Kontroversi tentang poker rooms di Texas terus menghangatkan suasana. Menteri Distrik 12, Shelley Mandelsohn, menegaskan bahwa poker rooms tidak diinginkan di Distrik 12 dan jika ada yang mencoba bermain judi di County Collin, Jaksa Distrik "sangat senang membantu mereka memproses tuduhan atas perilaku illegal tersebut".

"Judi ilegal di Texas. Jadi, jika operator poker ingin menjadikannya legal, mereka perlu mendapatkan diri ke Austin dan mendapatkan sebuah undang-undang. Tetapi sekarang, jika kita lihat bab 47, tampaknya sangat jelas bahwa itu ilegal. Mereka akan berargumentasi bahwa ada ruang abu-abu di sana. Dan kemungkinan besar, ini akan menuju ke pengadilan. Apakah itu terjadi karena County Collin atau karena tempat lain tidak terlalu penting," kata Mendelsohn.

Mendelsohn's district spans three counties, namely Collin, Denton, and Dallas. She says the City of Dallas did approve two SUPs in the past, but even at the time, there was "gray space". She said the city attorney is "revisiting" and "doing some additional research into the law".

"I'm not going into a poker room. That's not my interest. I'm not opposed to poker. My husband plays a monthly game and has for 20 years. His poker games are not gambling. His poker game is playing cards with friends, drinking a beer and having some M&M’s. So it's sociability, but there's nobody winning money," Mendelsohn said.

"And so literally the part that makes this illegal, from what I read, I'm not an attorney — is that somebody is making money in these establishments. Whether that's food sales, alcohol sales, renting a chair, a fee to walk in the door, somebody is making money off of poker. When we talk about a game in somebody's home — which I have no problem with — nobody's making money other than the players themselves, which is legal in Texas. It is actually one of the specific exemptions," she added.

Mendelsohn also raised the point that while the penal code states it's a defense to prosecution if the "gambling occurred in a private place", anyone could become a member at a poker club, so it should be clarified as a cover charge.

"They talk about the whole notion of, 'Is it public or not public? Oh, people have to pay a membership when they come in.' But if anyone can become a member, that's public. That's just a cover charge," Mendelsohn said.

Meanwhile, TCH (Texas Card House) operator, Crow, says that while its membership requirements are not stringent, TCH doesn't just let anyone in.

"We take their driver's license, we scan it, we get all their information on file. They have to pay to become a member. But yes, I mean we don't have a very stringent membership policy, but we do, if we have problems with players. We do run background checks on them and we exclude people all the time," Crow said.

"So, yes we actually have a pretty healthy list of people who are banned and are not allowed to enter in our club. And so not everyone's just allowed in," he added.

Crow says he's not against Mendelsohn's desire to require SUPs (Specific Use Permits). He says he just wants the public to not be afraid of poker rooms, or have the wrong idea about the way they operate.

"It actually took us over two years to get this club open. It's very difficult to find a location, especially in a new city where there are no clubs. We just wrapped up going through the SUP process for the second of our locations here in Dallas and it's very challenging. However, it has its value. When we first tried to get our [initial] SUP, we were contested by someone who was essentially next to us. We brought them in, we showed them our club in Austin, and they subsequently essentially withdrew their opposition to it. We went to city council and we were able to get our SUP. And while it's very difficult, it can be challenging to get," Crow said.

"I'm not really opposed to that, requiring those for clubs to make sure the clubs are doing the things they're supposed to do to contribute positively to the community," he added., the legality of poker rooms in Texas remains a topic of debate. While some argue that it's illegal, others believe that with proper regulations and permits, poker rooms can operate legally. The controversy surrounding this issue is unlikely to subside anytime soon, as different stakeholders have their own opinions on the matter.