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Following a Tuesday raid of The Lodge Card Club in Round Rock, Texas, outside of Austin, the venue has finally released a statement via email to club members.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) conducted a raid of the largest card room in the Lone Star State on Tuesday morning. The owners, including well known poker pro and podcaster Doug Polk, still appeared to have no idea why their venue was targeted as of Thursday morning.
"Our attorneys are working to understand the reasons behind the search but at this time, the situation has not been explained to us," the statement read.
"This is obviously upsetting, and until this situation is fully understood, The Lodge Card Club is closed," the email continued.
The venue's liquor license appears to have expired, based on social media reports and screenshots of the license on file.
None of the owners, staff members or customers were placed under arrest. Customers were ordered to exit with their chips.
Polk referred to the action as a "witch hunt" via his Twitter account.
The venue now hosts a popular live stream Poker at the Lodge.
Texas poker rooms have thrived in recent years under some degree of legal ambiguity.
Under Texas Penal Code 47.04 gambling is generally illegal unless it occurs in a "private place," no person receives a profit other than personal winnings, and all players have equal chances of winning. To stay within this legal gray area, Texas poker rooms operate as membership-based clubs, such as is the case with The Lodge Card Club.
- Nagesh Rath, Gambling911.com
