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here in TN any kind of gambling (including home games like that) is illegal. except the lottery.
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Even without a rake????
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yep. even without a rake. for the really curious, here are a couple attorney general opinions poo-poo-ing non-rake games in Tennessee and even saying Indian casinos are not viable in Tennessee:
1. receiving anything more than the bet placed in the middle (rake or no rake) is illegal, plus some discussion on skill versus chance:
http://www.attorneygeneral.state.tn....5/OP/OP159.pdf
2. an attempt to set up a deposit/lease structure are shot down:
http://www.attorneygeneral.state.tn....06/OP/OP46.pdf
3. indian casinos not viable (does not discuss jurisdictional or pre-emption issues):
http://www.attorneygeneral.state.tn....06/OP/OP80.pdf
only the state-run lottery and once-a-year fund-raising raffles for churches and schools are kosher under the TN constitution (the CONSTITUTION! good luck lobbying a change to that). sadly, home games (even without a rake) are illegal in TN. That said, the day they come after low-stakes home games is the day all hell breaks loose.
Selective enforcement is an issue, though, meaning if the police have a particular interest in someone at the game, they can bust the small-time game under the anti-gambling law as a pretext to getting their hands on somebody for other (presumably bigger) purposes.