i am 60 yrs old...honestly i don't think i will live long enough to walk into a Texas Casino near the Houston are.....hand me a cigarette please

The political climate will change over time...excuse me...snooooorrrtt....and eventually it will come to pass that all states will have some form of casino gambling

The taxes derived...fills whiskey glass - another one please bartender - will eventually be sufficient enough to over come but I just don't see it in my lifetime

Hey baby...wanna come to my place ...bring some heart paddles with you...yea..i know that's extra...

Nite everyone

wat

you are on the right track here.

Sadly, popping up like weeds is however the bright light as much as (prob more) than how any one club operates.

Each successive one that opens increases the chance that a politically motivated local DA or someone from State AG goes on jihad to shut them down on grounds they are breaking gambling laws in state of TX.



I'm still unclear how operator dances around this in court

from TX Statute....


§ 47.03. Gambling Promotion
(a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly does any of the following acts:
(1) operates or participates in the earnings of a gambling place


(3) "Gambling place" means any real estate, building, room, tent, vehicle, boat, or other property whatsoever, one of the uses of which is the making or settling of bets, bookmaking, or the conducting of a lottery or the playing of gambling devices

(1) "Bet" means an agreement to win or lose something of value solely or partially by chance.

1) The OAG generally does not get involved in local prosecution. Paxton is dealing with local courts right now simply because his dumb ass got caught in an alleged securities fraud case and so he IS the defendant.

2) There is a reason that most of the card rooms are opening in areas where the location is in an unincorporated area

3) There is a reason they are operating in jurisdictions where the prosecutors have better things to be concerned with (and in Texas, misdemeanors are actually often handled by the County Attorney, not the District Attorney)

4) If prosecution DOES occur, the operators will bring in the same experts who have testified in other jurisdictions where judges have ruled that poker was a game of skill.

5) The concern that lurks would be if someone opens where an ambitious DA decided to pursue the case like some in the Valley have done the 8-liner operators...skip the gambling prosecution and go straight to money laundering. However, many of those get settled when there is an agreed settlement on the civil forfeiture and the County gets to keep the money seized from the operator.

RE: the last one, I actually have had some clients that have been through that process a few times, even being able to get their machines back from the County as part of the civil forfeiture settlements. They view it as a cost of business...an expensive cost, but a cost nonetheless...

appreciate the comments. you obviously are on the ground there and have a direct legal experience.

I thought the clubs were mostly using "no economic benefit" from gambling defense. (I'm renting chairs not raking pots).

Are you saying they are (or should be ) using the poker is a pure skill game defense. So a judge in TX would rule Poker is a 100% skill game?

It sounds like club openings are accelerating. Too many people see easy money to be made and what serious poker player doesn't dream about owning their own poker room? More clubs = greater chance of legal action to the point where it becomes almost a certainty.

These places would argue they meet the requirements of the affirmative defense in the statute. Personally I think they could convince at least 1 member of a jury that they do. A failed prosecution is a really big risk and probably wouldn't even be attempted.

No defense strategy would be limited to just one approach. The attorney or team would have multiple approaches in mind and look to fine tune once they had a chance to feel out the prosecutor and review the various discovery materials. The challenge is in finding a balance that doesn't overwhelm a jury (presuming it got TO the jury).

Judges are elected through partisan platforms. However, once in office, not all of them adhere to the party platform plank positions. I would also look to which jurisdiction the case was in, as that will have much to do with likelihood of persuading them on the skill argument...

And...never discount the skill (or lack thereof) of counsel for both the State and the defense. After all...how many people really expected Aaron Hernandez to get a walk on a double murder?

Poker Rooms may become quite normal eventually in most places. They (poker rooms) are not major money makers for BM casinos compared to all the rest of the crap they offer. Most of the "encouragement" money State authorities get from cross border casinos to keep out instate casinos is based on the much larger dollar amounts spent on table games and machines and not on poker. Nothing is certain, but "economics" is not a big issue where small poker rooms are concerned. I expect slow but steady growth of smaller ( poker only) rooms in many areas where casinos are still banned. I am an optimist.

in 05 in the county of Reno - poker brought in 600 million in revenues
slots brought in 15 BILLION

They can RICO based on money laundering. Full fed taxes are also not being paid in this all cash business. If they want to close them down they will close them down. It's fish in a barrel prosecution.

A rake is a rake be it a time rake or a pot rake.

Economic benefit is economic benefit be it from a time rake or a pot rake.

I mean is this happy horse**** time or what.

The economic benefit part of the statute is the one where there is no loops, no holes and no loopholes.

Right and they can indict a ham sandwhich and will not bring to trial a loseable case. It won't happen.

Terrible analogy. The traunch for beyond a reasonable doubt in an eye witness murder case is a difficult traunch and was not met in the Hernandez case. Completely not analogous.

Judges are bought and paid for and rule based on what they feel will appease most. InTexas, it's no gambling.

ok we've come full circle and what prompted my original post.


so If clubs are in clear violation of Statute then its simply a matter of no local or state official has been motivated yet to prosecute.

my assertion was that as each new club opens, likelihood of a prosecution increases to the point where it becomes a near certainty.

A good supposition. I agree. The bright light or victims of their own success. I wonder what the tipping point number would be. 10 new rooms in the greater Austin area?

can someone please post the links to the websites or FB pages of the clubs in the different cities of Texas? TY

http://google.com
Search words: poker club texas

Does the Austin location usually get PLO running nightly?

I've played there a few times and if I remember correctly it is only Wesnesday nights....minimum $500 buy in I think. At least that's the only night I've seen it ran and I overheard a dealer saying he plays it on the one night they have it.

Austin's north location to open in june is the word.

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Anyone else see this?? Round Rock area....

http://texascardrooms.com
https://www.facebook.com/playtxholdem/

Rates look reasonable especially for tourneys

how many total rooms in Austin area once these two new ones open?

That's the same one...their website and Facebook page.

That's only the second one until TCH opens their second location.

Rates look really good, more competition is definitely welcome. I'm only 20 minutes away from TCH, but I'd make the longer drive to this place for the lower fees, especially for tourneys.

Texas Card House off Manchaca
https://www.texascardhouse.com

Throne Poker off Braker Lane
https://www.thronepoker.com/home

Texas Card House2 at Anderson Mill and 83. Not opened yet.

Just learned of this Chisholm Trail room posted above.

So looks like 4 total.