Poker club's anger at U. goes public

Two brothers who run poker tournaments from a converted warehouse just west of I-15 in Sandy have raised the stakes in their fight with Utah's largest public university.

Matt and Ryan Nadeau took their complaints about the University of Utah to media Wednesday in a news conference about their lawsuit against the university. They charged university administrators gave them little notice when they canceled an alleged agreement to hold a Texas Hold'Em-style tournament at the student union Tuesday and Wednesday.

University of Utah administrators said they canceled near to the tournament's start date because that's when they found out about it.

"A number of us in the administration and myself included, in consultation with the students, just felt the idea of a commercial poker game for U. students was a bad idea on the face of it and we shouldn't be promoting poker on campus as a student event," said Fred Esplin, university spokesman. "Frankly, it was a mistake that it got as far as it did."

Poker club members had negotiated with the ASUU presenter's office, which runs many events on campus, and the student union before the issue made its way "well into the process" to the university administration, Esplin said.

The Nadeaus planned on charging students $20 to join the tournament, but they also wanted to raffle prizes as an incentive to participate. They could not award monetary prizes for game winners because Utah law prohibits gambling, which is defined as risking something of value in a game of chance to win something of value. Take away one of those elements — such as prizes for winners — and it isn't gambling, Ryan Nadeau said.

Big SLC Poker Club is seeking $350,000 in damages, including compensation for its loss of customers, trade, business and reputation at the event that club members anticipated would have drawn between 3,000 and 5,000 students, according to the civil lawsuit filed in 3rd District Court on Tuesday.

The suit states the university had five months to negotiate terms for renting a ballroom in the Student Union Building on Feb. 22-23 as well as other arrangements, but the university told the club on Feb. 16 that the event was off.

The suit alleges that by that time the club had arranged for workers, sponsors, ballroom use, advertising, food service and prizes redeemable at the University Bookstore, as well as a one-semester scholarship.

"In five months, literally, at any time they could have said they didn't want it," Matt Nadeau said Wednesday morning at his club. "The most frustrating thing is the timing."

Esplin said he's aware the club has claimed it was damaged by the university's actions.