U.S. Supreme Court lets Ho-Chunk video poker decision stand

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A court decision to let the Ho-Chunk Nation offer video poker at its Madison casino will stand after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports the Supreme Court refused to take case on Monday with no comment. The case was among about 1,600 other cases the court declined to take up.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice had argued video poker at the casino is a Class III card game and therefore was prohibited under the terms of the tribe's gambling compact with the state.

The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in April that video poker at the casino was legal, saying the state must criminalize a gambling activity in order to prevent the tribe from engaging in it.