Does anyone have any info on when or if the AG is going to issue the opinion? I seem to recall that July 25, 2018 was the target date. I sure would hate to see the people running the poker rooms have to make tough decisions if the AG's opinion is that the rooms are illegal. So far I have played at Post Oak, Prime, Lion's, Mint and Tx Card House. I truly enjoyed the games at all the clubs. Each club is slightly different but they all allowed me to play poker in a safe place without an outrageous rake. I hope we all get to continue playing.

2. Clive, who has tried to start one of these clubs and failed so he continuously now questions the model. I will say some good things about Clive though: he ran an honest game (always paid out and never heard of him cheating anyone) and his claim to running the longest underground game in Htown I believe to be true.
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I didn't fail - we had 3 tables running 4 of the 5 nights we were open - it was the investors that decided to slowly convert into a rake model - I walked out that day - I then stated to all my players I was no longer associated with the club - 6 days later they collapsed to barely getting 1 table off 3 nights a week

In addition it was started (against my suggestion) in a horrible location - our average customer lived 30-40 minutes away

I question whether the market will sustain this model - in 6 short months I could see attendance falling because the simple fact that poker play in general has been falling since 2011 and only getting worse.

Lastly poker was never (with the exception of 3 years) - even 10% of my income - I loved the game and 2 weeks of trading makes more than an entire year of running a game.


For a small 1 table game - my player base was 150-175 regular players and 25-40 new players per month.

I am a mathematician by trade and nature - I am also a handwriting expert for walls.

Let's approach this from a monetary point of view
Let's say for a moment that you could set up a club where "break even" was your goal - all considerations for ROI is out the door.

The model must
a - be of good quality with nice chairs and tables
b - must be able to HIRE dealers - since the current law says NO TIPPING - lets go with the most extreme case that people are not allowed to tip at all in any way shape or form
c - The staff must include cashiers / chip runners / door personnel / staff to handle incoming phone calls and massive reliance on text messaging
d - We shall add some form of "poker atlas" to indicate how many tables running and a reservations system
e - adequate parking for maximum capacity and staff to watch cars
f - Advertising budget to attract out of state players

Of course there is the rent / build out / supplies etc - I will let the discussion grow to flesh this all out and see what we come up with.

This exercise is to see what a club will cost to build / attract / and sustain its operations.

Games are great at MINT, place runs itself though players have way more knowledge than employees. Im here now and there is decent action. But you have to admit this place is ran like a underground poker room, you cant count on one hand the people who pull out cash its all chips coming off table 24 hours a day. I can win a pot and pull the chips off table anytime for time chips or tip chips.

The dealers at mint are a heck of a lot better than they used to be - for the most part I have not seen many weak ones.

Lol I'm not involved with any website. You just don't like that I pay attention to what SIGH says. You can ostrich and throw tantrums all you want, but they do a lot of research and have been generally spot on so far. If you want to be informed on a topic, you have to consider all sides.

July 25th is the only date that matters, though the AG could deliver his opinion on these clubs any moment.

An interesting point of view was brought up by a friend of mine that is more in tune with the political aspects and background of the thinking of the up and coming opinion of our Governor

When the Astrodome was scheduled to be torn down - a movement was brought before Houston to build a casino there funded by an owner of a Casino in Louisiana - the proposal was they he would pay 20 million per year for the land and put in a casino in space of it - the proposed cost of tearing down of the Astrodome was in the vicinity of about 30 million (not sure who was paying that) but the plan was scrapped due by Abbott due to not only the outcry to destroy the Astrodome but also the fact that Houston did not want a casino in their vicinity.

That being said - if these facts are true - then this would be a complete reversal of his stance on gambling - I am not privy to the total story and what transpired so I will let the readers decide what part of this is true and what parts need more fleshing out.

I just throw this out there as a prospective and would encourage your thoughts.

Gonna check out POKER ROYALS today in houston

There are no absolutes when it comes to either Opinions or even Letter Rulings.

Once a request has been made, there are timelines in which the matter is open for comment. After that window of time, it can then be a quick turn or it may take a while. The delays grow longer if there is any manner of litigation pending in any court of law that could potentially impact the winds blowing in the Office of the Attorney General. Also of substantial import on timing is how many amicus briefs they get on the matter.

As noted on the OAG website "Any person or entity who is interested in a pending opinion request may submit a brief addressing the questions raised or providing factual background. Generally, we request that briefs be submitted within 30 days of the date our office acknowledged the request. However, in some circumstances we expedite the briefing schedule." They also note that "Most opinions are issued within 180 days of the request, but the amount of time required may vary depending on the volume of research required and the number and length of commentaries and briefs received."

Most of my experience with them has been letter rulings on matters subject to the Texas Public Information Act, but the same principles apply.

The July 25th date is commonly floated around simply because that would be the 180 day window from the original request submitted by Morrison. The relevant provisions of the Texas Government Code would allow for time beyond the 180 days if it was deemed to be necessary (see Section 402.042 of the Code).

thank you for that informed insight michelle

2 more rooms open and a MEGA room opening right after WSOP

Where is the mega room going to be?:

Probably on westheimer (Houston) - soon they will call this Poker Ave

sounds like you are referring to Post Oak's move. I heard they were moving to the former Sullivan's Steakhouse location.

Interesting side note to all of the goings-on in the Post Oak area, especially given some of the assertions that Fertitta is at least partially responsible for the SIGH abomination. https://www.chron.com/business/artic...M-13046324.php

I know that such issues are not uncommon in the large-scale construction projects, but there is a sense of irony here.

no its not post oak - owner's name is Keiva (sp?) sounds like the russian mob is getting involved - lol

There was a rumor that Magic Island was going to become a room. I cannot speak to that, but I can say there is clearly large scale construction/renovation going on there.

Clive, you know I love you, but this is why you get in trouble. Tell us what you know. Otherwise, it's really just a humblebrag where you're trying to convince folks you are "in the know."

im just telling you what I heard...plans were to be of the same or bigger than prime - owner name is kevia or kevvia - sounds russian - passing the info rather than waiting

the two that opened are bubalulu and another i visited a few days ago - Royal Poker on westheimer

babaloo is on poker atlas now

Any new news on anything in Dallas area? The new ftn still open? How much per hour is it?

Isn’t the new FTN a raked game? I’m pretty sure nothing has changed in the last 7-8 months.

Somebody mentioned in here a month or two ago they had a new place in Plano. Seems completely idiotic to me if they did, I mean Plano is where they all got shut down before.

Is the general consensus still that Post Oak is the best action in/around central Houston?

4th of July weekend - 10:30 pm
status on poker atlas
prime - early in day had PLO tourney - about 30 players
currently 9 tables running

post oak - 3 tables running
babaloo - 0 tables running
steel house - 0 table running

(other)
Freerolls - closed today
Mint 4 tables running
Message from Royal Poker - closed till further notice due to high water

Prime has pretty much captured the all the high stakes action. For three weeks I have been watching the 7pm-11pm traffic and Prime has always had more tables running - the most I have seen at one time is 11 tables (average 7) while at post oak the most I have seen is 6 - average 3/4).