The Tilted Jack’s Mission is to organize players and work with community leaders to legitimize professional, regulated cardrooms. We are a bona fide social group of like-minded citizens that believe we have the constitutional right to organize and play professional non-banked Class I and II card games in private adult-membership clubs and leagues that we collectively own and control. We believe we have the right to tip our volunteer dealers for their professional services, and that if the act of tipping makes such service unlawful, then there is something wrong with the laws or they are wrongly being misapplied to the sport of poker.
Goals
Create awareness about The Tilted Jack and our mission. By operating as a unique, private, social club cooperative, we have established our right to play professional poker in an honest, open, statutorily self-regulated, player-owned and controlled, safe neighborhood card club. The cooperative seeks to free professional poker from the gambling industry casinos where, in Arizona at least, there exists an unfair monopoly to run a Class II game such as poker "as a business", that is, for profit. As a Class II game, Indian casino card rooms are not subject to state laws against "conducting card rooms as a business", but thru a 1998 Memorandum of Understanding, the State and Tribes changed Class II Poker to Class III Jackpot Poker. Even those casinos that do not have a Jackpot scheme attached to their poker games have agreed to operate as Class III gaming and subject themselves to State regulatory oversight and procedures, including the Class III net proceeds tithe to the Arizona Benefits Fund. The cooperative operates "at cost", and any proceeds over what is needed to cover monthly overhead is returned to the players through standard cooperative accounting methods and "Net Zero" freerolls or other legal dispersal methods approved by the members of the cooperative.
Educate the public and officials about our mission and our methods, and attempt to change the perception of poker as a gane chance or luck. We want to distance poker from games of chance such as blackjack, slot machines, keno, roulette and all other casino gambles (except perhaps sports betting). Poker is different because there is no house edge or fixed payout percentage over time. The game is played against other players, like golf, chess or darts, and while luck or chance does its part to create the opportunity for "a gamble", the game is predominantly a game of skill. What makes most poker parlors illegal (by state statutes) today is when the owners or promoters benefit from the gambling. The Tilted Jack is different, as the club is owned and operated equally by all our members, democratically, systematically, and we are legally bound by our Operating Agreement and the Limited Liability Corporations Act as to how we operate, and we believe this makes TTJ completely 100% legal.
Increase membership for The Tilted Jack as a group composed of hundreds if not thousands of citizens who have joined together, cooperatively and socially, to accomplish our primary mission: to allow poker parlors to legitimately operate in Arizona. The Tilted Jack is — first and foremost — this grassroots political movement whose primary goal is to work with the City of Phoenix, County of Maricopa, and the State of Arizona; to create the legislative framework for the poker industry to freely, but responsibly, flourish in our communities.
Organize a professional poker players union and put the global sport of competitive poker on the map in Arizona. Professional poker players, like all other professional sports, need a players union. Especially now.
Form a regulatory commission comprised of industry professionals, dealers, players and management. And as deemed necessary, minimal oversight provided by the city and state departments of Public Safety and Revenue and community local police and fire chiefs. Provide a Nexus for all club owners and promoters, who while competing in the same market, surely recognize the need for standards and policies that should be industry-wide. Together with the owners/promotos and members/players, we have two solid groups of supporters and allies that want to enact change to legitimize storefront poker rooms in Arizona.
Work with the State of Arizona and our legislative representatives to accomplish our mission and goals, or in the alternative, a direct ballot initiative if elected officials are unable or unwilling to sponsor and support our just cause. Arizona has a long and storied history when it comes to poker in the frontier West, and we should embrace that heritage by legitimizing poker venues throughout the state. Doing so can create more jobs, generate tax and licensing revenue, and put Arizona on the map as a most poker-friendly state that can lead the way for other states to do the same!
Work with the AIGA and their member tribes to bring more home game and online and free pub poker players into the world of live professional poker, and cross market and promote our games as satellites into the much larger venues offered by the 22+ casinos throughout Arizona. Poker is big business, and it's popularity is still on the increase. Whatever we can do to unify and expand the industry, we should explore together and to everyone's benefit.
Provide the best possible service for poker players in a professional establishment that is owned and controlled equally by all members. Provide the best quality equipment. Provide the best possible management and staff.
Good for our neighborhood community! Create jobs, a safe community social club and donate monthly to local philanthropic interests. To date we have contributed to food banks, the local VFW, Christmas in July.org, and The 100 Club of Arizona with many more to come!
Statement of Cooperative Identity
The International Cooperative Alliance, established in 1895, is considered to be the final authority for defining cooperatives and the principles by which they operate. The organization has made three formal statements of cooperative principles over the past 100 years in an effort to keep them relevant to the contemporary world. At its 100th anniversary meeting in September 1995 in Manchester, England, the Alliance adopted the following "Statement of Cooperative Identity."
Definition
A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically controlled enterprise.
Cooperative Values
Cooperatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, and solidarity. In the tradition of their founders, cooperative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility, and caring for others.
Cooperative Principles
The cooperative principles are guidelines by which the cooperatives put their values into practice:
Voluntary and Open Membership - Cooperatives are voluntary organizations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, racial, political, or religious discrimination.
Democratic Member Control - Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting their policies and making decisions. Men and women serving as elected representatives are accountable to the membership. In primary cooperatives members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote), and cooperatives at other levels are also organized in a democratic manner.
Member Economic Participation - Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative. At least part of that captial is usually the common property of the cooperative. Members usually receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of membership. Members allocate surpluses for any of the following purposes: developing their cooperative, possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible; benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the cooperative; and supporting other activities approved by the membership.
Autonomy and Independence - Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by their members. If the enter into agreements with other organizations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their cooperative autonomy.
Education, Training and Information - Cooperatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperatives. They inform the general public, particularly young people and opinion leaders, about the nature of the cooperation.
Cooperation Among Cooperatives - Cooperatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, national, regional, and international structures.
Concern for Community - Cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities, through policies approved by their members.
