WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that David Williams did not have the right to sue Hasbro over disqualification from the 2001 World Championships for the card game Magic: The Gathering. In perhaps the most important case of the term, the justices ruled on a technicality, leaving open the possibility of a future test.

David Williams was disqualified without prize from Hasbro's tournament, for having marked "Accumulated Knowledge" cards. He sued for $35000 and 32 "pro points." The Court ruled that Williams could not bring charges, because the cards in question were listed in his deck registration as "AKs." This overturned a Washington appeals court ruling that ordinary wear-and-tear of cards could not be used as grounds for disqualification.

The decision was 7-1. The harshly critical dissenting statement, written by Justice John Stevens, is reprinted here in full: "Whatever." This is a personal shortest for Justice Stevens, and is the second shortest in U.S. history. Justice William O. Douglas's infamous "Two Commas" dissent remains the shortest ever.

Williams was unhappy with the ruling, and demanded to speak to the "head Justice." Chief Justice Rehnquist silenced him with a cryptic "gg no re thx." [sic] Williams, who recently became a millionaire in the World Series of Poker, dodged questions from reporters that implied that he was using his money to buy Magic: The Gathering success. He gave Chief Justice Rehnquist "slops" for "slow-rolling" the verdict, and said, "DCI accountability is a problem, and it's not going away. The Supreme Court missed their chance to make a difference today. This same issue will come up again in a year or two, and some of these [Justice] guys will be dead by then. Someone else will decide for them [Justices]. I just don't get it."

Jeff Donais, a spokesman for Hasbro's Wizards of the Coast division, insisted that "David is a great ambassador for the game, and today's events shouldn't detract from that. We wish him good luck at PT Seattle, and we'll be sure to give him a feature match." Donais pooh-pooh'd the idea that Magic: The Gathering is losing its best players to poker. "Pooh-pooh," he said. "The thrill of a top 8 has nothing to do with the money. Besides, you have to risk your own money to play poker. It can cost upwards of $40 to play in a WSOP satellite tournament. Whereas a competitive Magic deck, like Nate Heiss's Dream Droplets, can be had for as little as 30 tickets." Donais also said that future Magic sets will be made with poker players in mind. "Our fall 2005 expansion, 'Deadline in Kimikama,' has a new creature subtype, 'Pokerfolk,' and we've incorporated the most skill-testing part of poker - folding - as a new mechanic."

On the official Magic: The Gathering website, game designer and columnist Mark Rosewater reenacted the story of the lawsuit, using hand puppets and bits of string.

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!

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WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that David Williams did not have the right to sue Hasbro over disqualification from the 2001 World Championships for the card game Magic: The Gathering. In perhaps the most important case of the term, the justices ruled on a technicality, leaving open the possibility of a future test.

David Williams was disqualified without prize from Hasbro's tournament, for having marked "Accumulated Knowledge" cards. He sued for $35000 and 32 "pro points." The Court ruled that Williams could not bring charges, because the cards in question were listed in his deck registration as "AKs." This overturned a Washington appeals court ruling that ordinary wear-and-tear of cards could not be used as grounds for disqualification.

The decision was 7-1. The harshly critical dissenting statement, written by Justice John Stevens, is reprinted here in full: "Whatever." This is a personal shortest for Justice Stevens, and is the second shortest in U.S. history. Justice William O. Douglas's infamous "Two Commas" dissent remains the shortest ever.

Williams was unhappy with the ruling, and demanded to speak to the "head Justice." Chief Justice Rehnquist silenced him with a cryptic "gg no re thx." [sic] Williams, who recently became a millionaire in the World Series of Poker, dodged questions from reporters that implied that he was using his money to buy Magic: The Gathering success. He gave Chief Justice Rehnquist "slops" for "slow-rolling" the verdict, and said, "DCI accountability is a problem, and it's not going away. The Supreme Court missed their chance to make a difference today. This same issue will come up again in a year or two, and some of these [Justice] guys will be dead by then. Someone else will decide for them [Justices]. I just don't get it."

Jeff Donais, a spokesman for Hasbro's Wizards of the Coast division, insisted that "David is a great ambassador for the game, and today's events shouldn't detract from that. We wish him good luck at PT Seattle, and we'll be sure to give him a feature match." Donais pooh-pooh'd the idea that Magic: The Gathering is losing its best players to poker. "Pooh-pooh," he said. "The thrill of a top 8 has nothing to do with the money. Besides, you have to risk your own money to play poker. It can cost upwards of $40 to play in a WSOP satellite tournament. Whereas a competitive Magic deck, like Nate Heiss's Dream Droplets, can be had for as little as 30 tickets." Donais also said that future Magic sets will be made with poker players in mind. "Our fall 2005 expansion, 'Deadline in Kimikama,' has a new creature subtype, 'Pokerfolk,' and we've incorporated the most skill-testing part of poker - folding - as a new mechanic."

On the official Magic: The Gathering website, game designer and columnist Mark Rosewater reenacted the story of the lawsuit, using hand puppets and bits of string.

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!

Related Stories

• Spike Lee Wins Injunction Against Psychatog
• Worlds 2002 - Recap
• DCI Banned from Theron Martin's Cellar