This story has been updated.
Reports confirm that the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission conducted a raid at The Lodge Card Club in Round Rock on Tuesday morning.
The Austin-adjacent room, which is owned by the the trio of Andrew Neeme, Brad Owen, and Doug Polk, received the unannounced pop-in visit from state authorities for reasons that are still unknown.
Doug Polk is a key figure at The Lodge Card Club in Texas. Hayley Hochstetler
Raid causes temporary closure
According to a thread on Reddit, players were held for identification prior to to being sent home with their chips. One user indicated that the players were told they could cash out once the room reopens. The Lodge Card Club remains closed at this time.
Poker rooms in Texas operate under a loophole that allows peer-to-peer gambling in a private club setting. The TABC is tasked with regulating gaming in the state, along side its responsibilities in liquor enforcement. The Lodge Card Club is the biggest such private club in Texas, offering over 80 tables with daily cash games and tournaments.
This weekend was set for a visit from the World Poker Tour for their Wacky Weekend Wildcard event, but no word on any changes to that schedule as of right now.
Update: The World Poker Tour has announced the cancelation of this weekend's event "due to circumstances outside of WPT's control that impact event operations."
Update (3/11): Doug Polk released a short update on Wednesday morning:
"I am waiting on some additional information, but I will make an in depth statement within the next day about what is going on with the lodge."
More on this story as it develops.
Lead image courtesy of The Lodge Card Club.
