[twoakers]

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I would love to do something in conjunction with other recreational groups such as bowling associations to get amateurs to be able to deduct expenses from money received in competitions.

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Hi again Bob. Oddly enough, I happen to be fairly heavily involved in amateur bowling and have some info on this subject. I usually profit around $5-6k per year bowling each year, just bowling a few tourneys and leagues. I have only had to deduct expenses once, but it was as easy as sending a letter to the IRS explaining the situation, and the matter was dropped.

Although I live in Nevada, we have no card rooms within 100 miles, so there's no Texas Holdem, other than a home game here or there. I decided to try to set up a monthly Hold'em tourney in our local bowling center, basically running the poker tourney identical to the bowling tourneys in which I bowl. No rake, no profit to anyone other than the players who cash, and no payment to the host (bowling center). The owner of the bowling center was willing to go along with this, because he knew there would be a large amount of alcohol sold during the tourney. I contacted the State of Nevada Gaming Enforcement agency, and was told that bowling is not considered gambling, but Texas Holdem is. This meant that we could not hold the tourney's without having to obtain full gambling licenses, which are far too expensive to make this feasible.

I don't know about the rest of the country, but in Nevada, that's the reason we can bowl for money without all the legal hassles, but we can't play Hold'em with the same freedom. I don't know if this is helpful, but it's what I have dealt with. Good luck getting something going on this worthwhile endeavor.