Got it. If you're gonna cheat, do it at a California casino... its a free roll... If you get away with it, great. If you get caught, they can't collect.
That's great public policy, California.
The applicable California law was written in the days of the Wild West. Poker was considered "immoral" at the time, so the courts decided that they would not intervene in gambling disputes. If someone had an ace up their sleeve, that was on you and your trusty Colt .45 to resolve the issue.
Of course, today nobody is pulling a gun in a card game. Poker is a family-fun game. Televised, shared by millions, and taxed by the State of California. Unfortunately, like many old laws, it sits unchanged in a dusty law book while time marches on.
The judge did however allow an opening in the ruling that will allow the players to go after Stone's Casino for the rake. Between the recent Covid shutdown, and the massive rake that players may be able to reclaim, the Stones chips may soon be available as bankruptcy kicks in. It won't hurt Postile, and it wont help the players that tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars... but we may get some very nice chips out of the deal.
