Poker Rooms In Houston Legal
- Houston Begins Licensing Legal Live Cardrooms The City of Houston, Texas, has begun licensing cardrooms within its borders. Residents of the Lone Star State's largest metropolis can now enjoy fully legal Texas Hold'em, Pot Limit Omaha, and other types of poker in both cash game and tournament form. The First Licensed Houston Cardrooms.
- PokerAtlas covers every poker room in North America and has accurate phone numbers and addresses and complete information about number of tables, poker tournaments, cash games, player reviews and promotions. View poker room details like amenities, food and drinks, parking, jackpots, auto-shufflers, smoking, and player rewards programs.
- District Attorney Kim Ogg noted, “Poker rooms are illegal in the state of Texas.” And Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said, “We can’t allow illegal gambling to go on. It drives organized crime and fuels other criminal activity.”.
- In a legal brief to Attorney General Paxton, that lawyer tells the AG plainly, 'poker rooms violate Texas law and are illegal.' It is one of several briefs filed as the poker rooms continue to.
- Legal Poker Rooms In Houston
- Poker Rooms In Houston Legal Court
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- Legal Poker Rooms In Houston
- Poker Rooms In Houston Texas
Game rooms are generally legal in Texas as long as they do not have “illegal gambling devices” as defined in Section 47.01 (4) of the Texas Penal Code.
Playing poker for fun dates back to ages ago when playing cards were first invented. As the second largest state in the US by both area and population, Texas has continued to register a high growth in the number of poker rooms to accommodate growing interest in poker.
The popularity of poker rooms in Texas, however, has not been without challenges considering that Texas has strict anti-gambling laws. This puts many poker room operators at a risk of finding themselves on the wrong side of the law, even without realizing it.
If you own and/or operate a poker room in Texas, you may have questions about the legal aspects of such businesses. If you’re thinking of opening a game room and have questions about Texas gambling laws for your game room, this post addresses these legalities.
Poker Rooms in Texas
The state of Texas allows some forms of gambling such as buying lottery tickets and betting on horse and dog races. Bingo and gambling for charity are allowed, as long as the organizers of such events do not profit from them. When it comes to card rooms, the law clearly states that:
- Poker is illegal in a public facility, which is why the card rooms should operate inside private clubs. Public places include but are not limited to hospitals, schools, streets, highways, nightclubs, shops, office buildings hotels, motels and shared areas of apartment buildings.
- No one should receive an economic benefit aside from their personal winnings. This also penalizes the act of bookmaking and/or betting on the outcome of a game, contest or on the performance of individual players.
- Except for the advantages of skills or luck of the players, all the participants should have the same chances of winning and the risk of losing.
It is illegal to possess and use information that gives you an unfair advantage on the outcome of a game or contest. Making use of illegal gambling devices is also strictly prohibited.
How do Texas Poker Rooms Make Money?
Legal Poker Rooms In Houston
It is clear that the law forbids operators from making a profit from gambling. However, some Texan gamblers, eager to indulge in their passion without worrying about legal consequences, have come up with ingenious ways of earning income such as:
- Charging players membership fees to enter the premises. Becoming a member can be as easy as allowing the club to swipe your driving license. Some poker rooms also offer flexible membership models such as a $10 daily membership fee.
These methods, while not explicitly illegal, might cause trouble for game room operators in the future. One could argue that the card rooms are receiving economic benefits from the gambling activities they host, hence breaking the law.
Penalties of Illegal Gambling in Texas
The Texas Penal Code specifically makes it illegal to bet even a few dollars on a hand of poker. This is enough to lead to criminal charges, especially if that action is conducted in a public place. Section 47.02 of the Texas Penal Code makes this a Class C crime which is punishable by:
- Fines. Misdemeanor fines for illegal poker rooms in Texas range from a few hundred dollars up to $500. Note that fines can be separate or in addition to community services and probation.
- Community service and probation. Courts can also impose community service and probation for gambling convictions. The probation period can last up to 12 months or more.
If an operator conducts organized or professional gambling that promotes players to enter competitions in card rooms instead of simply playing in them, the penalties can be significantly increased. Section 47.03 of the penal code prohibits promoting or operating a gambling place. In addition, Section 47.04 makes it illegal to keep a location intended for public gambling use. These offenses are Class A and are punishable by:
- Jail or prison. Anyone convicted of these gambling offences can face up to one year in a county jail.
- Fines. The court can impose a fine of up to $4000 for misdemeanor gambling.
Sometimes, if a person is operating a poker room in public, he/she may lose their business license and be denied any future credentials to operate in the states of Texas.
Understanding Texas Poker Room Gambling Laws
It is important for one to understand how gambling laws work if they plan on operating a poker club. Both newcomers and industry veterans need help in the interpretation of the law, as legal aspects of a business can be both confusing and frustrating.
Recently, more established poker clubs with bigger financial muscles have gone to court in an effort to seek a legal interpretation of exactly what is legal and what is not. One cannot plead ignorance in a court of law, so it is in their best interests to try as much as possible to understand the law.
Laws also keep changing with the times, so even the most informed poker room owner might find himself ambushed by a clause he didn’t know existed.
To that end, hiring a competent criminal lawyer with a thorough grasp of gambling laws comes in handy. A good attorney not only provides advice regarding current industry requirements but also keeps the client in the loop regarding upcoming changes in the law that might impact his or her business.
Consult With a Houston Game Room Attorney
Poker Rooms In Houston Legal Court
The Law Office of Matthew D. Sharp provides the best advice to those interested in or are already running poker rooms. All legal aspects of the business are discussed with the client, with the view of providing guidance on the best course to take.
With our years of experience in the industry, we provide not only historical background, but also future trends in lawmaking that might affect the client’s poker room. We invite all game room owners to call us and share their experiences and legal needs with us.
There is something fishy going on with poker clubs in Texas. And it smells like an elaborate scare tactic along with some unethical behavior…on the part of people associated with the District Attorney’s office.
Texas authorities raided two of the most well-known poker clubs in Houston in early May and charged the owners and managers with a plethora of serious crimes. People were arrested and spent time in jail, hired lawyers, and didn’t garner any income from the closed clubs for months.
Midway through July, all charges against the poker room owners and managers were dropped.
But that may not be the end of this increasingly complicated story.
This is a Raid!
It happened on May 1 at the Post Oak Poker Club and Prime Social Poker Club, both located in Houston. The Harris County District Attorney’s office and the Houston Police Department raided both of the clubs, arrested nine people, froze company bank accounts, and seized bank balances.
These were the people taken into custody:
Post Oak Poker Club:
–Daniel Jeffery Kebort, owner
–William Jack Heuer III, owner
–Alan Harris Chodrow, owner
–Sergio Diaz Cabrera, owner
–Kevin Louis Chodrow, owner
Prime Social Poker Club:
–Dan Maddox, owner
–Mary Switzer, comptroller
–Brent J. Pollack, general manager
–Steven Farshid, assistant general manager
This changes things a bit in the South Texas poker club scene. Will be interesting to see what more develops –> Police raid 2 poker rooms, arrest nine https://t.co/SPUZUPW5tp via @ABC13Houston
— Sean Chaffin (@PokerTraditions) May 1, 2019
Charges against them included felony money laundering and engagement in organized crime, reportedly the results of a two-year investigation. District Attorney Kim Ogg noted, “Poker rooms are illegal in the state of Texas.”
And Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said, “We can’t allow illegal gambling to go on. It drives organized crime and fuels other criminal activity.”
Never Mind
On July 16, all of the charges were dropped for all nine people. Ogg’s office was preparing to return $206,000 seized during the raids.
The DA’s office said the dismissal of the charges was a result of “multiple potential conflicts of interest” within her office. While one was a “potential defense witness who is a former contract employee and a political fundraiser,” the other conflicts were not detailed.
The prosecutions of Prime Social Poker Club and another game room?, which also said it was pitched on the $250k scheme by the consultant, Amir Mireskandari, collapsed yesterday when Ogg dismissed charges against 9 people, citing a conflict re Mireskandarihttps://t.co/WiIW8uThcD
Poker Rooms In Houston Legal Services
— Zach Despart?️ (@zachdespart) July 18, 2019
What is known is that the cases have been referred to the FBI for further investigation, and the clubs are preparing to reopen.
Possible Legal Action
Lawyers for the Prime Social Poker Club spoke to the media a day after the charges were dropped to talk about the damage done to the people working there. Attorney Wayne Dolcefino said more than 100 employees lost their jobs at Prime Social alone after the raids.
But the situation took another turn when ABC13 began to report on a deeper investigation.
As it turned out, those arrested from both poker rooms began to talk during their time in jail after the raids, and they came to some realizations. Most importantly, both clubs were approached by the same group of people, all of whom were requesting large sums of money ($250,000) to help them legitimize their clubs in the eyes of Texas law. They were promised permits, legal assistance, and legislation.
Poker room attorneys claim some of that money was paid to a man named Amir Mireskandari, but it turned out that the man was also working with the Harris County DA’s office to investigate financial crimes by those same poker rooms.
Prime Social paid some of the money requested, though Post Oak did not. But when representatives from both clubs began talking in jail on May 1, they realized that something was wrong.
Attorney Joe Magliolo for Prime Social asserted, “We believe we were victims of a fraud, much as I believe the DA’s office were victims of a fraud.”
Operating In and Around Rules
Technically, poker is not legal in Texas.
More specifically, making money from poker is not legal in Texas.
Poker room operators have found ways, in recent years, to circumvent that law…by not making a profit from the games themselves, i.e. not collecting rake.
People have opened clubs – more than 30 of them operating around Texas today – that operate as private, membership-based organizations. People can become a member of the club for a fee, which allows them to play tournaments without commission and cash poker games without rake. Players sometimes also pay seat rental fees, the proceeds from which make food and drink available for club members.
So far, there have been legal matters and talk of clarifications to state laws, but nothing has come to fruition. This allows the current state of affairs to continue, with clubs operating in somewhat legal territory but susceptible to raids such as the one that took place on May 1.
As of now, Post Oak and Prime Social plan to reopen later this summer. The FBI is being encouraged to investigate the conflicts within the DA’s office. And the game of skill that is poker continues to be played, both at poker clubs and underground.