Dallas Civil District Court Judge Eric Moye has ruled that the city was within its rights to revoke a certificate of occupancy for the Texas Card House.
This decision reversed the original verdict by the Board of Adjustment that allowed the poker room to legally operate. The Texas Card House plans to appeal the decision and can continue operating during the process.
Originally, the Texas Card House got around the state's gambling ban by not taking any rake of the pot. The law has a carve-out for gambling as long as three things happen.
The stipulations are: that gambling must occur in a "private place," the organizer can’t benefit economically from the game itself and all the players must assume equal risk.
The city revoked the certificate of occupancy for the Texas Card House fourteen months after it was issued and based its decision on the contention that the Texas Card House was not a "private place."
The city's trial brief laid out the following argument: "It is undisputed that tens of thousands of people have access to playing the poker games at the property, with an average of 630 players a day."
It went on to note that another 40,000 watch live streams from the location as the Texas Card House has a production studio on its grounds.
Moye sided with the city, stating: "The Board of Adjustment abused its discretion and made an illegal decision when it reversed the Building Official’s revocation of [the] Certificate of Occupancy."
The city has denied certificates for three other proposed poker houses, Champions Club, Dallas Poker Club and Fifty-Two Social.
