Arkansas man placed on probabtion for operating poker room

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas -- As reported by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette: "A North Little Rock man who operated the National Poker Challenge parlor in Little Rock was placed on three years' probation after being convicted of running an illegal gambling operation.

"Logan Wight Dungan, 38, pleaded no contest in Pulaski County Circuit Court on Monday to a charge of keeping a gambling house, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Troy Braswell said. He received probation and a $300 fine. The Class D felony carries a maximum six years in prison.

"Dungan, who owned the poker franchise for Little Rock, also agreed to forfeit six poker tables and eight sets of cards, chips, markers and timers that were seized in November 2007 after a police raid at the business's Ashley Square shopping center storefront. The raid was prompted by an undercover investigation. Five employees were arrested, but Dungan was the only one charged.

"At the time of the raid, company president Michael White disputed allegations that the poker games were illegal, saying a 2005 Arkansas attorney general's opinion had concluded that games like his didn't meet the legal definition of gambling. In a statement on the company Web site, White complained that prosecutors didn't know enough about how his games worked to judge them illegal; called the charges 'beyond ridiculous'; and promised to defend his operation in court..."