Turlock Poker Room finds spot near theater

California -- The Turlock Poker Room is putting its chips behind a new location on West Main Street, west of Highway 99, as the low economy and high cost of construction raised the stakes in downtown.

Poker room owner Joe Fernandez said he's still interested in opening shop at Broadway Avenue and West Main Street, in the heart of downtown, but the effects of the recession and high costs of retrofitting or modernizing the historic corner building have postponed plans.

The poker room is licensed for 10 tables but can barely fit nine in its cramped location near Lander Avenue, Fernandez said. With two to three years' worth of work left on his downtown building, Fernandez plans to move the card room to a space next to the Regal Turlock Stadium 14 cinema and Lamppost Pizza by Thanksgiving.

"The place I'm at now is just too small and there isn't enough parking," he said. "This way, if I'm comfortable, I can take the time to make the building I want in downtown."

The space near the movie theater runs 6,000 square feet, compared with 2,200 square feet in the current location. Plans were in the works to expand the current site, but it proved too costly, Fernandez said. The room recently added blackjack to the list of games and should expand to 12 tables by the end of the year, he said, requiring more room.

Celia Brophy, owner of Lamppost Pizza, is excited about the new neighbor.

The pizza shop, which serves beer and wine and has an outdoor patio for smoking, may expand its hours once the card room opens, she said.

"We know it will bring in a lot of business," Brophy said.

Other neighbors are taking a wait-and-see approach.

"At first I thought, 'Do we really want a poker room in here?' " said Silvia Staggs, manager of Get the Party Started. "This is a family area with the movies and Funzone. Then I talked to my husband and he said card rooms aren't the seedy places they once were. ... I really don't have all the information, so I'd hate to form an opinion."

Modesto Bee

News Added: 04 June, 2008

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