Maybe this wasn't the best time for Doug Polk to buy a poker room, after all.
After operating in relative obscurity, Texas poker has received a ton of attention in poker news over the past 6 weeks, for various unrelated matters.
However, arguably the biggest incident has just occurred.
Texas Card House, the largest room in Dallas, had its "certificate of occupancy" revoked by the city, which essentially shuts down the business. The stated reason was, "Keeping a Gambling Place".
Texas card rooms are technically private clubs, not casinos. They are not allowed by law to take a rake, and the games themselves are unregulated, essentially relegated to home game status. The legality of such rooms has always been up in the air. However, the city of Dallas was very aware of what Texas Card House really was, when its operational license was granted in October 2020.
Texas Card House is fighting the notice, and is still in operation as of today. Here is their statement, as posted by Allen Kessler on Facebook (who isn't affiliated with them, btw):
It is likely that TCH is telling the truth about cashing people out if they get completely shut down. Indeed, they have other locations in Texas, and would never want to sully their name by screwing people at the Dallas location.As we understand the concern, we can assure you that we would honor any outstanding chips or balances for our members in the event that we are shut down. However, we feel strongly about our ability to overcome this battle and foresee this process taking a long time in the interim. One of the many perks of playing at TCH locations, we are bigger than just one location. Additionally, we back our product 100% and are committed to doing the right things by our players, staff, and community.
There are two other card rooms in Dallas: Poker House Dallas, and Shuffle 214. They are also operating, and won't comment on their status with the city. However, in an article by Haley Hintze on poker.org, she noted that a Dallas councilman said that multiple rooms' certificates of occupancy were revoked.
If Dallas card rooms really get completely shut down, and there isn't a tremendous backlash, it may encourage copycat actions in other Texas cities with similar card rooms, such as Houston and Austin. It is also possible that the state government of Texas could clamp down on this at any time.