CHEYENNE (AP) - Poker players around the state can shuffle up and deal in restaurants and bars starting Sunday, but in Cheyenne they may be forced to fold before even seeing their cards.

That's because the city code prohibits poker along with other forms of gambling.

Friendly poker games at bars and restaurants were common until December 2004, when Attorney General Pat Crank issued an opinion saying that businesses that profited from poker games - even indirectly, such as when a poker tournament generates additional business - were breaking the law.

The Legislature this year removed the prohibition against indirect profits from the law, freeing the way for poker games starting July 1.

But that doesn't change the Cheyenne statute.

"What the heck do we do?" asked Gary Waggoner, owner of Mingles, a Cheyenne bar. He worried that the law - or even the uncertainty - would drive some customers to bars outside the city limits. "Let's get things cleared up or straightened up one way or another."

So far, no one has asked either the City Council or city attorney Mike Basom for clarification of the apparent conflict.

But state Rep. Keith Gingery, R-Jackson, said during the debate over the bill that he hoped legalizing poker games would boost business at bars around the state. And Basom this week said he thought the Legislature's intent was to make such card games legal everywhere.

"My advice to the police department is, if you're going to charge someone, do so under the state statute," Basom said.