Houston Police Raid Poker Club

The Houston Police Department’s Vice Division, with help from a SWAT team, raided an illegal poker room this week, arresting fifteen of the operation’s organizers and employees.   

The establishment definitely seemed like it was prepared for someone to try to get in uninvited, as a private security company manned the outside of the building and a key card was needed to gain access.  Despite these measures, the raid went smoothly. 

Poker games in and of themselves are not illegal in Texas.  If people want to play in the privacy of their own homes, that is fine.  Laws are broken, however, when the house profits from the gambling by taking a rake.  This establishment was decked out with several professional looking poker tables, large leather chairs, and flat panel televisions.  Law enforcement officials said the management raked upwards of $10,000 per night. 

Patrons of the poker room were not arrested, but were issued subpoenas to appear before a grand jury.