The Alaska Hold'em Poker Tournament is back on the schedule at Fur Rendezvous after a week of uncertainty over legal concerns.
The tournament was canceled this year after the state Department of Revenue, in response to a complaint, delivered an opinion saying the tournament as initially planned would amount to illegal gambling.
Organizers were planning to hold a qualifying round for the tournament last fall at which entrants would pay $200 for a charitable dinner and play poker afterward. The state Tax Division, which oversees gaming licenses, concluded holding such an event amounts to illegal gambling when the "free poker tournament" is held in conjunction with a dinner with an exorbitant price tag.
Organizers pulled the event themselves last week amid concerns it was illegal and could impact their gaming license.
Rondy board president Ernie Hall said at a press briefing Friday that organizers put the event back on the docket after getting clarification from the state Tax Division late Wednesday that the tournament is permitted as long as there is no fee to enter.
As a result, the event will go forward without the dinner tournament, Hall said.
"It was a stressful time, and we were doing everything we could," Hall said. "We hate to lose an event that everybody truly enjoys."
Playing in the tournament requires qualifying in matches to be held at different establishments around town. Organizers on Friday were still setting up the qualifying rounds and will likely announce when and where they will be held early next week, Rondy executive director Susan Duck said. Organizers will post details at FurRondy.net when they become available.
The main tournament is scheduled at the Egan Center at 4 p.m. on March 6. U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, who along with state Sen. Hollis French asked the attorney general to review the ruling, will be in attendance "anchoring" a celebrity table, Hall said.
The 4-year-old tournament hosted about 685 people last year. The winner gets a gold bracelet and a seat to compete in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, worth about $10,000, according to organizers.
Lottery Alaska is sponsoring the event, and Vigilante Productions will be a prize sponsor, according to Rondy organizers.
Find James Halpin online at adn.com/contact/jhalpin or call him at 257-4589.
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By JAMES HALPIN
jhalpin@adn.com