Beer Pong Declared Legal in New Mexico
New Mexico has finally joined the other states in the Union in confirming beer pong to be a game of skill rather than chance. On Monday, February 14th, pongers across the Land of Enchantment were shocked when Special Investigation Division (SID) agents shut down beer pong in bars throughout the Albuquerque and Rio Rancho area. Not long after, SID agents shut down Clovis pong as well. This caused an outrage in the pong community, as well as among local bar owners who were now losing a significant portion of their revenue. Players were forced into houses as the tournament organizers from Southwest Beer Pong (SWBP) and Clovis Beer Pong (CBP), along with certain bar owners, took the case to the Alcohol and Gaming Division (A&G).
Surprisingly, when SWBP first contacted A&G, they had no idea what was going on regarding the shut down, and hadn’t even heard of beer pong! After many calls and emails, we were able to get through to the New Mexico Director of A&G, Gary Tomada. He didn’t know what was going on, but promised to look into it and get back to us. Eventually he did, and invited me to a meeting in Santa Fe with him, the deputy director, and several SID agents.
At the meeting, which took place on Friday, February 18th, I explained the basics of the game, as well as laid out what I thought were key arguments defending it as a game of skill, rather than chance. That was at the heart of the issue, because in New Mexico, games of chance are only allowed on licensed properties (read: tribe casinos). Games of skill, however, may be played as long as no alcohol is consumed as a part of the game (meaning games like flip cup would not be allowed, but beer pong with water should be fine). To further my point, I gave them a CD with two videos of pong being played. One was a typical game between mediocre players, and the second was “the best pong game ever played” between Kevin Kessler and Sean Foster, which took place back in 2009. I used this as an example of skill in the game, as it is obvious when watching that historic match that not just anyone can run 9OTs.
After that meeting it seemed like we were getting nowhere. A&G was difficult to get a response from, as they needed to meet with multiple people before reaching a decision, including their attorney, SID, and the Department of Public Safety. Although Director Tomada was very encouraging anytime we could get a hold of him, it looked bleak for any kind of quick decision.
CBP founder Elliot Fite went to the media almost immediately after Clovis was shut down, and got news coverage on television, radio, and the web, which helped get more of the public involved. When the news got involved, it came to light that SID had not been acting under orders from A&G when they made the initial shut downs, and so were acting on their own before A&G became involved. Since SID is supposed to be the enforcing agency of A&G decisions, and not a decision making body in itself, this brought even more controversy into the issue. At that point it seemed A&G wanted to reach a quick decision, as they told the news they would have a decision by the end of the month.
On Tuesday, March 1st, the Alcohol and Gaming Division released a statement outlining its decision. The statement can be found on their website. It claims that although games of chance are illegal in the state, beer pong is allowed so long as alcohol is not consumed as a result of winning or losing any game. This is a great victory for the game and for our community, and we thank those who assisted us during the hiatus: John, Bree, and Jack for housing tournaments; Ernie for alerting your contacts and for your advice; Elliot for getting the media involved; Edan and Ben for offering legal assistance. You guys are awesome and we appreciate all the help.
Also, we have word from a pretty reliable source that the new SID director is laying into his agents pretty hard for interfering with a legitimate business. That’s what I call the system working for once!
Surprisingly, when SWBP first contacted A&G, they had no idea what was going on regarding the shut down, and hadn’t even heard of beer pong! After many calls and emails, we were able to get through to the New Mexico Director of A&G, Gary Tomada. He didn’t know what was going on, but promised to look into it and get back to us. Eventually he did, and invited me to a meeting in Santa Fe with him, the deputy director, and several SID agents.
At the meeting, which took place on Friday, February 18th, I explained the basics of the game, as well as laid out what I thought were key arguments defending it as a game of skill, rather than chance. That was at the heart of the issue, because in New Mexico, games of chance are only allowed on licensed properties (read: tribe casinos). Games of skill, however, may be played as long as no alcohol is consumed as a part of the game (meaning games like flip cup would not be allowed, but beer pong with water should be fine). To further my point, I gave them a CD with two videos of pong being played. One was a typical game between mediocre players, and the second was “the best pong game ever played” between Kevin Kessler and Sean Foster, which took place back in 2009. I used this as an example of skill in the game, as it is obvious when watching that historic match that not just anyone can run 9OTs.
After that meeting it seemed like we were getting nowhere. A&G was difficult to get a response from, as they needed to meet with multiple people before reaching a decision, including their attorney, SID, and the Department of Public Safety. Although Director Tomada was very encouraging anytime we could get a hold of him, it looked bleak for any kind of quick decision.
CBP founder Elliot Fite went to the media almost immediately after Clovis was shut down, and got news coverage on television, radio, and the web, which helped get more of the public involved. When the news got involved, it came to light that SID had not been acting under orders from A&G when they made the initial shut downs, and so were acting on their own before A&G became involved. Since SID is supposed to be the enforcing agency of A&G decisions, and not a decision making body in itself, this brought even more controversy into the issue. At that point it seemed A&G wanted to reach a quick decision, as they told the news they would have a decision by the end of the month.
On Tuesday, March 1st, the Alcohol and Gaming Division released a statement outlining its decision. The statement can be found on their website. It claims that although games of chance are illegal in the state, beer pong is allowed so long as alcohol is not consumed as a result of winning or losing any game. This is a great victory for the game and for our community, and we thank those who assisted us during the hiatus: John, Bree, and Jack for housing tournaments; Ernie for alerting your contacts and for your advice; Elliot for getting the media involved; Edan and Ben for offering legal assistance. You guys are awesome and we appreciate all the help.
Also, we have word from a pretty reliable source that the new SID director is laying into his agents pretty hard for interfering with a legitimate business. That’s what I call the system working for once!
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Upcoming Events
WSOBP 8 Satellite (Coed/40+)
May 5th, 2012
Southwest Beer Pong
Spectators Sports Bar
Guy/Guy Teams: $50
Guy/Girl Teams: $40
Girl/Girl Teams: $30
Preregistration Discount Here
Albuquerque, NM
May 5th, 2012
Southwest Beer Pong
Spectators Sports Bar
Guy/Guy Teams: $50
Guy/Girl Teams: $40
Girl/Girl Teams: $30
Preregistration Discount Here
Albuquerque, NM
2012 Southwest Beer Pong Championships
August 3rd-5th, 2012
Southwest Beer Pong
Spectators Sports Bar
Friday: WSOBP 8 Satellite
Saturday: $5k Doubles Main Event
Sunday: Singles Championships
Albuquerque, NM
August 3rd-5th, 2012
Southwest Beer Pong
Spectators Sports Bar
Friday: WSOBP 8 Satellite
Saturday: $5k Doubles Main Event
Sunday: Singles Championships
Albuquerque, NM