LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / November 8, 2000

NEW ORLEANS – Henry Smith Jr., responding to a charge of cheating at pokerat Harrah’s Casino on Oct. 29, said, “It was just one of those crazy thingsthat happened.”Smith, 71, of Norco, who has represented St. Charles Parish on the NewOrleans Aviation Board for 16 years and is the father of Rep. Gary Smith,said he expects the misdemeanor charge to soon be dismissed.

The way it happened, Smith said, stemmed from an earlier incident where a poker-playing friend, a Houma woman, ran out of gas several weeks ago on Interstate 310.

The woman called for help on her phone and awaited assistance. Meanwhile, aSt. Charles Parish deputy stopped and stayed with her for protection. Shewas so gratified she wanted to thank the deputy but forgot his name.

Smith said the woman told him the story, and he was writing down the address of the sheriff’s department and inadvertently placed four cards from his poker hand in his jacket pocket.

Three hours later he was arrested by Louisiana State Police, who saw the action on surveillance cameras.

“I play poker like some people play golf or tennis,” Smith said. “I don’t believethe game ever had more than $50 in it.”He said he was playing a variation of poker called Omaha, which requires the whole deck. The replacement cards he was dealt, Smith added, made his handworse.

However, because the State Police didn’t understand the way Omaha is played, they believed he was somehow cheating and acted accordingly. “Youcan’t take cards out of an Omaha deck and play the game,” he said.

But Smith didn’t blame Harrah’s at all, laying the blame instead on inadequate training of the State Police.

Later laughing about it, Smith said he was phoned by his son, who asked him, “What are you trying to do to me? I’m trying to get started in politics and you get arrested!” He said, “It’s embarrassing to a lot of people.”

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