"We did offer to reimburse them for their direct costs and their advertising. We offered it and they sued us," he said. "In fairness, they placed some ads in the (Daily Utah) Chronicle and placed some posters, and we felt it was not unreasonable to" reimburse the costs.

It is unusual for outside businesses to come to the university and charge students to participate in activities, said Emily Justice, director of the ASUU Presenter's Office. Justice worked with the Nadeaus on the tournament.

"When I found out about the event, I didn't think it was something we wanted to support, having an outside vendor come onto campus and walk away with the money and getting a discounted rate for rental of the student union," said Alex Lowe, ASUU president. "If students want to gamble that's their choice, but it's not something we want to promote."

The Nadeaus started their club in July 2004. The cavernous room it occupies includes folding tables and chairs for games, a big screen television and two couches. They run tournaments Thursdays through Mondays almost every week, Ryan Nadeau said.

The club received an "illegal use of land" ticket last week from Sandy city for running tournaments in its leased space in an area zoned for industrial uses, according to Nick Duerksen, the city's assistant community development director.

Duerksen said the club's business license and the area's zoning permits retail sales of gaming equipment but not poker tournaments.

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E-mail: kswinyard@desnews.com; lindat@desnews.com