Texas Card House already offers poker rooms in Houston and Austin, Texas but has been unable to open a facility in the city of Dallas. That will soon change as the operator was just given permission by the City Council to set up shop in the region.
Long-Running Battle
The decision by the City Council to give the operator permission to offer services in Dallas comes after a long-running battle between the Texas Card House and politicians in the city. The operator was close to approval over a year ago but ran into issues after the City Council decided to look at poker as a bad thing. Now, it seems their idea of poker has changed.
For several years now, poker clubs have started appearing in Texas within major cities. The facilities are known as poker clubs instead of a card room due to the questionable poker laws of the state. In Texas, gambling is technically illegal, including the game of poker. However, there is a loop hole that poker clubs are taking advantage of.
Players can pay a fee to be a member of a club and then they can pay a daily or hourly fee for a seat at a poker table instead of the house collecting a rake. This workaround has allowed several operators to offer services in the state.
For a poker club to be legit, the gambling must take place within a private venue and there is no economic benefit except the winnings that come from the games with all players given the same opportunity to win.
Two New Locations
With the latest approval by the City Council, Texas Card House will be operating two poker clubs in the city. One facility is almost ready and the other will be located in another part of town. It must be built and that will take a few months.
Back in 2017, card clubs in Dallas shutdown due to legalities and players have been without a solution since that time. The FTN Poker room was a popular spot back then, but was shutdown in 2017 so the owner could avoid any legal issues.
Now players in the region will have a legit way to enjoy poker games. Currently, there are underground operations taking place so that players have access to poker gaming. This is the case in many regions where poker or casino games are not legalized.
For the most part, players want access to the games and will take part in underground services in order to play. An argument for gambling in general in several states within the US regarding legalizing any type of gaming, from poker to casino games, is to eliminate an existing black market. They do exist and are not a safe alternative for players who want to gamble.
It will be interesting to see how popular the new poker clubs are once Texas Card House is operational in Dallas. There is no doubt that players will flock to the facilities to play cards.
