The Seward Volunteer Fire Company is burning up, and its not because they forgot to put out a fire. The Pennsylvania State Attorney General has put an end to fund raising efforts by the department using Texas Hold’em tournaments. State troopers seized a little over nine thousand dollars from one tournament and the state is now seeking an additional thirty-one thousand in deposits from past tournaments for a total of around forty thousand dollars.

The state has justified the forfeiture because poker is illegal gambling and thus the profits are also illegal. The state has begun going after illegal gambling with fervor after passing laws to license racinos which generate a large income for the state. They have gone after moose fraternal Lodges, local pubs, VFW Halls and everything in between, despite many of them using the profits for charity or basic needs.