'Utah has a bull's-eye on it, no question,' he said. The nonprofit group, based in Washington, D.C., opposed casinos and state lotteries. Les Bernal, executive director of Stop Predatory Gambling, said commercial gambling operations are targeting the Beehive State. 'It's a changing kind of environment because with electronics and everything, it's getting sophisticated in a different way,' said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. People can gamble sitting at home in their pajamas or riding the train to work. Virtual casinos offer poker, blackjack, craps, slots and roulette to anyone with a computer or cellphone. But that hasn't stopped Utahns from finding creative ways to throw down a little cash without having to cross the state line.Ĭards, bingo, dice, raffles, sports, March Madness and World Series office pools are all available for those looking for some action.Īnd, of course, there is the Internet where gambling has never been easier or more accepted. State lawmakers have done everything in their power to make Utah an island in the sea of government-sanctioned gambling coast to coast. 'You'd be surprised at who you saw at a game - doctors, lawyers, dentists, sometimes bishops, active members of every church you could imagine.' 'There's so much poker going on in this state,' said Chadler Cowles, a past Utah director of the Poker Players Alliance. Yet, games of chance - poker players would argue theirs is a game of skill - occur with regularity up and down the Beehive State. Bets range from 50 cents for openers to several dollars as the dealer lays down the flop, the river and finally the turn. Packages of pretzels, tortilla chips and mini candy bars lay torn open nearby along with partially consumed bottles of adult beverages. The Utah Jazz has long dispatched its latest opponent as part of a modest winning streak and now classic rock plays on the flat screen TV. One player turns to Google on his smartphone to settle the question and a new line of banter begins among friends gathered for a game of low-stakes Texas Hold 'Em. SALT LAKE CITY - A mild disagreement over lyrics to 'The Gambler' breaks out as players peak at their cards and plink chips into the center of a green felt table in the basement of a Salt Lake County home on a Saturday night. The costs of gambling can be high, former gamblers say – Les Bernal, executive director of Stop Predatory Gambling The ultimate goal here is to try to get Utah into the predatory gambling business. It’s in the longterm public interest of Utah to crack down on these illegal games. Utah has a bull’s-eye on it, no question.

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