Can one of you legal eagles explain to me what will happen in this scenario:

A poker room operating in what they believe to be a legal manner is sent a cease and desist order by local law enforcement.

The lawyers for the room inform local law enforcement that they are not violating the law and will not comply.

Local law enforcement arrives at the room and orders them to shut down.

What happens next?

That’s only a mile from Kings and Cards.
Plus Lions and Post Oak are maybe 5 minutes away, they’re just going to cannibalize each other,

What is strange (to me) is the total absence of social media/web presence for them. Only thing I found a couple days ago was a job listing on Craigslist.

I don't know if there is a difference between cannibalizing and letting market forces do their thing. First sizable room to drop their rates, offer significant discounts on monthly memberships, etc will win, no?

This is the one I posted about in Post #487. Lots of PLO games and larger nl games will be moving there from Post Oak.

Dont think that POP wont react to there new competition down the street when Prime Opens. It will be the nicest room in town but wont be that easy. Rumors are swirling on the tables about these rooms getting to close and popping up on every corner around there. cant see them all lasting throughout the year!

Might be too late for POP. Players are fed up with their horrible floor people) in particular Tom) and other things like the forced valet etc. The guy that owns Prime already knows a lot of the higher stakes players.

You are correct that most of these rooms won’t make it. Kings & Cards will probably be one of the first as it is already struggling.

Problem is most lf these guys think they can just open and they will be a instant hit. Places like King of Cards rin the place just like a underground poker rooms....there tournament bonus are standard in underground rooms. Prepay for cash and get extra chips who wants to do that anymore. Dealer special for extra chips???? People question how is that even Legal.

Looks like SIGH received a copy of the Mint Poker cease and desist letter and has published it.

https://www.stopillegalgamblinghoust...Activities-End

I take it that this "Stop Illegal Gambling in Houston" group is an invention of the underground and unquestionably illegal game operators.

Seems unlikely. The guy I've traded emails with is a pastor.

LOL, The Reverend PLO

Is anyone alleging the linked cease and desist letter is a forgery or fraud? Are there reasons to think the city attorney is bluffing or insincere in his statements?

I do not care one way or the other about the politics of the "stop illegal gambling in Houston". If the information linked on their site is accurate, it is worthy of discussion and analysis.

There have been impassioned opinions about how the current statute(s) are going to be interpreted by law enforcement and the courts. It seems to me that anything in writing from a sitting local official is noteworthy. Let's note I am not saying the governments position is "right" or would / would not prevail in court. Just that the discussion should be focused on the merits of the legal views not on who is the political base supporting "stop illegal gambling in Houston"

Reading through this, the city attorney seems to be mirroring a lot of what the SIGH guys say about the paid membership/time rake model:
1. The time rake required for access to the poker/club is an economic benefit, negating the affirmative defenses in 47.02 and 47.04
2. These clubs are "gambling places", setting them up for 47.03 violations

Separately, the false advertising stuff about being city approved is pretty funny.

Well it has been a month and Mint is still open. It will be interesting on what happens going forward. I assume the police will show up soon and shut it down and then we will see how the court case goes.

Owners get arrested and charged with violation of gambling laws. Plea bargain or trial ensues.

Assuming that they do not plea bargain and continue to maintain that they are not violating the law, can they remain open pending resolution?

The letter that was sent to Mint poker indicates that the city of Webster must have an injunction before actually acting to shut the place down. I assume that injunction must be issued by a judge. Is that correct? Does this judge have to evaluate the legality of the club before issuing this injunction?

Guys I’m visiting Houston this weekend. Where should I go for good action and plenty of NLH games? Post Oak, Lion, or Kings and Queens?

Oh hey! You ran FTN in McKinney right? Y'all got one of these cease and desist letters, no? What did your attorneys say when it happened?

This clause in the cease and desist order:

" and also provides for the sale of food and other refreshments and the
tipping of club personnel. "

seems like a massive overreach. This would also make games in private clubs that are not specifically created for poker illegal.

Nah, it wasn't me but it was my friend Jody Wheeler. But the end result was that he closed up shop. He had the option to stay open fight it if they got "raided" but he did not want to risk his employees as they were threatened to be pulled into the lawsuit as well.

Post Oak will have the largest number of games/tables running. They are on Poker Atlas so you can see what is running there is you download the app.

Word on the street is that Eakman has called a meeting at 10:30 tomorrow morning that is mandatory for all employees to attend. Stay tuned!

It seems to me that there's a fairly straightforward solution to this. Simply pay the dealers and other personnel enough so that they don't need tips and charge a high enough membership fee so that you can do away with the time charge. I can't believe that the city of Webster would go forward with an action just based on the sale of food and beverages but, if that is the case, I can't see how canceling food and beverage sales would be a death blow to the club.

In houston...you aint gonna find dealers that want to work at the wages being proposed by any of these owners - they have been uber spoiled for many years of 500-$1000 nights.

These dealers would and will rather starve than take 15-20/hr - this will lead to hiring of people that will work for those wages - people seem to think that you can train a monkey to deal cards but as an experienced game runner..i would rather .....do a lot of things that are painful to me ...than deal cards..it is hard - mentally boring - thankless job - I probably dealt a decade before carpel tunnel set in and frankly I would not deal no matter how much money it made. I don't enjoy it and like my ex's - I don't do things I don't love to do.

That being said - already we are seeing poor quality - untrained people thrown into the seat with not a club about what the rules and intricacies of the game are - and being out manned 9 or 10-1 against with people that not only know every single rule but are also keen to push any angle they can exploit are at the mercies of both the management and the player.

I see all the dealers i have fired for various causes hired by many of these rooms - the owners often have no choice to hire these people that I would not trust with a wooden nickel or have any consideration of a normal employee of showing up on time or even notifying you when they can't make it.

I am pro-dealer but unfortunately the majority should be asking "would you like fries with that" as opposed to thinking they are in disposable.

So? Where did you end up? Trip report?