Legal drama, grand juries, and a May 26 poker party.
The Lodge Card Club, Texas’ largest card room, will finally reopen on May 26 after being shut down by a TABC raid in March. According to PokerNews, the raid was due to suspicions of illegal gambling and money laundering, leading to the club’s assets being seized and operations halted.
Top shareholders Doug Polk, Jake Abdalla, and Jason Levin found themselves under the spotlight, but a grand jury decision in April meant no indictments and the return of assets.
The club is set to bring back both cash games and tournaments from day one, with the first event being a $50 no-limit hold’em turbo at 10:15 a.m. Staff are being rehired and the lights are coming back on, just in time to coincide with the first day of the 2026 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
Today
Gus Hanson on if poker is dying out.
Run It Once has you covered.Poker tells are still a thing.
Nacho Cuesta is on a mission to convince the solver-obsessed poker world that watching your opponents still matters. He’s spent five years breaking down tells into a science experiment.Lilian Welch FTW!
I honestly can’t get enough of this story or Lilian. Great interview!Kalshi bettors are turning bearish on the 2026 WSOP Main Event field size.
As we know, Kalshi, the prediction market platform where users can bet on real-world outcomes, currently has a market on whether this year’s WSOP Main Event will surpass 10,000 entries. And right now, the odds aren’t looking great.
What was once viewed as slightly better than a coin flip after the WSOP schedule release has now dropped to just a 34% chance of eclipsing the 10,000-entry mark again. That sharp decline seems to have happened after the payment methods were revealed, along with the 2% fee on credit cards and PayPal. Maybe that’s the reason?
That said, trading volume has been pretty small so far, only around $27,000 wagered, so this could simply reflect a shift in sentiment among a handful of bettors rather than the broader poker community.
Last year’s WSOP Main Event drew 9,735 entries, falling short after two consecutive record-breaking years above 10,000. Some pointed to softer Vegas tourism numbers and the impact of Trump-era policies and rhetoric on international travel as contributing factors.
Maybe this year rebounds. But for now, Kalshi bettors aren’t convinced.
What do you think — does the 2026 WSOP Main Event get back above 10,000 entries?
The anniversary series from PokerStars continues this week.
And it’s overlays galore!The Triton Super High Roller Series starts today.
And we expect it to be full of glamour and gossip!Another AMA, this time with Phil Hellmuth.
The poker brat is planning to answer 200 new questions during his AMA on Reddit in conjunction with OctopiPoker. Go check it out if you are interested in what the 17-time WSOP bracelet winner has to say.Ask Chris Moorman anything over on Reddit.
Head over to Reddit over the next 48 hours to get involved with the AMA.Love all the poker memorabilia that Chad Holloway is collecting.
PSA for anyone who might have this 2007 retro chip set.Negreanu breaks down the real WSOP action: drafting and deals.
DNegs is dissecting last year’s WSOP Fantasy Draft and tease his upcoming package for the 2026 series. His daily WSOP vlogs are set to return, which means fans will get plenty of behind the scenes action.Justin Bonomo had a run back in 2018 most of us can only dream of.
Vanja is asking for your favorite run by the player. Head to the comments for more.Build your own schedule for the WSOP 2026.
Gags30 has done the hard work for you, all you need to do it populate the calendar. 🗓️WSOP reveals that it will give $100k in bonuses to the top-performing dealers this summer.
The World Series of Poker has come out with more information about its latest dealer rating feature. There will be $100,000 in bonus cash added, spread across all 100 bracelet events.
The top three rated dealers in each event will get to split $1,000, and ratings refresh for every event, so every tournament starts with a clean slate.
Opinions are still divided within the poker community, but adding some extra cash for the hard-working folks that make the series tick certainly helps.
Yesterday
Curious about Allen Kessler? You need to check this out!
The crew at Table 1 Podcast came through once again with a great guest. Yes, it’s Allen Kessler, the man who’s been around poker and gambling for decades, and although people often question how good he is, he must be doing something right.
If you’re curious about the life of the man they call 'The Chainsaw,’ you’ll definitely want to tune in for some fun poker and slots stories, and much more.
What to do with a flopped top pair after getting check-raised?
This is a tricky spot that many players don’t handle that well. Jonathan Little offers some useful tips on how to navigate these situations like a pro.Deeb recently claimed on No Gamble, No Future that Phil Hellmuth 'knows deep down’ his WSOP bracelet record is in jeopardy.
Even after losing nearly $100,000 in recent high-stakes cash games, Deeb remains undeterred.
“I always feel like me and Phil’s exact rapport, I’m the one person he can’t just bring up his accolades against and brag about all he’s done, because he knows deep down I’m going to pass him in bracelets,”
Hellmuth, who currently holds 17 bracelets, is still sitting pretty, especially after booking a $14,000 win while playing his trademark tight style. Deeb, with nine bracelets to go, is banking on time and his two WSOP Player of the Year awards to close the gap. The race is on, but Hellmuth’s lead is still safe for now.
Just another year of high-stakes drama for Tom Goldstein.
He was once a legal superstar and now is a convicted felon.
According to PokerNews, Goldstein won over $1.7 million gambling in 2025, but claims it was all before his January arraignment. Prosecutors are skeptical and have pointed out that he reported over $3 million in taxable income for the year, much of it from gambling.