Last night a council voted 4-1 against measures that would allow poker rooms like Doug Polk’s Lodge Card House.
Just over two years after Doug Polk bought the Lodge Card House in Austin, Texas, he has had the opportunity to open a second room denied.
Polk wanted to open a room in Farmers Branch, which is just outside of Dallas. However, the City Council voted against a measure that would have allowed it.
Currently in Texas poker rooms are legal as long as rake is not collected, which means venues like the Lodge Card House can operate by charging membership fees instead. However, there is a lot of opposition to them, especially in Dallas, and whether the council would allow these poker rooms was the topic of yesterday’s meeting.
In a five-hour council meeting, people from both sides of the debate came to comment on the issue. However, the council voted 4-1 against the measure.
Polk himself gave a spirited argument for the card room, suggesting this was an attack on poker players:
This attack on poker players in general like they are bad people. I’ll tell you what, some of the best people I have met in my life are poker players. I started my career with ten dollars and I turned it into millions of dollars by becoming one of the best in the world. And poker gave me that opportunity, and I’m tired of of people attacking poker players like they’re some kind of lowlifes
👊🏻 @DougPolkVids pic.twitter.com/NFz2THyMuB
— Matt Clark (@MattClarkPoker) May 8, 2024
Also, in true Doug Polk style, there was an opportunity for a few laughs along the way:
NO C̵A̵R̵D̵ ̵R̵O̵O̵M̵ pic.twitter.com/6XYmZoJbdk
— Thomas Keeling (@SrslySirius) May 8, 2024
Polk has pledged that this is not the end of the debate, and he will continue to fight for poker rooms in Texas.
Did you watch the debate? Let us know in the comments: