Lodge Card Club Closes, All Staff Laid Off After DA Ruling

The Williamson County District Legal professional’s workplace has instructed the Lodge Card Membership’s attorneys that the room’s enterprise mannequin doesn’t adjust to Texas legislation. Co-owner Jason Levin confirmed the information in an e-mail to employees on Tuesday, shedding each worker and shutting the 68-table Spherical Rock facility for the foreseeable future.

No prices have been filed. However the DA’s place removes any sensible path to reopening whereas the investigation continues. Levin warned that opening the doorways would danger one other raid, additional asset seizures, and doable arrests.

The closure caps two weeks of escalating developments for the reason that raid that shut down Texas’s largest poker site. The Lodge’s San Antonio sister property stays open and is unaffected.

What the DA’s Place Means

That is the primary time a county prosecutor has explicitly acknowledged that the membership-and-seat-fee mannequin doesn’t adjust to Texas legislation. Earlier enforcement actions focused particular person rooms for particular conduct. This targets the enterprise construction itself.

That distinction issues properly past Spherical Rock. Roughly 68 personal poker golf equipment throughout Texas function underneath the identical framework, charging membership and seat charges as a substitute of raking pots. If Williamson County’s studying holds, it threatens the authorized basis each Texas card room is constructed on.

The Levin Letter

Levin’s e-mail to employees was private and direct. He maintained the Lodge had at all times operated with “the utmost integrity” however acknowledged the DA’s workplace disagrees. The letter framed the closure as the one viable choice given the authorized danger.

Over 200 workers at the moment are out of labor. Levin expressed hope of rehiring if circumstances change, writing that the Lodge’s plan can be “to welcome you again with open arms.”

The Lodge’s most outstanding co-owner has not commented publicly on the closure itself. His most up-to-date assertion got here on March 16, when he denied any involvement in cash laundering and personally assured that every one participant funds can be returned.

The membership’s financial institution accounts have been frozen since March 15, which suggests payouts rely upon Polk’s private funds.

The place the Investigation Stands

Final week, the 22-page warrant affidavit detailing $1.35M in suspicious deposits revealed a two-year undercover operation and 5 felony violations underneath scrutiny. The doc has not been shared with the Lodge’s authorized workforce. No prices have been filed and no arrests made.

On March 25, Polk introduced on Fb that he has “lastly bought the inexperienced gentle” from his authorized workforce to supply a video addressing the investigation. No launch date was given.

The Texas legislature meets biennially in odd-numbered years. The following session doesn’t begin till January 2027, so no legislative clarification is on the horizon.