Texas Town Denies Polk-Led Poker Room Effort
It was a good effort. The Lodge Card Club co-owner Doug Polk wanted to open another poker room. With the success of the Lodge pushing him forward, Polk and a group of Texas poker players and supporters went to a small town’s city council meeting in the hopes of promoting the idea.
The town was having none of it, and the city council members easily voted it down.
That doesn’t disparage the effort, which was substantive. It was far more than most poker players have done to grow the game in parts of the country in which it is not legal or lives in limbo. Texas is fertile but tough ground, and those in the poker room business have taken a lot of risks in the past few years to stand that ground. Hopefully, Polk and crew learn from this meeting and try again – more prepared and better equipped to sway opinions.
It’s going to take a village – a cohesive, persuasive, and well-rounded village – to grow poker in Texas.
Expanding the Lodge
The Lodge Card Club is a membership-based social club that offers poker cash games and tournaments. Players can purchase memberships on a weekly, monthly, or annual basis, which provides access to the tables and lounge area. Once a member, a person can buy a seat at a rate of $11 per hour.
The membership structure allows the business to operate as a social club instead of a traditional card room or casino, thus circumventing state laws regarding gambling. The Lodge is located in Round Rock, Texas, just north of Austin, and is co-owned by poker pros Doug Polk, Andrew Neeme, and Brad Owen.
It is far from the only card club in Texas. Champions Club in Houston, Legends in Houston, and Poker House and Texas Card House each have multiple locations around the state. Most of these clubs operate with valid business licenses and permits, provide their own security, and welcome players from around the United States.
The success of the Lodge has prompted Polk and his co-owners to look into expansion. Specifically, they looked at a location in Farmers Branch, a town of more than 30,000 people that is a suburb of Dallas, a part of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
On the Agenda
The Lodge owners took their plan to Farmers Branch. In March, they filed a plan to change the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance with relation to card rooms. Specifically, they wanted to create a new “Card Room” category within the zoning ordinance to regulate card rooms and permit the land use for these establishments.
Polk applied for a text amendment, which would approve the use of land for his card room and open the zoning ordinance to future requests from others. It would have to be approved by the Planning & Zoning Commission and the City Council.
To create this legal amendment under Texas gambling laws, the card rooms would not apply to the current prohibition of “Keeping of a Gambling Place” in Texas Penal Code Chapter 47 due to these factors:
- Gambling will occur in a private place.
- No person will receive any economic benefit other than personal winnings.
- Except for the advantage of skill or luck, the risk of losing and chance of winning would be the same for all players.
Since all municipalities in Texas have interpreted the current Texas gambling law individually, the amendment was considered.
On April 8, the Planning & Zoning Commission unanimously voted down Ordinance No. 3858.
However, the Farmers Branch City Council put it on the May 7 public hearing agenda.
Arguing for Poker
Two hours into the hearing, which is archived online, a representative outlined the proposal for card rooms. He detailed the specific standards that the card rooms would need to meet and how they will be compliant. There would be a special operating permit required as well. City Attorney David Berman then commented that there would be a deeper legal query into the matter if the City Council approved the ordinance.
There was quite a bit of discussion about the number of people who have inquired about opening card rooms. Polk’s request was the only one that turned into an ordinance plan and point of discussion for the city. The difference, it appeared, that Polk had a property in mind and an owner that was interested in obtaining a permit for a card room.
After a half hour of City Council members asking questions and trying to understand the issue, permit applicant Doug Polk was invited to speak.
“I want to start off on a quick, lighter note. First off, I’ve got to give a shout out to Marcos for really doing his best with a very precarious issue and a lot of opinions, so he’s put in a lot of hours and done his best. And then I also just want to say that the card-playing community loves their pickleball (another agenda item at the hearing), and I know we like that here in Farmers Branch, so can we get a round of applause for the pickleball?
“To start off with, I want to just talk about the card-playing community as it stands here today in Farmers Branch.
“You know, I didn’t realize this when I got here, but there’s actually quite an avid community of people playing cards. There is a card room just down the street here from City Hall. It’s actually just right here on Harry Hines (Blvd). A lot of the people that work in that card room actually live in Farmers Branch, and I’ve gotten to meet quite a few of them. So, there is not only an employee base here in the city, but then there are also a lot of people that are playing cards that live here in Farmers Branch as well.
“I own two different businesses. They both have Farmers Branch residents. But I didn’t really know exactly how many poker players there were here until I got here, and I went down to the Moose Lodge. And thank you to the Moose Lodge for the support, a little freeroll action, good stuff. I didn’t know what a Moose Lodge was, but when I saw that there was a lodge poker club in Farmers Branch, I had to go check it out. Nice people.
“So, between seeing people in that and seeing people in Red Stix – I’ve had meetings there every day for the last five days to meet with people, and every day, card players show up over there. There’s also the Dallas Poker Store, which is in the heart of the overlay district. They sell all of the stuff you need to play poker. It’s actually here in Farmer’s Branch.
“Basically, what I’m saying to you guys is there are card players all over your city today, either at the one right here down the road or at the Moose Lodge or in home games or wherever they may be. I want to dispel the idea that this is somehow eroding the fabric of the community.
“I guess I just want to say here about this attack on poker players in general like they’re bad people. I’ll tell you what – some of the best people I’ve met in my life are poker players. I started my career with $10, and I turned it into millions of dollars by becoming one of the best in the world. Poker gave me that opportunity, and I’m tired of people attacking poker players like they’re some kind of lowlifes. They’re good people, and we stand together.”
Opinions All Around
As it was a public hearing, the public could speak about the issue of card rooms in their community, and they did.
The first speaker advocated for home games, not card rooms that produce as many losers as winners. The second speaker said her son is an “addicted gambler” who told her that there is a crime element in card rooms. She asked if City Council members would go to the card rooms, inviting their wives and pastors. She only wants “cream of the crop” businesses in Farmers Branch that have value, and Farmers Branch should be better than other cities that do have card rooms.
The third speaker from another city spoke about frequenting card rooms around the country and in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He noted there are good “family folks” in the rooms and would be glad to take his Methodist pastor. A fourth speaker was a poker player who advocated for card rooms as social clubs to watch sports, meet a range of people in various careers. He compared poker to chess and noted that poker clubs have no interest in who wins or loses, the latter which differentiates them from casinos.
There were arguments about the gray areas of Texas gambling laws and the potential for litigation.
Pack Your Bags
Some speakers used words like evil and darkness with respect to “poker parlors.” They’ve gotten “sinister” feelings from card club parking lots and worry about crime. They said they advocated for families when speaking against the poker rooms. They spoke of gambling addictions, heartbreak at the notion of card rooms bringing evil to their community, and the idea that poker rooms are being shoved down their throats. There were comparisons to strip clubs and crime dens, notions that poker and gambling lead to lonely wives and domestic abuse.
One woman said, “Mr. Doug Polk, although you’re a very nice man, you can pack your bags and go home.”
Some Farmers Branch residents claimed that poker advocates had berated and insulted them at the hearing.
Poker Players Out in Force
Poker players noted the positive people and families in the poker community, the support and friendship in Texas card rooms, and the social aspects of the game. Others spoke about poker tourism and employment opportunities, economic benefits for the community and surrounding businesses, and tax revenue for the city.
There was a conservative Christian woman in her 60s who was proud to be a part of the poker community, her parents having met at the tables and she having met her husband in poker. A man described himself as a right-wing conservative Christian and retired police sergeant described the poker table as a diverse, friendly melting pot that brings people together. He noted the clean and professional nature of poker rooms in Texas.
One man pointed out the specific differences between casino gambling and poker, and noted that poker saved his life when he had been headed down a “dark” path. He noted that bars serving alcohol don’t get the kind of vitriol aimed at card clubs despite the addictive properties of alcohol. Poker proponents urged people who think poker rooms are dark and seedy to tune in to the public, free livestreams to see the variety of people and personalities at the tables.
More Time and Understanding Needed
Attorney Tommy Mann, representing the Lodge, made an important statement about Polk’s intention. He noted that Polk wants to open a business and never intended to modify the city’s ordinances. There were misconceptions on both sides of the issue about what the City Council was voting on.
He clarified that the City of Dallas is not in litigation with the poker room, as implied, but sued its own Board of Adjustment.
Ultimately, he asked that consideration of Polk’s occupancy permit application be postponed. A full understanding of the issue is needed before looking at a more accurate proposal of what Polk wants to do.
Three Hours and a Vote
After nearly three hours of public opinions from residents of Farmers Branch and surrounding cities and counties, the City Council wrapped that portion of the hearing.
A councilmember noted that his father was a poker player, and he was offended by some of the comments opposing poker and maligning poker players. He said he watched the Planning & Zoning Commission meeting from April three times, and he couldn’t figure out why the unanimous vote against the ordinance instead of simply requesting more time to learn about the issue. Merritt concluded that there is a need for more information and consultation, free of personal involvement and connection.
Merritt also requested a crime report from the town of Round Rock, the existing location of the Lodge. That report, analyzed by a member of Farmers Branch law enforcement, outlined no incidents of crime directly connected to poker.
The councilwoman spoke of the financials she received from Polk, as an analysis showed minimal financial benefits to Farmers Branch. She wanted to receive a more detailed business plan.
She also, importantly, said that a no vote would not prohibit Polk from trying again.
Another councilmember reiterated that Polk is not out of options and has every opportunity to reapply or choose a different path to explore the possibilities for his card room.
Ultimately, the City Council denied the ordinance amendment by a vote of 4 to 1.
