Sutter's Place, Inc. v. Kennedy

The issue before us in this case is whether certain card games become illegal “percentage” games when the cardroom operator permits multiple bets by a single individual on a single hand and utilizes fee collection practices under which a fixed fee is collected for each bet within one monetary range and a higher fixed fee is collected for each bet within a higher monetary range. We conclude that such fee collection practices do not violate Penal Code section 330’s percentage game prohibition.

Background

Plaintiff has operated a 40-table cardroom in the City of San Jose since September 1994. About half of the tables in plaintiff’s cardroom are used for what plaintiff calls the “California Games.” The cardroom does not participate as a player in the California Games. One of the players acts as the “player-banker” for two hands at a time. The player-banker position rotates around the table. The players bet against each other, and each player must bet at least the minimum bet. The player-banker is not required to match the bets of all of the other players. As the players play only against the player-banker’s hand, all or several of the players may win in a particular hand if…