The Department of Justice targeted a number of people on Black Friday, and two of them have decided to take an interesting stance in their defense. In an attempt to have their charges dismissed, Chad Elie and John Campos will be arguing that poker is a skill game.

The charges against the men are very serious and include money laundering for both. In total, Elie is facing nine charges while Campos is facing six. They are hoping that some of these charges can be removed once they argue that poker isn't 100% gambling. They will argue this point in front of a federal judge. Elie and Campos were arrested back in April just a few days after Black Friday.

Campos is based in Utah and was the Vice Chairman of SunFirst Bank. His trouble stems from the fact that he was facilitating payment processing for PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. If you were a poker player living in the United States, you probably played on one or both of those rooms because a William Hill Poker download was not possible.

Elie was a businessman, also based in Utah. His lawyer has been the most outspoken so far, claiming that the UIGEA doesn't apply to online poker. A direct quote from the court filing reads as such: "Online poker is a game in which the outcome depends on at least some degree on skill." You might recall that the UIGEA caused the Party Poker download to leave the U.S. market.

It has been said that Campos will be fighting the charges in a very similar fashion. He is in his own separate case, but he shares the goal of Elie to have all charges dismissed.

Americans everywhere will be waiting and watching to see if poker as a skill game is accepted as a legitimate argument. When legalization finally happens, sites like the 888 Poker download will be chomping at the bit to get into the American market!