A Jackson-based charity poker business is in expansion mode.
Charity Poker Solutions opened a poker room at Hot Rods, 1715 E. Michigan Ave., in July and opened a new one Monday at the LA Cafe, 4460 W. Maumee St., Adrian. With the success we’re having here, we decided to take that business model down to Adrian and try to replicate it,” said Patrick O’Dowd, a partner in Charity Poker Solutions with Jason Fuller and Tomas Cobb. O’Dowd said he and his partners are looking to open more poker rooms in communities it can impact in a positive way,” but they aren’t ready to say where. Charity Poker Solutions got in at the beginning of a business boom in Michigan. Casino-style charity gambling events are now taking place in more than 120 establishments statewide, said Tom Reich, a director in the Michigan Lottery’s Charitable Gaming Division. The trend has upset Michigan casinos, and some legislators now say charity gambling needs tighter rules. State Rep. Tom McMillin, R-Rochester Hills, has proposed legislation to limit venues to one, four-day charitable gambling event per month.
Proponents of charity gambling say such a law would single charity poker games out unfairly. Bingo, for example, is regulated much the same way charity poker is, and no one is proposing tighter rules for bingo.