The Lodge Card Club in Texas Closed Due to Investigation by Authorities

What Happened at The Lodge?

Reddit users reported that police raided The Lodge Club on a warrant issued by the Texas Alcoholic and Beverage Commission, photographed each player’s ID, and then let them go with their chips. 

Over the next few days, speculation abounded about the cause of the incident, including that The Lodge’s liquor license had expired, that there were problems with the way the poker games were run, and that the club had been caught improperly storing clients’ assets.

The reality turned out to be much more unexpected. Two days after the raid, TABC released an official statement to poker media stating that the Lodge had been investigated due to suspicions in money laundering and illegal gambling.

However, as of March 15, no arrests or charges had been filed, and no further details had been provided.

Doug Polk Response to the Raid

Doug Polk was not at the scene during the raid, but on March 11th he publicly promised to keep the community informed:

“I am waiting on some additional information, but I will make an in-depth statement within the next day about what is going on with the lodge.”

The same day he also stated that he has “personally guaranteed that all player funds will be safe as this witch hunt from TABC plays out”. And that he would make a more detailed statement “later today”.

The poker community never received the promised statement from him within the stated timeframe. Luckily, at least the Lodge Club provided some information.

Official Statement of The Lodge

Shortly after the raid, the Lodge began contacting its members, trying to reassure them and explain what its team could. However, they weren’t able to provide much information. The most informative part of its email newsletter was this:

“Our attorneys are working to understand the reasons behind the search but at this time, the situation has not been explained to us. Our legal counsel has contacted the relevant authorities and hope to learn more but, in our view, we are operating with integrity, using all best practices, and for many years have been doing business in absolute accordance with Texas law.”

It was sent on March 12th, 2026, but three days later Lodge issued on X (Twitter) an additional statement asking for the community’s support:

“We know our loyal staff, members, and followers have been anxiously waiting for an update regarding the recent events that led to the closure of the club. We recognize that the closure has had a serious impact for many. More than 200 staff members rely on The Lodge for their livelihoods, and many of our members have funds tied up in chips or pending tournament payouts. We understand the concern and frustration and we want everyone to know that it is not being taken lightly.

As much as we would like to provide a detailed update, we are unable to do so at this time because, despite our legal team’s best efforts to obtain additional information from the authorities, very little information has been made available.

What we do know is that no charges have been filed, and we remain committed to cooperating fully so that any concerns can be addressed. At the same time, we can confirm that all of the club’s assets and bank accounts have been frozen. In addition, we have been told not to re-open until the investigation concludes.

The Lodge has always taken its obligation to operate lawfully very seriously. The leadership team is committed to ensuring that The Lodge operates transparently, responsibly, and in good faith within Texas law by emphasizing strengthened oversight and continued improvement of operations.

Unfortunately, we do not know how long this process will take or when we will be allowed to operate again. We obviously believe that the longer our doors remain closed, the greater the impact becomes — not just on the business itself, but on the hundreds of staff members, vendors, partners, and community members who rely on The Lodge every day.

Your continued support of The Lodge — its traditions, its staff, and the community that exists inside these walls — means the world to us. We are upset and frustrated by the disruption this has caused and remain hopeful that we will be able to work constructively and with the authorities in a very timely manner so that we can move forward and reopen our doors. All we can do at the moment is to promise to share more information as soon as we are able.

In the meantime, if The Lodge has meant something to you — as a place to play, work, or build friendships — we encourage you to share your support in the comments. Hearing from this community means more to our staff and leadership team than we can put into words.”

It’s difficult to say what will happen next for The Lodge. One can only hope that Doug Polk and his business partners will be able to answer at least some questions soon. For example, how exactly they guarantee the safety of players’ funds if the club’s accounts and assets are frozen by authorities due to serious suspicions. We will monitor the situation in the hope of full transparency from The Lodge.