Doug Polk, Brad Owen, and Andrew Neeme purchased a Texas-sized poker room — The Lodge Card Club — in January 2022, and the club is continuing to expand as it faces some stiff competition.
PokerNews visited the Austin area (Round Rock) card room two months after the poker-pro trio took possession of the business. We stopped by for a second visit last week to find out how the largest poker club in the Lone Star State has changed in the past two years. And what we found is a poker club that has its players in mind.
Keeping Up with the Competition
Texas Card House opened a new state-of-the-art location last month in Austin, and the room is a significant upgrade compared to the previous nearby spot. The club has capacity for approximately 60 poker tables and boasts a gourmet menu in its attached kitchen, and PokerNews can confirm the grub is quite tasty.
The Lodge Card Club couldn’t just sit back and let its biggest competitor in the state dominate the market. Polk’s room is just a couple weeks away from expanding its culinary options for players.
PokerNews spoke with The Lodge’s livestream commentators and ambassadors, Slick Rick and Skull Mike, both of whom have been around since the poker room’s early days, long before Polk took over.
They acknowledged that the business has to consider what’s going on over at TCH Social. But they welcome some friendly competition.
“It’s good for the players,” Slick Rick said about TCH and The Lodge Card Club stepping up their game to appease customers.
The Lodge Card Club has just under 70 poker tables, plenty to host major tournaments, which they routinely do. There are typically 20-25 cash games running on any given Friday night, comparable to TCH Social. Daily tournaments, mixed games, pot-limit Omaha, and juicy no-limit hold’em cash games pack the place on the regular.
Skull Mike and Slick Rick also host one of the most popular livestreams in the game at the Round Rock poker room. And they’ve been doing it for years.
“When we started, we’d have 10 people watching,” Rick said.
The familiar faces at The Lodge Card Club said they were excited when they hit 1,000 YouTube subscribers. They’re now 1,000 away from cracking 200,000 subscribers. Hustler Casino Live, a similar show from Hustler Casino in Los Angeles, is the only daily poker livestream with a larger YouTube audience (365,000 subscribers).
Poker at the Lodge has attracted some high-profile players over the past two years, including the owners, Bill Perkins, Nik Airball, and local fan favorites such as “Taras” and Cameron Mixson.
The Round Rock, Texas poker club’s livestream has regular mid-stakes and high-stakes games. But the show’s commentators and card room ambassadors also host a low-stakes game every few weeks specifically catered to the loyal members of The Lodge Card Club. The $1-$2 game with a $500 cap gives the everyday grinders an opportunity to compete on stream.
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Growing the Business
Poker is booming in Texas. Some of the juiciest games take place in card rooms all across the state. Poker players can get action just about anywhere they go in Texas, whether it be in Dallas or Austin or Houston or in smaller towns such as Midland. But the poker market statewide is dominated by two brands — Texas Card House and The Lodge Card Club.
Polk’s business is continuing to step up its game, not only to compete with TCH, but also to provide players with reasons to join the club. The new restaurant is opening soon and The Lodge recently opened a second card room in San Antonio, which will eventually become the largest poker room in the state.
Don’t expect The Lodge to stop there. They’ve done research on opening clubs in other cities across the state, including a failed attempt in Farmers Branch, an anti-gambling town near Dallas. Upgrading current rooms and opening new locations is how The Lodge Card Club will continue to remain competitive with Texas Card House, a poker brand with six statewide locations, some of which are widely considered among the best rooms in Texas. And the competition between the clubs, as Slick Rick said, is good for the players.