Gaming legislation will again be on the agenda in Pokerati’s beloved home state of Texas — as it has been pretty much continuously since the days when “blue laws” prohibited us from shopping on Sundays. But this year Texas is friggin’ near-broke and public opposition to gambling is minimal, making hopes for passage of new gaming laws more promising.

A poll of registered voters taken earlier this month (conducted by the University of Texas and Texas Tribune) indicates 56 percent support full-on casino resorts in Texas, and fewer than 20 percent oppose any expansion of gambling or want to ban it altogether. A year ago, these numbers stood at 40 and 31 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, state lawmakers are wrangling with one of the biggest budget deficits in the country and the need for contentious cuts to education, Medicare, veterans affairs, prisons … and just about every other department in an effort to close a budget shortfall estimated at $11-to-27 billion — bigger than any the state has ever had to face.

But before poker players get too excited about Texas’s economic woes going into the 2011 legislative session… with elevated hopes for gaming-law success (and fully legalized poker) also comes heightened opposition from well-monied morality-driven lobbies, and possibly cut-throat intra-ideological competition over whose bill gets the biggest push. And that doesn’t even begin to address the uncertain but possibly critical stake of the Chickasaw …

Still, licensed and regulated Texas gambling … saying no to it will be saying no to up to a billion dollars of economic stimulus. Whatever legislation does find its way through capitol halls will likely morph and merge and change in coming months — and Pokerati will do its best to keep you posted — but three bill-movers to watch throughout the session (and their preferred regulatory agencies) include:

Full Casino Resorts (Texas Gaming Commission)
This is the big prize with the most upside for gambling interests and state coffers — but also the toughest obstacles to passage. Sen. Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) has declared his intent to introduce a bill to legalize casino gambling in specified areas across the Lone Star State. A related bill already moving forward — HJR 28 — looks to establish a Texas Gaming Commission by constitutional amendment, opening the possibilities for resort casinos. A constitutional amendment requires “absolute supermajority” — meaning it must pass both the House and Senate with a 2/3 vote before being put to the public to approve.

Horse Track VLTs (Texas Racing Commission)
For more than a decade, bankrupt Texas horse tracks have believed that adding slot machines will save them. They still believe as much (just as they believe calling such devices Video Lottery Terminals somehow makes them more palatable to voters). Reliably informed sources tell us another “racino” bill is forthcoming. Already multiple municipalities with horse tracks have passed new laws allowing VLTs should such a bill (or something similar) go through. Corpus Christi, for example, did so by unanimous vote just two weeks ago.

The Poker(ati) Bill (Texas Lottery Commission)
The 2009 poker act — a poker-specific bill to license and regulate the state’s namesake game, Texas Hold’em, and other varieties of poker — made it further along in the political process than any other gaming bill (out of three) during the last legislative session … at least in part due to efforts of loyal Pokeratizens. Our good friend Rep. Jose Menendez (D-San Antonio) has re-introduced his poker bill — HB 382 this go-round — which has already been referred to the House Committee on Licensing and Administrative Procedures. Its current incarnation, HB 382 acknowledges poker as a game of skill, and therefore does not require constitutional amendment to pass.

Pardon any overhype of what is likely the smallest political stack in play gambling-wise this ’11 — it’s technically not even a “gambling” bill as worded. But Pokerati and its readers have played a role in Menedez’s legislation ever since yours truly and former Pokerati contrib Lavigne in Austin conceived of it back in ’06, mapping out a multi-session strategy at a 1/2 table in a Dallas poker room called Stagecoach. We succeeded in ’07 in getting the bill (HB 3186) on the House calendar, and in ’09 (HB 222) got it to the floor with necessary bipartisan support to pass … and without language imposing prohibitive betting limits … before GOP poker-yea’s got a last-minute directive to flip their position, prompting Menendez to pull the plug so the poker “movement” would live to see another session.

The bill has long since passed out of my hands — growing into something bigger than a little poker blog’s grassroots campaign — and may or may not be the specific piece of legislation that ultimately books the end result we all are presumably seeking: better poker for Texas. But that won’t stop at least one Texas poker expat from encouraging your support … you know, just so I can take credit should things go well and blame others if not. That’s how things work in Washington DC Austin, right?

So that’s the quick glance at Texas in 2011. (As of this week.) We have a relatively tried and true poker bill … wheels are in motion for a full-on casino bill … and we’re virtually sure to see a long-fought-for racing bill. Sounds like political poetry to me:

The people want it,
a state needs it,
relevant municipalities are hungry for it.
All while special interests fight for pie (Lol)
what could possibly go wrong?

The Texas Legislature meets only every other year for 140 days — their most recent confab having begun January 11 … so we’ve got fewer than 100 days left for real gambling change befitting of Texas to happen.

I gotta say, I was kinda tickled when Hank Gilbert, a Democratic candidate for Texas Governor, chose Pokerati as the place to first publish his op-ed in which he declared not only his staunch support for fully legal poker in Texas, but also expressed a commitment to making gambling a significant issue in the upcoming governor’s race.

But alas … from the also poker-friendly Kinky Friedman’s Facebook page:

Texans For Kinky 2010 Here: Hank Gilbert has stepped down from the Democratic Primary Governor’s race. We welcome all of Hank Gilbert’s supporters to join Texans for Kinky 2010. Together we can make power to the people a reality.

Turns out that Hank has decided to run for a more powerful position in Texas politics — agricultural commissioner. Here’s his website. And though the Hankster has thrown his support to Farouk Shami, here is Kinky Friedman’s book-selling gubernatorial campaign website.

Their names: Chaz White and Travis Thomas, ages 18 and 19.

One of these fellas supposedly had played in the game recently while the other watched. They have been charged with aggravated assault.

The impounded getaway car belonged to Billy Thomas, out of Kaufman. The elder Thomas reportedly confirmed that the two boys had borrowed the car earlier that day.

Original post here

Last night two masked, pistol-wielding youngins reportedly ganked about $7,000 from a NL Hold’em game of mostly retired old-school Texas rounders (ages 50something to 80something) on the rural outskirts of Dallas.

But sprinting across a rain-soaked pasture to a presumed getaway vehicle, the wannabe bandits apparently spooked some horses … one thing led to another … and with sirens in the background getting louder, two players chasing after them had their own guns pointed at the armed robbers as they lay in a field. According to a source on the scene, the de-facto table sheriffs disarmed their assailants in a hailstorm of expletives, pulled off their masks, and grabbed back the moneybag while waiting for police. (Half the cash was missing, and what was still there was soaking wet.)

Seagoville PD arrived soon after and arrested the two “very young” white males the players had captured.

After talking to police, players returned to the tables and action resumed.

More TK as details emerge …

UPDATE: Info on arrested persons here.

Whether it’s a hedge on their part or a sign of things to come … Global Gaming became the “stalking horse bidder” for Lone Star Park yesterday … meaning the Oklahoma Chickasaws have made a $2.7 million deposit (10 percent of their opening bid) toward their serious intent to step across the border and have a hand in the future of Texas gambling.

Should a higher qualified bidder enter the picture, the property will be auctioned off in New York on Oct 7.

Global Gaming LSP, LLC is owned by the Chickasaw Nation, which owns the WinStar World Casino — site of the grandest poker room in the southwest, one patronized almost exclusively by Texans. A week-and-a-half ago the WWC celebrated the grand opening of their new hotel and expanded casino floor, now the 5th 3rd one of the largest in the world.

Lone Star Park, meanwhile, is the beautiful but bankrupt racetrack between Dallas and Fort Worth … a site that would’ve become home to one of the first fully legal Texas poker rooms had HB 222 passed.

In that special-interest political fight earlier this year, Texas poker and horse racing interests joined forces, but ultimately were defeated by a loose-knit alliance of Chickasaws, Choctaws, and radical Christians. Should Global Gaming’s purchase of Lone Star Park go through, however, then one of our strongest opponents would effectively defect to the side that wants to see bigger and better poker in Texas.

Lisandro Pulls the Triple Double at the Rio

Jeff Lisandro became the third double bracelet winner of this year’s 2009 WSOP when he took down the $10,000 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo 8 or Better World Championship a couple hours ago defeated Farzad Rouhani at about 4am Vegas time. Lisandro pockets over $430,000 for his victory as well as several hours sleep before he comes back to the Rio Sunday to hear Italy’s national anthem this afternoon. When he won his first bracelet two weeks ago in the $1,500 7 Card Stud event, the Australian national anthem was played, making him the first to have two anthems played. This is also the first time more than two players have won multiple bracelets since when six players (Chan, Ferguson, Juanda, Hellmuth, Flack, and Men Nguyen) won bracelets in 2003. His second bracelet also moves him into a tie for first in the red-hot WSOP Player of the Year Race.

Texan Tops in NL Holdem

Jordan Smith from College Station, Texas took down the $2,000 NL Holdem event, pocketing $586,212 after defeating Ken Lennaard heads-up to take home a bracelet. From Nolan Dalla’s tournament report, Smith had this to add about legalizing poker in Texas:

“I think poker definitely needs to be legalized and regulated. Legalize it. Tax it. Regulate it. I don’t think it’s the government’s job to tell me what to do or how to spend my money – even though they sure want a cut of this (taxes) whenever I win it.”

This was event #36 of the WSOP, and after only one woman (Annie Duke) had made a previous final table, there were two at this one. Almira Skripchenko who is more well known for her successes in chess, being an FIDE Woman Grandmaster, finished in 7th place, good for $78,644. Laurence Grondin from Montreal, Quebec, Canada finished in 3rd for $237,537.

Obligatory Limit Holdem Final Table Mention

The final table of the $2,000 Limit Holdem consists of:

Seat 1: Jared O’Dell 189,000
Seat 2: Danny Qutami 323,000
Seat 3: Ian Johns 113,000
Seat 4: Marc Naalden 755,000
Seat 5: Tommy Hang 202,000
Seat 6: Steven Cowley 322,000
Seat 7: Rep Porter 287,000
Seat 8: Jameson Painter 205,000
Seat 9: Alex Keating 284,000

O’Dell, Johns, Hang and Porter list Washington state on their bio sheet, which may be the first time Washington state has represented so strongly at a WSOP final table.

Charania in Charge

Moshin Charania finished day 1 of the $1,500 NL Holdem event the leader with 144,100 in chips with 327 players remaining, of which 270 make the money. Brandon Cantu (86,600), Grant Hinkle (85,800), Jeff Williams (66,200), Eric Baldwin (63,400) and Shane Schleger (63,000) are some of the players who won’t be playing the Sunday tournaments online, as they’ll be returning to the Amazon room at 2pm.

Nate is Great in PLO

Nate Lindsay from San Francisco is the chip leader (482,200) at the end of day 1 in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship with 116 players remaining, only 27 getting paid. Noah Schwartz (292,600), Ilari “Ziigmund” Saharies (229,400), David Williams (223,000), and Josh Arieh (220,600) round out the top five. Steve Zolotow (220,200), Ben Grundy (191,000), Tom McEvoy (142,800), Erick Lindgren (120,900) and Jimmy “Gobbo” Fricke (108,000) are just some other notables back for more action at 2pm as they attempt to make the final table.

Sunday’s Tournaments

The 12pm tournament day is the $5,000 NL Holdem Shootout which was won by Phillip Tom in a field of 360 for over $475,000. The WSOP Staff Guide projects a field of 396 for this event, but if it’s slightly above that, it could cause a bit of a problem for tournament staff. The payout structure for the shootout event pays 40 spots if the field is between 378 and 420, which would create 11-player tables for the first round if the field size is in the 401-420 range. The 5pm tournament is the debut of the $2,500 8-Game event which consists of HORSE, NL holdem, PLO and 2-7 triple draw, with a projected field size of 250.

More updates during the day at Pokerati and follow the WSOP at WSOP.com

Watching this almost makes me wanna cry. Do you realize how close we were to turning Texas race tracks into full-fledged poker rooms? I don’t think you do! But alas, in the end we were killed by something akin to an inverse filibuster … and all in the same week that Annie Duke got slowrolled on Celebrity Apprentice …

In what is arguably nearly as compelling drama, in the above vid Rep. Jose Menendez delivers last rites to HB 222 — but not before being ridiculed and taunted with terrible poker metaphors (delivered in practically Corky-like fashion) from the representatives who were ready to lead the fight against this bill on the floor.

While Texas poker players pushing for fully legal Texas Hold’em did not get the House vote they were looking for, Menendez’s address does mark the first time the game was ever made a real issue in the Texas Legislature. Having achieved such footnote status in the historical almanac, the insinuation on where we go from here is that next time both sides should gear up for a full-on battle spirited debate over a bill looking to create California-style card rooms … in a year where the threat of a veto carries less weight, no less.

Hi all,

Texas Gov. Perry is blocking the vote on HB222 (the bill that legalized land-based poker in Texas).  Let’s all amp up the pressure!

Contact info:
Phone: (800) 252-9600
Twitter: @GovernorPerry

I believe we should hit with calls and Twitters.  This was effective at getting us heard in Minn., so let’s try it here.  I wrote up some Tweets to Twitter.  It takes just seconds to send these out, so let’s all pitch in!

Click here to send Tweet #1: RT @PPApoker: PLZ tell TX @GovernorPerry at (800) 252-9600 to stop blocking a vote on HB 222, a bill that allows poker in Texas. PLS RT!”

Click here to send Tweet #2: “RT @PPApoker: PLZ tell TX @GovernorPerry at (800) 252-9600 that poker is a game of skill that should be legal in Texas. PLS RT.”

Also, if Perry follows you on Twitter, you can send him a direct message:

Click here to send the direct message: “D GovernorPerry: Texas Hold’em is a game of skill that should be legal in Texas. Can you end your HB222 vote block? THX! http://is.gd/uNvv”

I posted this to P5s at http://www.pocketfives.com/poker-forums/7/new-letter-to-congress-please-send-4240404 and http://www.pocketfives.com/poker-forums/8/texas-poker-legalization-people-living-in-texas-plz-read-4204172 .  If you get a chance, please consider posting a message of encouragement there to get others to pitch in.  After all, 2+2 responded to this by giving me a warning; P5s responded by stickying my thread for the day (I didn’t ask them to).

Thanks!

Rich

By all means, our good poker friends in Oklahoma have contributed their fair share to keep Texans playing in their Indian nations … but frankly, it’s a very small percentage of the $7.6 million spent on gambling-related Texas politicking in 2007-08 — and they’re not exactly being hypocrites about any of it, save for maybe riding the coattails of those who are.

Click below for an even more interesting look at the Texas pols who taking the most gambling-industry dollars. I wonder how his morality-minded base feels about Gov. Rick Perry coming in at #2, with nearly $800k in gambling-interest love.

Politicians Receiving the Most Gambling Money

More details about the gambling politi-cash here.

[first minute of convo not recorded nor written down]

• “We’ve got to have a green light from the governor, because if the guys on the floor know he’s going to veto it, I won’t be able to get enough Rs and even conservative Ds.”
• “If we get to it today — and it looks like it won’t be until Monday” … postpone for 12 hours.”
• Bringing up “dead bill” = bad process — use up valuable HouseRep time for bill destined for veto, thereby preventing colleagues from getting to their bills.
• “You have to consider other legislation … I’m not going to lose years of good will built up [with members of both parties] in the House …”
• need it to get something past [sic.]
• still have/need [illegible ... something shot at ... casino bill] … 100 votes [something with a C] … next year].
• “can’t be pissing people off.”
• light up the governor’s office with message that I’m a Texas poker player who votes and want to be able to play safely and legally in Texas.
• don’t lie.

Ahh, right, OK … I think I get it. May need to do a follow-up to clarify some of the above.

So this isn’t an R vs. D battle, I’m hearing … and I’m deducing that it’s an internal Republican power play of some sorts — presumably Rick Perry trying to lock up a portion of his party before US Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison comes to town to possibly challenge Perry in the primary?

Republicans aren’t our enemies any more than Christians are, of course … they all count poker players among their ranks, after all, and some of them even run churches that ship senior citizens by the busload to Oklahoma casinos. And since there are plenty of conservatives who support the idea of protecting citizens from harm, their freedom rights, and the state’s right to collect its fair due, we need to encourage them to twist the governor’s arm, too, letting him know … hey, this anti-poker thing is not the best principle for him to take a stand on, yo!

The bad guys, meanwhile, have been running a (grammatically incorrect) bumper-sticker campaign:

Contact your representative — Rs and Conservative Ds alike – to reassure them of your support and request their help putting the governor’s mind at ease.

And contact the governor’s automated voice-pulse line to tell him whatever you sincerely would like him to hear:
(800) 252-9600

(If only legislation were as easy as American idol … )

But HB 222 isn’t just suffocating at the bottom of the Calendars Committee inbox, supposedly … on the contrary, there’s all sorts of crazy buzzing about. “Chatter” has intensified but gone more private … not much Twittering, just lots of fights and diplomacy on secure Blackberry lines. What I’m picking up via short-wave radio:

It has something to do with the Big Casino bill (also sponsored by Rep. Menendez), which is sitting in the same inbox waiting to be kicked to either the House floor or curb; Gov. Perry (anti-gambling) vs. Spkr. Straus (pro-gambling) drawing either swords or lots, not sure which; talk of a special session, or Secession; month of November comes into play; PPA ready to deploy troops, ammo … time is or is not of essence; something about big games …

I feel compelled to explain that I am writing this post on my laptop, on the back patio of Risky’s Bar-B-Q in downtown Fort Worth, Texas, during possibly the most beautiful day that Spring will bring to my beloved city. I smile as I listen to one Australian tourist at the table behind me attempt to explain to his mates the American concept of “All-You-Can-Eat Ribs”.

How It Works
The Best Real-Money Poker Tournament
in Texas

Doc Fletcher: “It’s like trainin’ a horse. After a while you don’t have to keep whippin’em. They go where you want to go.”

Interview with Stephenville Tournament Director Doc Fletcher 6:58

Zoom up and out to a poetic blend of southern culture and urban bustle that has made my fair city of Fort Worth a Texas jewel, and the subject of 3.4 million Asian tourist photos. Somewhere a diminutive, fair skinned traveler points out the genitalia of the bovine shaped shrubbery (ala Scissorhands), and covers her mouth to giggle before turning and rushing off in very short, quick steps. And I order another Dos Equis.

A couple of blocks away is the ornate and grandiose Bass Hall. The Hall is big sister to the Maddox Muse Center, which was once slated to host, what was at the time to be, the largest poker tournament in the state of Texas; The Southwest Poker Invitational. Well,… Until the powers that be leaned on us, referencing an obscure liquor license, used for the occasional wedding reception, and shut us down and took tens of thousands of charitable dollars out of play. The call came on Friday; The tournament was scheduled for Sunday. Just like that 325 players and countless deserving beneficiaries of the charitable event were sucked out on at the river. I remember well, because it was my tournament. Go Texas!

Some of the more loyal Pokerati readers may recall a post I once penned, telling of my road-trip with Poker Legend, T.J. Cloutier, to a mammoth Texas tournament, held in an “undisclosed location”. While I received many comments and emails asking that I complete the multi-part recounting of the event, I eventually mucked my hand at the request of the Tournament Director, who was concerned about the attention that the post might bring so close to home. I was disappointed. I don’t post often, but when I do, I like to get it all out. And this was a great story about a great Texas tradition; Stephenville’s Annual Cowboy Capitol Poker Tournament, a $300+0 No-Limit Texas Hold’em event that I competed in last month.

For the last 5 years, the Cowboy Capitol Poker Tournament, affectionately referred in Texas poker circles simply as “Stephenville”, has exceeded expectations every year, making it the to-play event in the Lone Star State. This is quite an accomplishment when you are forced to fly slightly under the radar. I say “slightly” while remembering Dan Michalski and myself covertly interviewing chatting with a Sheriff’s Deputy who guarded the door in 2007. It’s even more impressive when you consider that every year this event has been operated as a self-deal tournament, operated entirely by volunteers and with absolutely NO RAKE! It couldn’t be said any better than this cut-n-paste from this year’s tournament invitation:

“It is our love of the game that drives us, friends that encourage us, and stupidity that allows us to take on such an endeavor.” – anonymous

Despite the “Don’t mess with success” mantra of the Capitol’s Tournament Director, “Doc”, this year’s tournament was a great contrast to prior years. To start, the group of volunteers came together to help form a Club. This allowed them to charge an annual club membership fee that would help account for the sizable operational expenses associated with operating an event of this size. In addition, as a Club Member, one would also receive two free meals during the Club’s primary meeting. Tipping and other forms of compensation were strictly prohibited, as proclaimed in the Club Declaration and Membership Application that was received via postal mail by the players of years past.

See, that’s what’s great about “Stephenville”. Once you’re in, you’re in. Speaking as the “city boy” that Doc reminds me I am, I will tell you that once you make your way past the veritable sea of Duallies and enter the steel-fab building in the middle of nowhere,… Much like the new motto of my fair city, “You get it when you get here.”

This year’s tournament was scheduled on what would be an unseasonably cold day in late March, where temperatures barely peaked 40℉. To make matters worse, the South end of the building hosting the event was open-air. A laundry line stretched from one side of the building to the other with huge flags draped to guard players from the elements. Propane fueled turbine heaters littered the floor. In any other tournament, this would have been an abomination. But anybody who’s ever played Stephenville knows that this is Good Ol’ Boy poker at it’s finest. Nobody’s making any money and nobody’s getting rich. Well… Maybe except for the Champion, who’ll pocket 20-30k in hard cash. But the rest of us know that we’re playing in a superbly run, no-rake, volunteer tournament that gives Texas players a chance to test themselves against a semi-major field, with major talent, at a minor price. Go Stephenville!

As in prior years, more than a handful of friends accompanied me out to this year’s tournament, now as Members. Also like prior years, our crew met at IHOP in South Fort Worth at 6:30am to talk shit and negotiate pieces of each. This year’s agreed mutual was 2 percent, which adds up quick.

We fell one by one until only two remained; Myself, and Chris Miller. We broke through the money bubble and entered the final two tables of the 254-person tournament with $137k and $80k, respectively. We would soon both leave the tournament in 12 and 13th, also respectively, taking an average of $1,100 each.

Sixteen hours of tournament poker in a given day is a daunting task for anybody. But if you’re looking to sharpen your skills against a real field, with real players, for real cash… Set course for Stephenville during March of 2010. I’ll see you there with my Pokerati patch on, far from my beloved city and the legal reach of the sensibly challenged.

Congratulations to this year’s Cowboy Capitol Club, Texas Amateur Poker Champion, Sam Washburn of Glenrose!

While I still love Fort Worth, most notably Risky’s Bar-B-Q, I’m going to leave it to our friend Men Nguyen to best explain our Texas Poker appetites…

If you haven’t done so already, be sure to let them know that you’d really like to see our issues — HB 222 — put to a vote on the House floor so poker players from the great state of Texas can finally have their say.

Here’s the new link:

http://legalizepokerintexas.com/?issues=HB222

Click that, and you’ll see a button for “calendars committee” … click that, too, and it will instacheck the right people … so then, all you have to do is press send. You are, of course, welcome to customize the message to your personal liking.

We’re almost there, gang … we’re driving down the field … we need this first down.

After checking with Washington, D.C., lobbyist contacts and casino company operators dialed into Capitol Hill, Simkins put steep odds on the issue seeing any light.

“We see little reason for investors to try to play this near-term,” Simkins said.

Meanwhile, I had almost forgotten there was an internet gambling bill pending in Texas … an effort to make the Texas Lotto playable online. (Ha! Just wait til Texas banks try to transfer that money around.) From the Beaumont Enterprise:

PRO:

Internet gambling might seem like a big step to some Texans, but it’s not. More and more of our modern society is moving to the Internet, from shopping to news to entertainment. Gambling is part of this matrix. There’s no logical reason to wall off the ‘net from something that’s clearly popular with millions of consumers.

CON:

OUR VIEW: NO INTERNET GAMBLING FOR TEXAS
Internet gambling, especially when targeted at young adults, would cross a moral line that Texas needs to stay away from. That makes gambling a little too easy. It increases the chances that compulsive gamblers would waste money and establish bad gambling patterns for young adults.

OK, fair enough … you’re entitled to your moralist point of view, despite what statistics suggest. In fact, I’ll even assure you that it absolutely WILL be harmful to compulsive gamblers … which represent .6 percent of people online . How ’bout we compromise? We’ll say no to playing the Texas lottery on the internet if you say yes to brick-and-mortar poker rooms? Cool? Awesome … cool.

Politics is so easy.