New Texas Poker Club Owner Vows to Make Right
The state of Texas has proven time and time again that it will do anything to avoid legalizing casino-style gambling in its state. Even Sheldon Adelson’s money couldn’t buy a law to legalize casinos in Texas. And it has become famous for being a state for which Texas Hold’em was named but that prohibits licensed poker rooms.
For years, poker players in Texas have found work-arounds. Some hold private – and secret – poker games, and others travel to nearby states with casinos. Others go to card rooms.
Over the last few years, several business owners began opening card rooms using a membership-based model, one that has been successful in skirting Texas’ gambling laws thus far. Essentially, someone opens a poker club as a sort of country club. Players become members, renting space at the club for a certain period of time, paying for food and drink as they go. This allows the club to profit without charging rake, which is the prohibited component of most gambling operations under the law. Local lawmakers have been unsuccessful in persuading law enforcement to shut down the venues. And the courts have yet to rule against any poker club operating in this fashion.
Poker club owners have seen the inability of the law to shut them down. That prompted them to start advertising more overtly, even offering major tournament series to draw players to the rooms from around the US and beyond. For the most part, they’ve been successful.
Meanwhile, though, this avoidance of the law has a downside. When someone opens a poker club, runs out of money, and doesn’t pay players, it becomes difficult to then ask the legal system for support.
Enter Johnny Chan.
52 Social to 88 Social
Few people aren’t familiar with Johnny Chan. The 10-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner – including two WSOP Main Events – even starred as himself in the poker classic film Rounders. He’s Johnny f**king Chan.
Chad Holloway of the PokerNews Podcast chatted with Chan in July about 88 Social, his new poker club located in Houston, Texas. At that time, Chan said the doors were open with twenty games going on a Monday afternoon. He had some high-limit games on the schedule and a variety of mixed games, Omaha, and Hold’em. Chan said he wanted to attract a clientele of players from all walks of life.
Chan said he was inspired by checking out a rival club called Prime Social, also in Houston, that he claimed was mismanaged, not treating players or employees well. So, he bought a club called 52 Social, renamed it Johnny Chan’s 88 Social in May 2021.
The club seemed to perform well enough, gaining traction via word of mouth, game variety, and tournament guarantees.
We are officially in the money @ItsJohnnyChan 88 Social Club! The Prince of Poker @TheScottyNguyen and The current @WSOP Domestic Main Event Champion @jmh050 have both made the money and will be chasing 1st place of $268,567 + 🏆 pic.twitter.com/eWte9FrNW7
— John Hagberg (@ratesbyjohn) August 22, 2021
Little did many know, though, that Chan had purchased the club from former partner David La, who opened it as 52 Social. Along the way, the pandemic provided the opportunity for La to petition the US government for a PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) loan for $470K. Chan and La apparently parted ways (with bad feelings dating back to 2019 and Chan suing La over shady business practices), and Chan took over his new 88 Social.
From 88 Social to 101 Poker
Fast forward to just a few months after 88 Social opened under Chan’s ownership. Players began to complain that they were unable to obtain cash from their lockboxes. Chan cancelled a December tournament series. Management placed limits on daily cashouts. Mike Matusow claimed that Chan told him that a business partner emptied their bank account and stole all of the lockboxes. All of it could have been rumor and speculation, but there was something to it because 88 Social closed its doors during the first week of December.
this should be interesting, two with less-than-pristine reputations talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars in player funds needing to go back to players https://t.co/NvSCn4mBXP
— Dan Ross 🍻 (@HoldemMedia_Dan) December 6, 2021
Without a state-controlled regulatory agency to oversee poker club licenses and properly vet owners and managers, it leaves a lot of room for unaccountability.
However, a Texas poker player stepped in to save the day. Sanjeev Vora claimed he bought the club. According to a pre-Christmas post on the 101 Poker Club Facebook page:
“We are pleased to announce that the poker room previously known as Johnny Chan’s 88 Social has been sold and will open under the 101 Poker brand. This club is fully owned and operated by local Houston poker player Sanjeev Vora.
“Sanjeev is in the process of putting his management team together and is diligently working on getting the club operational as quickly as possible. Jeff Faber, a well-respected manager amongst the poker community, has been selected as the General Manager. He will be working with Sanjeev to procure an excellent staff that will provide the most profession(al), courteous, and jun (fun) environment possible for our beloved poker community.
“The club is currently undergoing a rapid transformation to reflect Sanjeev’s vision.”
101 Poker owns a club in Katy, a suburb of Houston. That location appears to have been doing well for some time. And in response to questions on the FB page about making 88 Social players whole, the club said that Vora will take care of player debts. “Also, if you PURCHASED time, he will be honoring that as well,” the post read.
Further, Vora told PokerNews that long-term renovations will take several months, but immediate changes included new carpet and signage. He anticipated a soft open this week. The new 101 Poker Richmond website launched this week and noted that the soft opening will continue through the end of this week (year) and plan a grand opening at a later date.
