Authorities fold poker games

GUADALUPE COUNTY, TEXAS — Nearly a dozen people at two local underground poker parlors have been issued citations for illegal gambling in the wake of a months-long undercover investigation by county officials.

Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Investigator Lt. Kevin Jordan said sheriff’s deputies, Department of Public Safety troopers and investigators who work for County Attorney Elizabeth Murray-Kolb raided a home adjacent to the San Antonio Raceway Friday night in Marion and shut down an illegal poker game, issuing 11 misdemeanor citations.

“We’ve been working an undercover investigation into citizen complaints about illegal gambling in the county since April,” Jordan said.

The investigation opened with a look into an allegedly illegal “Texas Hold ’em” game located at a residence in the 3100 block of State Highway 123 North.

It led to another game, Jordan said, conducted in a residence behind San Antonio Raceway owned by the owners of the race track.

The game at the residence near the race track was the subject of Friday’s 8 p.m. search. While there, Jordan said, information investigators learned led to the Seguin residence.

“There was a poker game in progress,” Jordan said. “Players were cited and interviews were conducted.”

Jordan did not identify any of the players or the people suspected of promoting the gambling. He did say that $1,500 in cash, gambling equipment including poker tables, chips and other items and papers were taken, and that the investigation into the games was continuing. Other charges are possible as the investigation moves forward, he said.

“Right now, we’re looking at misdemeanors, but there’s a possibility of felony charges of engaging in organized criminal activity,” Jordan said.

A friendly wager on a poker game between two or more players is not illegal, the investigator said.

What made the games alleged in connection with this investigation illegal was the promoters or the “house” taking a cut of the action that ranged from $1-$7 per hand, Jordan said.

“They were in the business of taking a ‘rake’ from the players, and that’s what made it illegal,” Jordan said.

“Unlike a friendly game, this is a money-making operation for some people, which makes it illegal,” Murray-Kolb said. “I want to thank and praise all the law enforcement personnel who were involved in this, especially Frank Allenger and Mike Watts from my office. Let this be a warning that we’re not going to allow this to go on in Guadalupe County.”

Seguin Gazette

News Added: 26 August, 2008

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