Casper authorities have not asked the sponsors of a public poker tournament to discontinue the card games, although law enforcement officials in some parts of the state have cracked down on the publicly held Texas Hold'em contests.

In Cheyenne, authorities have asked bars to voluntarily shut down poker games by the end of the month. And in Laramie, police shut down a poker game at a bar on Wednesday.

Cheyenne Police Chief Bob Fecht said the poker games count as gambling and are illegal. Both the city attorney and the attorney general agree with this decision, he said.

However, Natrona County's District Attorney Mike Blonigen said it is hard to determine if they count as gambling.

There has been some discussion at Blonigen's office about the poker games, the district attorney said Sunday. But no action has been taken by local law enforcement officials regarding the games.

"No police agency has referred a case to us at this time," Blonigen said.

Casper's City Attorney Bill Luben said Sunday his office has not looked into the legality of the poker being played at Casper bars.

The lack of any crackdown on Texas Hold'em in Casper bars was evident Sunday afternoon at Sidelines Sports Bar where around 30 card sharks were holding 'em and folding 'em.

Clear Channel Radio, the sponsor of the card games held at Sidelines, has not been contacted by any authorities seeking to shut down the poker, Clear Channel's Staci Owens said.

Sunday's poker games at Sidelines were part of a tournament the radio company is sponsoring, Owens said.

Upon paying $25 to enter Clear Channel's tournament, players are given a certain amount of chips with which they play, she said. The winners at each table are the players who finish with the most chips.

These winners do not receive any financial compensation for their victory, they simply advance to the tournament's next round, according to Owens.

The eventual winner of the tournament will get a free trip to Reno, Nev., and will receive no money for their victory.

Proceeds from the tournament go to pay for prizes and to charities like St. Jude's Children's Hospital, Owens said.

Although some proceeds of Clear Channel's tournament seem to be going to good causes, Tom Montoya, chief of enforcement for the Wyoming Liquor Division said bar poker games are a statewide problem.

He said there isn't a statewide consensus about what constitutes gambling under the criminal code.

Montoya said state law allows social gambling, but it becomes a problem when poker games are taken out of the home and into a bar. He said when bars start to turn a profit, even if it's indirectly, it becomes professional gambling.

He said bars likely profit indirectly in drink sales when they bring in the poker crowd, but the question hasn't been formally answered.

"Hopefully, through the attorney general's office and the Legislature, we'll get clarification," he said.

According to Owens, Clear Channel's attorneys said the way the company is conducting its tournament is allowable by Wyoming law.

If authorities do decide to challenge the legality of the poker being played at Sidelines, Owens said her company is ready with a legal defense.

Games were shut down at Snake River Pub and Grill in Cheyenne on Friday night, said Troy Meeks, the establishment's general manager.

He said several bars have hosted games for months, and Snake River followed these same guidelines.

"It's a way to get people in on a Tuesday night," Meeks said.

He added this gray area in the law has created confusion and he'd like to see the matter sorted out legislatively.

"I want to play by the rules," he said.

Games also were shut down at Two Bar Bowling, said owner Myron Langhoff. He said poker games had been going on at his establishment for six months without any problems.

Before starting the games, he called the Cheyenne Police Department to see if there would be a problem.

"We were told as long as we didn't make any direct profit there's nothing wrong with the game itself," he said. "We can't charge people to play. We can't take a cut. We can't provide dealers; they have to provide their own."

Langhoff said even added a few rules of his own such as all players have to be 21 years old and the most anyone can lose is $25.

"We thought we were operating within the requirements of the state law," Langhoff said.

He said the games were run three nights a week, attracting up to 30 people for a game.

While shutting down poker nights will cost the business money, Langhoff said it won't be a major loss. He said instead of buying drinks from the bar while they play poker, fans will likely buy from package liquor stores before playing a game at home.