DALLAS — At least two poker rooms in Dallas have had their certificates of occupancy revoked, despite the growing popularity of card houses across the state of Texas. The poker rooms thought they’d been operating legally, but the City of Dallas thinks otherwise, stating the rooms’ operations “violate Texas Penal Code.”
Dallas approved its first poker room, Texas Card House, back in October 2020, but the city changed its tune and revoked its business license. About a month ago, Texas Card House CEO Ryan Crow got a letter in the mail stating the certificate of occupancy was issued in error.
“They determined that we were operating in violation of the penal code. Which was a surprise to us because we had had several conversations with the city, city attorneys, city staff, the police department, before we opened here and the reception that we got was very positive. And the city was actually very collaborative with us,” Crow said.
At least one other poker room in Dallas, Shuffle 214, confirmed it received a similar revocation letter in mid-January. Spectrum News contacted another room, Poker House Dallas, but its management declined a request for comment over the phone.
Crow says he spent two and a half years finding a spot to open that the city felt was a good fit. He says he had support from city council members who helped guide him to the place the poker room is operating in now, off Harry Hines Boulevard, just south of Farmers Branch.
“When we opened, there were extensive conversations with the city about what we were doing. We were very open and transparent on how we were operating. And we spent a lot of time discussing that with them. So, it was a little bit of a surprise when we received that letter,” Crow said.
RELATED: Gambling in Texas: How poker rooms legally operate given 'gray areas'
Both Texas Card House and Shuffle 214 have filed or are planning to appeal to the Board of Adjustment. Crow says during the appeals process, the rooms may operate, and doesn’t expect the city to do anything while they’re in this stage.
The legality of poker rooms varies depending on who you talk to. Some say poker rooms can operate because of a loophole in Chapter 47 of the Texas Penal Code. Others say there are no gray areas, and any form of gambling is illegal in Texas. Crow says plenty of research went into opening the four locations of Texas Card House around the state, but so far, only Dallas has reversed their decision to grant the permit.
“What made it surprising was that of all the cities that we’ve opened up in, Dallas was the most engaging and the most collaborative, like they actually reached out,” Crow said. “My business partner and I came up to Dallas. We actually met at one of the North Central Police stations and I think there were nine or 10 people from the city, which included city staff, city attorneys, and we discussed in detail what we were doing.”
The revocation letter sent to Crow states the Land Use Statement that was submitted has been determined to violate state law under Section 47.04, “Keeping a Gambling Place.” The Land Use Statement, signed by Crow in July 2020, states how the private club would run. It says “Texas Card House in Dallas, Texas will operate at this site as a private club offering poker and similar game to its members. The location will include several poker tables, pool tables, and other gaming amenities for legal games in Texas.”
The statement further lists, in bullet points, what the operations would look like:
- The club will operate every day from 11 a.m. to 4 a.m.
- Charge a membership fee
- Not sell alcohol
- Have no coin operated machines, slots or automated gaming devices
- All of the payment collected from players is for access to the club and club memberships
- All the winnings stays with the players and that no person gets an economic benefit from the game other than personal winnings
“As far as “Keeping a Gambling place, which is states in [the letter], it’s only if you’re doing illegal gambling, and we’ve had conversations with a number of attorneys, a number of DAs throughout the state, and most of them agree with our interpretation of the law and agree that the way we’re operating is legal within the framework of the penal code,” Crow said.
Poker players Rebecca Thompson and Mallory Klaus play at Texas Card House often and say it’s a “game of skill,” and that “skilled poker players are winning players.” Klaus, an Oklahoma resident who runs games there called PokerRx, says plenty of business is being brought to the city by having this poker rooms open.
“Texas Card House employs over 200, 250 employees. Not only that, you’ve got the professionals that are coming in from out of state, out of the country to come visit the state, visit Dallas, so there’s a lot of business being brought in,” Klaus said. “I live in Oklahoma City and I travel down to Texas on the weekends to deal. So, it’s been very beneficial to me, networking, meeting a lot of people, ambassadors in the poker community. So there’s a lot of positives with that. I’ve been in poker for years.”
Thompson quit her sales engineer job of 23 years to become a professional poker player, something she never thought would become a reality. She says without a place to play like Texas Card House, she could lose her livelihood. She and Klaus are thankful for the environment at TCH, and that these rooms allow women — who may not feel safe playing in an underground poker game — the space to play.
“I feel so lucky to be able to do what I do. It’s not an easy life. It can be stressful, obviously because of your, you know, the swings, up and down for income. But I’ve just been very lucky to be able to travel and do this for a living,” Thompson said. “I think with the legal rooms opening up all around the state of Texas, it’s opened the doors for women to feel comfortable going into these places. They’re not going to a place where they have to worry about maybe being robbed or maybe it’s not in the safest environment. So I think that there’s just more women playing because we do feel safer going into the legal rooms where they’ve got security. It’s just a better atmosphere.”
Thompson said she feels the state should regulate poker rooms. She says there are rooms in Houston that have issues because of no regulations, and that Texas is losing out on a lot of money that goes to surrounding states.
“All the money goes somewhere else. So, if we have a legal place to play, everybody benefits. The players benefit and the amount of tax dollars that comes back in — not just the tax dollars, but the extra money that’s dumped into the economy from these players is beneficial,” Thompson said.
Both Klaus and Thompson don’t want to see the City of Dallas tank what they believe is a good thing.
“With all the legal rooms now, there’s another choice for people to play. And if these shut down, then I don’t think the city realizes how many games there are being run currently that are not on the radar. And if something were to happen at these games, people are afraid to call the police, they’re afraid to call 911 if something happens because of the repercussions possibly that could come from them doing so,” Thompson said. “If Texas Card House closes, people are still going to play. They’re going to find a place to play and what this has done is open up everybody to a network now of people that they will find a place to play and those are probably places that the city will not know about. People are still gonna play. They’re gonna play no matter what. They shut down the legal, people are going to find another avenue another place to play. The city just won’t know about it.”
Spectrum News reached out to the City of Dallas for this story. It responded,“The City has pending litigation with other poker rooms and a pending administrative appeal with Texas Card House. Therefore, we have no comment.”
The city spokesperson is referring to an ongoing lawsuit with Champions Club Dallas that was going to open up in an area where neighboring residents did not feel comfortable. The residents in the Bent Tree North neighborhood protested and started a petition against the club. Dallas denied the club’s request for a Certificate of Occupancy, leading to a lawsuit against the city. Champions Club’s executive vice president sent Spectrum News the statement below regarding the ongoing lawsuit.
“Founded by world-class hospitality professionals, Champions Club is an industry leading membership club featuring upscale dining and bar, special events, and game offerings. As our team looked to enter the Dallas market to bring a high-end entertainment venue, we were very diligent in ensuring we followed the law and proper protocol to meet City of Dallas requirements to secure a Certificate of Occupancy. We are very surprised to have been denied submission of our Certificate of Occupancy application upon following the same protocol that other approved businesses had followed in the City of Dallas. It is our sincere hope, as a reputable business with a deep history in the entertainment and gaming space, to reach an amicable resolution and have the fair opportunity to proceed with our business in the near future within the City of Dallas.”