1st LEGAL Poker Room Open in El Paso

First things first…gambling is “illegal” in Texas. 

Sure, we’ve got a state lottery but that’s not really considered gambling, I guess.

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Now, El Paso has a place where poker lovers of all skill levels can go and play the game they love WITHOUT running afoul of the law.

The place is called “House of Kings Card Club” and they’ve been open for a while now.  

KTSM has a story about them and their most recent Texas Hold ‘Em tournament that just went down over the weekend. 

The final pot was just shy of Fifty Thousand Dollars!

So how does this work? 

Why is it that a poker game at somebody’s basement might be ILLEGAL but the game they run at HOKs is LEGAL? 

Well, it’s because they don’t do the thing that Molly Bloom got in trouble for in Molly’s Game…they don’t take a “rake”.

A rake is a fee that the “house” takes out of the money gambled. 

The “house” could be the MGM Grand or it could be your buddy’s Saturday night game in his man-cave. 

House of Kings doesn’t take a rake so they’re able to stay compliant with the law. 

They make their money by charging an entry fee when players come through the door. A daily membership at House of Kings costs $10. So…legal…ish?

I’m not a poker player. I can never remember which hand beats which other hands. 

I might as well show up at a place like this with a t-shirt that says “pigeon” with an arrow pointing up at my face. 

But I love card games! So, how about it House of Kings?

Any chance of getting a hot UNO game going a couple nights per month?