Lodge Card Club Raided / Grand Jury does not indict any Lodge employees
Came looking for some info on this, but I guess I will kick the thread off. Anyone there at the time or know more detail
Where is there a state court ruling that the Tx poker rooms are legal? Note the statements from DAs are not binding and not even legal opinions.
But if true, strongly doubt it, it does explain TABC involvement. Their regs are more clear. But the biggie they have is TABC decides if the activity is social or commercial.
I'm not a lawyer and haven't read up on the laws but the state doesn't seem to be fighting any of the cardrooms for the most part. TCH Dallas went to court and won but seems that was more based on building codes etc, tho it did go to the Texas Supreme Court
I'm not a lawyer and haven't read up on the laws but the state doesn't seem to be fighting any of the cardrooms for the most part. TCH Dallas went to court and won but seems that was more based on building codes etc, tho it did go to the Texas Supreme Court
Correct. No jurisdiction has chosen to test the gray market it court. Some made it clear they would, like Collin county, but the operators chose not to find out. So almost all rooms are in friendly jurisdictions.
But someone, look in the mirror, insisted this had already been litigated to a decision. AFAIK, but IANAL and definitely not in TX though I do have related training/education and commission in a different state, it has never been litigated to a decision. There definitely are jurisdictions willing to litigate.
Also even a friendly DA may not be enough. Since many (most?) of these rooms decided to get liquor licenses, those are all subject to zero notice and warrantless searches as terms of license. TABC gets to decide if illegal gambling is occurring. If the decide that, while they probably cannot pursue illegal gambling criminally, they can immediately and permanently pull the license. TABC can also likely refer criminal gambling issues to the AG at the state level not local jurisdiction.
Uh, Doug? Comment...?
PokerNews now reporting it's over allegations of money laundering and "illegal gambling."
**** just got a lot more real.
Why would you run a poker room if not to launder money.
PokerOrg has received a statement from TABC Director of Communications Chris Porter following Tuesday’s raid on The Lodge Card Club.
The statement confirms an ongoing investigation into “suspected money laundering and illegal gambling.”
Porter said, "Agents of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission’s Financial Crimes Unit, along with members of the Special Investigations Unit and Operations Bureau, executed a search and seizure warrant at Lodge Card Club in Round Rock on March 10 in conjunction with an ongoing investigation into suspected money laundering and illegal gambling.
"The business holds a TABC mixed beverage permit. Approximately 20 TABC agents were involved with the operation along with officers from the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office and the IRS. No arrests were made as part of Tuesday’s operation, and the investigation remains ongoing. No charges have yet been filed against the business."
Porter said that because the investigation is ongoing, no further comment would be made.
AI Explains It All:It definitely seems counterintuitive, but the Lodge's claim might actually be legally accurate in the short term. While a search warrant tells you what they are looking for, it doesn't always tell you why they are looking for it.Based on the news from Tuesday (March 10, 2026), here is the breakdown of why there’s so much confusion and how the legal paperwork
Unless they are actually innocent of any crimes they know the why. What they do not know is how much of what they were doing is known to the prosecution. And treating a "personal guarantee" from Coinflex Doug as having meaning is funny. Ask those that invested and trusted based on his reputation what his word is worth.
The search warrant will typically list the criminal statutes they are investigating. So while you don’t get any detail you at least know the basics
Money laundering in real life isn’t what it is on tv. Any financial transaction with proceeds of a crime is money laundering.
So you sell drugs and take $10 of that cash and put it in a bank, that’s money laundering.
did someone forget to pay off the TABC?
Unless they are actually innocent of any crimes they know the why. What they do not know is how much of what they were doing is known to the prosecution. And treating a "personal guarantee" from Coinflex Doug as having meaning is funny. Ask those that invested and trusted based on his reputation what his word is worth.
I've given him lots of **** for the coinflex debacle. Unlike a lot of athletes who just endorsed it without having a clue as to what coinflex was, Doug was deeply invested into crypto and far too smart to think 10-15 percent guaranteed returns were possible.
With that said we've yet to hear of Doug owing anyone money and he's been in poker for a long time so I think he should get the benefit of the doubt that people will be paid for now.
So, I know the post has already been made about TABC raiding the Lodge in relation to an ongoing investigation regarding Money Laundering and illegal gambling. I just wanted clear up some things for the people who do not live in Texas and how poker works. Yes I live in Texas, specifically the Central Texas Region between Waco and Austin and I pretty much play only at the Lodge, but was not present when the raid happened. Poker Rooms in Texas operate in a legal grey area. It is illegal in Texas to run a gambling operation, however, under the state penal code, it is a defense to the charge of gambling under the following three things:
Gambling took place in a private place
No profit is made from the game
And except for the differences in luck and skill, everyone has the same chance of winning
Basically, it has to be a fair game, no rake can be taken, and it must be done in a private place. So poker rooms offer a fair game, do not take rake, and to fulfill the private place aspect, make it a membership only club, similar to country clubs. However, this still varies dependent on the local/county jurisdiction. One county may fight and take a card room to court and try to tie it up in the legal system for years to prevent them from operating and another may allow it to happen and even welcome poker rooms. If you look at where the bigger rooms operate it is in Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston, and all of these area tend to be "blue". Where as "red" areas tend to fight poker rooms more.
Because gambling is illegal/not regulated TABC (Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission) is tasked with not only overseeing Alcohol and Liquor licenses, but also investigating illegal gambling operations.
I saw a comment about Texas Card House. The case there was whether they should have been granted a certificate of occupancy/permit to operate in Dallas, the last court to hear the case agreed they should not have had their certificate revoked and it was appealed to the State Supreme court, which declined to hear the case, thus ending that legal battle.
I also saw a comment about the Lodge having all their computers and cash seized. I have not seen any news report confirming this. The only thing I saw in news reports where that some computers were seized and no mention of cash being taken or not.
This is just my opinion, but it could be that TABC is just now deciding to take legal action against card clubs in Texas and they decided to start with the biggest one. If they succeed in closing down The Lodge in Austin, I would almost bet money on TCH and any other big name room being next in line to be in the crosshairs of the TABC.
PokerNews now reporting it's over allegations of money laundering and "illegal gambling."
**** just got a lot more real.
100% some of the bigger stream game players were using the Lodge to launder money? Did the lodge owners know? Did they help facilitate it? Probably not but that's why the books and computers were seized. If not involved they could still get in trouble for not having proper controls in place to monitor, identify and report possible money laundering.
Same flavor as the FTP debacle.
Unfortunate for all involved. I hope it was just some players and the owners were unaware.
If they were aware and either helped facilitate it or simply turned a blind eye, will the poker world treat them like pariahs ala Ferguson and Lederer or show a little more grace and forgiveness?
It’ll be interesting since those impacted will be far fewer and I think poker players not directly impacted by wrongdoing will show more mercy.
Then again, maybe the investigators won’t find any wrongdoing and The Lodge will be fully operational again in no time.
I’m sure all the guys dumping piles in the steam games had legitimate money.
I got news for you. Any poker game of decent size that runs long enough has illegal money being dumped in it. And guess what, the real world functions the exact same way.
It's certainly possible they could be looking at a few specific customers rather than the Lodge itself but seems strange the Lodge would still be shut down if this were the case
Unless they are actually innocent of any crimes they know the why. What they do not know is how much of what they were doing is known to the prosecution. And treating a "personal guarantee" from Coinflex Doug as having meaning is funny. Ask those that invested and trusted based on his reputation what his word is worth.
As much flack as I've given Doug for various things over the years, overall they have eaten a LOT of overlays on guaranteed tournaments rather than cancelling the tournament outright or just not honoring the guarantee.
The ONLY time I'm aware they didn't honor a guarantee was when some insane winter weather hit that made the roads really icy for multiple days. I believe they had run a few Day 1 flights of a 150K guarantee and they wound up dropping it to a 100K guarantee, putting up some of their own funds to cover the difference and then paid out players without completing the other day 1 flights or the day 2/final table.
This one caught them some flack, but the weather was truly way outside of what is normal in Austin and the area isn't setup to deal with those road conditions. Normally when we get hit with winter weather we may have one day of road closures and then it melts, but this was multiple days impacted.
So, I know the post has already been made about TABC raiding the Lodge in relation to an ongoing investigation regarding Money Laundering and illegal gambling. I just wanted clear up some things for the people who do not live in Texas and how poker works. Yes I live in Texas, specifically the Central Texas Region between Waco and Austin and I pretty much play only at the Lodge,
thanks doug i hope it all works out ok
imnot taking sides
but if i did
id be taking dougs side
doug knows how fast a reputation can be ruined online
anything dodgy i believe doug didnt know
On the other hand with tom Dwan this guy has pounced and i cant wait to see what doug got in store for him now
imnot taking sides
but if i did
id be taking dougs side
doug knows how fast a reputation can be ruined online
anything dodgy i believe doug didnt know
On the other hand with tom Dwan this guy has pounced and i cant wait to see what doug got in store for him now
Stop ****in saying hes a good guy, hes not a good guy.
For 10+ he basically ran fox news for poker/crypto being a bully, hypocrite and liar.
He ran a vpn staking stable for several years post black friday while bashing people for doing the same thing.
He did beastmaster mass hunts cheese against me back in 2003 too on close spawn turtle rock elf vs human.. Not cool bro
I'm curious to see if the "illegal gambling" charge is something unique The Lodge was doing or if it's a challenge of the basic "poker club" loophole all the rooms in TX have been taking advantage of and which has never been adjudicated.
There was a thread on 2+2 a few years ago when Doug announced taking a state, where I posted my doubts about whether the club loophole would hold up if ever challenged. Doug participated and replied to some of my posts. I just re-read the thread and here are the posts I think are relevant:
https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showp...
https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showp...
https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showp...
https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showp...
https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showp...
https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showp...
https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showp...
Wo naming any names there are some clubs in TX running legit by the book poker games that fit into this loophole. There are other clubs in TX running non poker gambling games and raking $$ from the pot aka completely illegal games. None of these other clubs afaik have been shut down by the state. This doesn't seem like it's likely to be an issue with poker itself and seems highly likely to be something happening in the background
So, I know the post has already been made about TABC raiding the Lodge in relation to an ongoing investigation regarding Money Laundering and illegal gambling. I just wanted clear up some things for the people who do not live in Texas and how poker works. Yes I live in Texas, specifically the Central Texas Region between Waco and Austin and I pretty much play only at the Lodge,
Can’t speak about central tx rooms and def not about the lodge, historically one of the cleaner run rooms per reputation, but nearly all but a couple in Houston and most in DFW definitely rake the pot.
And for rooms that have or offer tournaments the veil of legality is swept away. Might get a judge to ignore the link between seat fee and economic benefit from game, but for tournaments where house takes a specific % of entry fee much tougher case to make the profit is not related to poker.
Can’t speak about central tx rooms and def not about the lodge, historically one of the cleaner run rooms per reputation, but nearly all but a couple in Houston and most in DFW definitely rake the pot.And for rooms that have or offer tournaments the veil of legality is swept away. Might get a judge to ignore the link between seat fee and economic benefit from game, but for tour
Exactly, there's much lower hanging fruit to go after if they were just looking to "shut down poker rooms for poker". Everything would indicate this is what the state believes to be a legit money laundering charge against someone involved with the Lodge and has nothing to do with poker other than this is the avenue in which it's occurring
Also interestingly The Lodge in San Antonio is still open and nothing happened there as far as we know
