World Poker Tour to Make Historic Texas Debut at Doug Polk’s Lodge Poker Club

The World Poker Tour is making its long-awaited debut in Texas this fall, marking the first time in the tour’s 23-year history that it will host an official event in the Lone Star State. The inaugural WPT Prime festival will take place at The Lodge Poker Club in Austin from September 28 to October 13, headlined by a $1,100 buy-in championship with a $1 million guaranteed prize pool.

The announcement represents a significant breakthrough for the WPT, which has not — until now — entered Texas because of the state’s strict gambling laws that prohibit most forms of gaming. Major poker tours have historically been kept out of holding live events in Texas, making this debut noteworthy for both the tour and local poker enthusiasts.

“We are thrilled to partner with The Lodge for the first time and bring the WPT experience to the heart of Texas,” said WPT CEO Adam Pliska. “The Lodge is a standout venue with an incredible community of passionate poker players.”

Navigating Texas’s unique poker club ecosystem

The WPT’s entry into Texas is made possible by the state’s distinctive private poker club system, which operates under a carefully constructed legal framework. Nearly 70 private poker clubs operate across Texas, with Houston leading at 18 venues, followed by Austin and Dallas with nine each.

These clubs function under Texas Penal Code §47.02, which provides a defense against gambling prosecution if certain conditions are met. The key requirement is that no person receives any economic benefit other than personal winnings, which has led clubs to develop an innovative business model.

Instead of taking a traditional rake from poker pots, which would constitute direct profit from gambling, Texas clubs generate revenue through membership fees and hourly seat rentals. Daily memberships typically cost $10-15, while players pay an additional $10-15 per hour for table time at cash games, with tournament fees running $20-30 per hour.

The Lodge Poker Club, co-owned by popular poker personalities Doug Polk, Brad Owen, and Andrew Neeme, regularly hosts large-scale tournaments with prize pools reaching up to $1 million. The venue has established itself as a premier destination in Austin’s poker scene, making it an ideal partner for the WPT’s Texas debut.

However, this legal gray area has occasionally led to conflicts with local authorities. Harris County pursued charges against Houston clubs in 2019, though charges were later dropped. More recently, authorities have raided private poker clubs in Flint, Watauga, and Dallas, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty for some operators.

WPT’s digital expansion amid recent controversies

While celebrating its Texas breakthrough, the WPT brand has expanded significantly beyond live tournaments through digital platforms. WPT Global serves international players in over 50 countries, while ClubWPT Gold operates as a sweepstakes poker site for US players in 45+ states.

The tour’s digital expansion represents a major evolution from its origins in 2002, when it began as a US-focused live tournament series. Today, the WPT encompasses a global network of live events, online qualifiers, and digital platforms that serve different regulatory environments.

ClubWPT Gold launched just last year among a wave of new online sweepstakes poker platforms. Since launch, the site has had its major proponents and its critics, but it has certainly garnered significant attention online. It partnered with many big-name poker ambassadors and streamers to promote the site, to apparent great success.

Doug Polk is perhaps the most notable ambassadors who is believed to have attracted tens of thousands of players to the platform. The announcement to run a WPT event at his poker club is a further tie-in between the content creator and the World Poker Tour brand.

The site recently launched its first big tournament series, the Gold Rush Online Festival, featuring 14 million Sweeps Coins in guarantees.

The site became embroiled in controversy when WSOP officials delayed payouts to the winner and runner-up of the Millionaire Maker event amid collusion allegations. The incident involved a ClubWPT Gold qualifier who stood to win an additional $1 million bonus for capturing a WSOP bracelet.

WSOP later decided to not award a bracelet, but split the remaining prize money equally between the two players. The pair have reportedly been banned from future WSOP events. ClubWPT Gold honored the $1 million bonus prize.

Despite these challenges, the WPT’s Texas debut represents a significant milestone for live poker in the state. With Texas Online Poker still years away due to the state’s conservative stance on gambling, private clubs and events like the WPT Prime festival provide crucial opportunities for serious tournament action.

The WPT Prime festival will also feature satellite events leading up to the championship, including the “Half Milly” tournament with a $400 buy-in and $500,000 guarantee. Given the event’s Texas location, WPT’s online sweepstakes platform ClubWPT Gold, which is available in Texas, will likely offer online satellites and qualifiers for the festival.