Texas Bill to Legalize Texas Hold'em Poker Gets Hearing

The House Committee for Licensing and Administrative Procedures heard testimony Tuesday to make Texas Hold'em poker games legal in Texas.

House Bill 3186, filed by Representative Jose Menendez (D) of San Antonio, would allow live or electronic poker gambling at certain establishments as well as charitable poker for qualified groups.

However, the bill does not address online poker playing.

The bill tasks the Texas Lottery Commission to provide oversight of certain related activities including where poker tables would be allowed, such as at bars or race tracks. They would also oversee regulation of charitable poker events.

A large motivation for the bill is that a percentage of the profits would go to the state.

"I don't think we should have poker card rooms in every neighborhood bar or in every warehouse," Menendez said. "I think you should have it out in the open at certain locations where we can assure the public that they are safe and secure."

Menendez said he hopes the money will go to charities and ease the burden on taxpayers.

"At the end of the day, some of the conservative estimates are that the state could reap somewhere in the neighborhood of $150 million a year," Menendez said.

"This legislation could raise over a billion dollars over the next biennium for state coffers while bringing the game out of legal limbo and into the light," said Mike Lavigne, treasurer of the Texas Poker Political Action Committee, a grassroots organization created to encourage legal, safe and accessible poker in Texas.

However, there has been no fiscal analysis of the bill yet by legislative researchers.

If the bill becomes law, then Texas would become (along with California and Montana) a safe, regulated environment for poker wagering, remarked Michael Bolcerek, president of the National Poker Players Alliance.

Existing Texas law allows gambling on card games if it is done in private, such as at home; if no one receives economic benefit from the game other than personal winnings; and if the risk of winning or losing is the same for all who participate, according to the Texas District and County Attorneys Association.

Poker enthusiasts say businesses illegally organize games now, and that all types of people are playing, from grandmothers to lawyers to religious leaders.

Establishments with liquor licenses would be prime spots for poker wagering because those businesses will have gone through the vetting process required for alcohol sales, noted Lavigne.

Sexually oriented businesses would not be allowed to host games under an updated version of the bill expected to be introduced, Lavigne said. Penalties for illegal games would be toughened, he added.

Supporters of the bill say Texas Hold'em poker it is a game of skill, while opponents argue it is a game of chance and should remain illegal.

Conservatives are also expected to oppose the bill.

Poker professionals and Texas natives Lewis and Clonie Gowen said underground games are not safe for players. "I think it's time that we step up here as Texans and make it safer for people that are going to play," said Gowen.

"Like it or not, thousands and thousands of people are playing poker every day," said poker professional Michele Lewis quoted Gambling 911. "It's a matter of whether or not the government wants to protect those players, and basically, do they want a cut?"

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