Poker Rooms In Houston Texas
A pair of Houston card rooms were raided by local law enforcement Wednesday afternoon and more crackdowns of these establishments might be on the way.
Poker players have fought for legalized poker for years, whether in Texas online poker rooms or in brick-and-mortar establishments. In 2012-2013, Senator Rodney Ellis introduced casino bills that included the legalization of poker, but Ellis received no support from his fellow lamwakers. The gambling laws in Texas have led to a murky existence for many poker rooms, state legislation only offering protection if gambling ‘takes place in a private place where no person receives an economic benefit beyond personal winnings’. Houston PD Chief Art Acevedo explained the authorities approach this week, saying. Houston Jobs; Job Application – Houston Hospitality and Operations; Job Application – Houston Poker Dealers; Monday $45 Re-Entry Tournament, $1,200 GTD; North Houston Calendar; Sat. Jan 25th Free Roll $1.5K GTD; Saturday $130 Re-Entry Tournament – $2,500 GTD; Sunday $10k Guarantee; Thursday $85 Deep Stack Re-Entry Tournament, $1,600 GTD.
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Prime Social Club and Post Oak Poker Club were raided by officers from the Vice Division of the Houston Police Department. In total, nine owners and managers were arrested on charges of money laundering and engaging in organized criminal activity.
“Poker rooms are illegal in Texas,” District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement. “We are changing the paradigm regarding illegal gambling by moving up the criminal chain and pursuing felony money laundering and engaging in organized crime charges against owners and operators.”
Officers seized computers and hard drives in the raid. At Prime Social Club, the raid took place just a few minutes before the start of a $580 no-limit hold’em tournament with a $150,000 guaranteed prize pool.
Poker Room In Houston Texas Area
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo told local media that this is just the start of a larger crackdown on poker rooms in Houston.
“We’re not going to tolerate it,” Acevedo told the local ABC News affiliate. “We got two of the bigger ones today and this is just the beginning. We need to shut them down. If you want to have these kind of establishments, the legislature needs to authorize it. Otherwise, we’re going to do our jobs and shut them down.”
Law enforcement clearly believes these clubs are breaking the state’s gambling laws. The operators, on the other hand, believe that they are in full compliance with state law since they don’t collect a rake. The card rooms only charge membership fees and consider themselves a private club.
“We’re just facilitating the play between the players,” said Daniel Kebort, one of the five owners of the Post Oak Poker Club that were arrested yesterday.
Wayne Dolcefino, who worked for Prime Social Club both in researching the law before the club opened its doors and in promoting certain events, said that the idea that they are hiding a criminal operation is laughable.
“In my view, a business trying to cover their tracks wouldn’t be in a giant building on Westheimer,” said Dolcefino.
Poker Tournaments In Houston Tx
Poker Rooms In Houston Tx
While no players were arrested, both clubs had their bank accounts and assets frozen. According to an October 2018 article from the San Antonio Express, there are “about 40” of these poker clubs operating throughout the state.