Deadwood Casinos to Poker Players: “English Only”

The South Dakota Gaming Commission recently passed a rule that bans poker players from speaking anything other than English at Deadwood casino tables. This might sound discriminatory to foreign tourists or Native Americans, but according to the Gaming Commission’s lawyer, Gary Shaw, the state is justified in enacting the new legislation.

“The reason we can is because gaming is a suspect activity,” Shaw said. “It is not subject to the same protection that other activities are.” Aside from banning every language except for English, the new rule also bans mobile phone use and texting at the poker tables.

Why enact the new rules now?

Larry Eliason, who’s the commission’s executive secretary, told the Rapid City Journal that the English-only legislation arose after complaints of collusion from Deadwood visitors last year. “We took those allegations very seriously,” he said.

State Senator Jim Bradford (D-Pine Ridge) expanded on this by explaining that it wouldn’t be fair if two players spoke Lakota at the tables and nobody else did. “Same with any language; you could manipulate the game.” He added, “Its purpose is to prevent collusion among poker players. It is the same reason that we prohibited texting and other forms of communication that other players can’t understand or hear or see.”

Nothing new in America

Some Poker players in other parts of the United States would have no trouble adjusting to the new Deadwood rules. That’s because South Dakota based their changes on rules that Nevada and New Jersey have had in place for a long time. As Eliason described, these measures “have been on the books for a long time” in both states.

Located in the mountains of South Dakota, the former mining town of Deadwood isn’t a heavily trafficked international destination. However, Deadwood’s various casinos and outdoor recreational activities draw a fair amount of visitors from other countries. And a large number of Lakota-speaking Native Americans still live in the area too. So now, all of these people will either have to speak English or not talk at all while playing poker in the town.

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