A game of poker has persisted through much of the spring semester in one of our campus dorms. This game has since been shut down, and the circumstances of that shutdown have been widely discussed since.
To give context on the situation, Game Organizer Carter Watsabaugh stated, “I was playing casual no money poker and I had some other people show interest so we started with some just low stakes close friends poker. I kinda just went along with it and said sure I’ll look into the legal side. There’s no rake or profit so it’s legal under Wyoming’s gambling laws under home game rules. I started hosting poker nights last year in the dorms. There were no issues that arose. I had interacted with some officers and because it was a home game it was legal. Nothing brought up with student policy that I or any higher-ups were aware of. Once a week in the dorms with some people that I invite, low stakes, like a 20-dollar buy-in. “
This poker game was reportedly advertised in the form of flyers and a post on the UW Snapchat stories. As Director of Residence Life Ryan Schamp adds, “My assumption is that at some point it probably was (advertised) and it was through the advertisement that I became aware of the game.” He went on to say, “As soon as I would have found out that person would have been told not to have a poker game.”
As Watsabaugh says, “I was reached out to by my resident coordinator about her discussion with Ryan about poker nights cause he got a tip from someone that they were happening. He looked into it and found out the gambling policy was removed from the student code of conduct. I saw the email on September 30th and it said I can’t host poker nights in the dorms anymore so I met with Ryan and we came to the same conclusion.”
Schamp stated, “Situationally my understanding is that gambling of all sorts was banned last year under the code of conduct but this was changed this year. My policy for anyone working in residential life is that they will not be running a poker game.”
The particular policy about residence life, with Watsabaugh being an RA, was where Schamp took issue with the game from a policy perspective. Schamp also explained, “It would be my intent if it is not in the code of conduct that I will be proposing in our on-campus housing policies and procedures that gambling with money will not be allowed. That will have to be approved by the dean of students and in turn GC: I think that best practices across the country have established this policy in virtually every residential life system.”
The situation itself arose due to misinformation more so than anything else according to Watsabaugh, “Ryan received some misinformation that a student lost $1500 from the game and that was misinformation so I talked to the student who said it was likely that his father was looking at his Venmo statements and that was just the money going out of his account.”
The misinformation has been cleared up and Watsabaugh remains hopeful that he and his friends can continue to enjoy their games off campus, “Now we just do some off-campus games. It’s been really enjoyable. People enjoy the games. It’s been casual. We have fun and mess around.”
Schamp’s stance on gambling was steadfast, as he added near the end of the interview, “I think that gambling can be an addiction and we should be not promoting an atmosphere in which an addiction can thrive.”
Watsabaugh ultimately took a different stance from the student perspective, “There is a negative stigma against poker in Wyoming and in general but it can be a fun pastime if done responsibly. Which is the goal of the poker nights I host.”
The situation highlights the differences between the staff and student perspectives but also shows the power of misinformation. Ultimately, Watsabaugh has not committed any legal wrongdoings, and the Code of Conduct reflects that beyond his responsibilities as an RA, he has done nothing wrong as a student.
