So now, instead of charging players for a steak dinner in exchange for "free poker," the club lets people play for free. Winners receive points; if they win enough points they can play in a weekly tournament for cash prizes. The money for the prizes comes from the sale of drinks and food — but, unlike some bingo parlors, Club 90 says it does not overcharge for food as an excuse to get around the law.

"The way we're figuring, it's entertainment," Snyder says about the free poker games. "If we're getting bodies in here, more people will come. People attract people."

Big SLC Poker Club was shut down in April for zoning violations. A letter to its members, posted on the Club's Web site on April 20 by a person identified only as Matt explains that "Sandy city has been trying to get rid of us for months by using small and silly regulations to hurt us financially and recently with the threat of jail time."

"I hope many of you find this as funny as I do," Matt said. "I wonder how many cases of crimes involving drugs, and other truly criminal activities, have had less penalties." He said Big SLC Poker negotiated with city officials to suspend the 90 days jail time recommended by the city prosecutor. The club paid nearly $1,100 in fines, and Matt was put on 12 months probation, during which time he is not allowed to conduct business in Sandy. According to the Web site, Big SLC Poker is looking for a new home, outside Sandy.

A similar poker-only club in Orem is still flourishing, having convinced the city attorney — at least for now — that its rules fall this side of legal. According to Orem city attorney Paul Johnson, the club charges money to play but doesn't offer prizes at that level. Winners get a chance to play for prizes but do not have to pay to get into that part of the tournament.

"Right now they have some good arguments, and I'm not sure I can prove beyond a reasonable doubt it's gambling," says Johnson. Other prosecutors, he knows, "think it's a slam dunk" that The Flop House's rules are illegal, since players do pay, at some point, for the chance to win TVs and DVD players.

On its Web site, The Flop House notes that "Gambling of any type is illegal in Utah. We do not condone any illegal activity. . . . We offer various prizes (no cash value) to the winners." The Web site did not explain why the TVs, DVD players and other prizes have "no cash value."

The new Morning News polls finds that 2 percent of Utahns say they have gambled at Utah poker clubs — and all of them have done so within the past year.

Home games

Home poker games are also still common in Utah — and are even openly advertised on the Internet. But police rarely bother them as long as they are not conspicuous or commercial and do not generate complaints.

"Obviously, no one is going to raid your poker game in your basement on a Saturday night," says Yocom, the Salt Lake County district attorney. "Law enforcement doesn't have the time or the energy to pursue that."