothers cranks out. Break out the cards or board games in South Carolina and you may be going to the big house.

Amelia “Midge” Cheseborough initially dug in her heels, along with 14 of the 22 arrested, and opted for a trial rather than plead guilty and pay the fine for her crime. She has since decided to pay the Man and be done with it. So she is out her $20 in chips which she had when the raid went down, another $85 which was in her purse, and now $50 in court fees. At least she has her freedom…just not to play any games with cards or dice.

They’re Mad as Hell and They’re Not Going to Take it Anymore!!!

I love this story about some very dangerous poker players in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina who got busted in a raid on their little poker game. Twenty were arrested, and four of them plead guilty to violation of a law enacted in 1802 which makes games of cards and dice illegal…all games of cards and dice…ALL GAMES OF CARDS AND DICE!

The other sixteen criminals have dug in their heels and are pleading not guilty, in protest of a law that just begs to be revisited.
“The law was basically set in place way back in 1802 because of the morality of the times,” said Robert Chimento, who pleaded not guilty during an appearance in town court Tuesday. The law as written, he said, makes even the child’s game Chutes and Ladders illegal. “Times have changed … and this law needs to be changed,” Chimento said.

…This just in, SWAT team members have been seen storming Miss Lulu’s Happy Hands Childcare Center in nearby Ruh Roh, South Carolina after having received a tip from a reliable source that numerous children (rough looking all, with peanut butter smeared faces and terribly sticky fingers) were alledgedly involved in a high stakes game of “Guess Who”. We at Pokerhomey have questions about the validity of this raid, however, since the “cards” used in this game are actually contained in little flip-up plastic frames, and as such, may not qualify as dangerous and evil. Details at Eleven…

But seriously, it will be interesting to see if this case moves the SC legislature to revisit this law. Until then, the residents of Mt. Pleasant, SC can rest easy, knowing that their law enforcement officials are on the case…(Barney snorts confidently, hitches up his gun belt, checks to see if his bullet is still present in his left hip pocket…just in case).