Poker Rooms in Farmers Branch? It Might Not Be in the Cards.

While other cities have embraced poker rooms, and Dallas is still figuring out what it wants to do with them, things aren’t looking so good for poker rooms in Farmers Branch.

Today, the Farmers Branch City Council will consider whether to allow the card rooms in the city. The city’s comprehensive zoning ordinance doesn’t include card rooms, but that could change with a vote from the council.

The request to amend the city’s zoning ordinance to allow card rooms came from Douglas Polk, the owner of the largest poker room in the state, The Lodge Card Club in Round Rock. He’s looking to expand his footprint in the state.

According to city documents, poker rooms fall under the umbrella of Texas gambling laws. It is illegal to keep a gambling place in the state. But, there are affirmative defenses to prosecution to this laid out in state law.

First, the gambling must occur in a private place. Second, no person can receive any economic benefit other than personal winnings. Third, except for the advantage of skill or luck, the risks of losing and the chances of winning must be the same for all participants. If card rooms were to operate in Farmers Branch, they’d have to abide by these three criteria. They would also likely go in the city’s entertainment overlay district on the east side of town. 

“A poker room may be perceived negatively by a lot of the different citizens here in Farmers Branch." – Mike Harrison, resident

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City documents about the proposed amendment say the legality and regulation of gambling can differ based on how municipalities interpret Texas gambling laws in local ordinances. Take Dallas, for example. It initially approved card rooms with affirmative defenses under the law. Then, the city changed its tune and said the card rooms weren’t allowed. We’re still waiting to see how things shake out for Dallas poker rooms in court.

Meanwhile, games are continuing to be played in and around North Texas. If everything goes Polk’s way, players could have a few more tables to sit at in Dallas-Fort Worth, but don't bet on it.

On April 8, the Farmers Branch planning and zoning commission considered the proposed amendment to allow card rooms. At that meeting, only one person – Polk – spoke in support of the change. There were 13 others who spoke in opposition, and staff ultimately unanimously recommended the denial of the change.

Residents in the area who spoke in opposition mostly said they were worried about crime and traffic, and that card rooms could negatively affect the family-friendly nature of Farmers Branch. There were also concerns about gambling addictions.

“A poker room may be perceived negatively by a lot of the different citizens here in Farmers Branch,” resident Mike Harrison said at the April 8 meeting. “They associate [card rooms] with gambling, illicit activities, et cetera. Farmers Branch prioritizes family-friendly activities, businesses, and this goes against the image we would all like to see in our city.”

He said while not every poker player engages in illegal activities, the association with gambling can attract criminal elements.

Some said they wished there had been more public involvement before the proposed amendment made it to the planning and zoning commission. “My first point would be that it’s interesting that none, not one City Council member, not the mayor, no one has discussed any of this with the citizens,” Vicki Harrison, a resident, told the commission in April. “I thought they were supposed to serve us, and so that’s a grave concern.”

“Basically every major city other than Dallas-Fort Worth allows them pretty much in their entirety." – Douglas Polk, The Lodge Card Club

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One resident said the whole deal seemed like a clandestine operation given how little public input there was.

Polk was one of the last speakers to say his peace about allowing card rooms in the city. “I can tell a lot of local people are passionate about this, so I would at least like to bring the correct information,” he said. There are some 70 card rooms across the state. “Basically every major city other than Dallas-Fort Worth allows them pretty much in their entirety,” Polk said. His Round Rock club is about 27,000 square feet and employs more than 200 people. “We produce significant tourism and revenue dollars for the city,” Polk said.

As for the supposed criminal element that poker rooms attract, Polk said this simply isn’t true. “There’s ideas that these are thugs and criminals,” he said. “The average person that plays our card room is twice as likely to have a bachelor’s degree as the average person in Texas.”

We’re not quite sure where he got that statistic, but he said a lot of the patrons at his establishment are college professors and tech guys – smart, high-income earners who want to play a game of skill like poker. “It’s a game where you have to think and use strategy,” he said. “Criminal low-life people are not going to do well in that environment.”

He added, “We have 30-something-thousand members, and I think that if you give me a chance to explain that and show you guys what we have to offer, I think it can provide tremendous value to the city.”

Evidently, the commission didn’t want to give Polk that chance as it sent the proposal to City Council with a unanimous recommendation to deny it. Polk is encouraging supporters in the city to show up to tonight's council meeting and speak out for the poker clubs. But it's a safe bet that council will also likely hear from more residents like Rick Johnson.

“My wife and I moved here over 26 years ago to raise our children in this environment,” Johnson said at the April 8 meeting. “That’s what Farmers Branch has always been all about. … Surely, there are better ways to generate revenue for our city.”