Daniel Negreanu has said the negative publicity around the raid on The Lodge Card Club in Texas is "not good for poker."
The poker club, part-owned by Doug Polk, was shut down following a raid by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission on Tuesday, March 10.
In a statement to PokerOrg, TABC Director of Communications Chris Porter confirmed an ongoing investigation into “suspected money laundering and illegal gambling.”
The Lodge issued a statement following this, confirming all of its assets and bank accounts have been frozen but that no charges have been filed and it remains committed to cooperating with the relevant authorities.
Polk has yet to comment in detail following the raid but did post on X to personally guarantee all player funds.
Negreanu: Bad publicity is bad for the game
Negreanu said he didn't know specifics about the legality of the Texas club but did say that talk of money laundering seemed unlikely.
"That's a very big buzzword," he said in a YouTube video posted on Monday. "I would doubt it very much if we're seeing any of that. Despite our differences over the years, Doug Polk and the owners there have tried to do the right thing."
Negreanu admitted that he and Polk had clashed in the past about whether negative stories could be good for the game.
"[Polk] makes some good points about this," he added, "like when a cheating scandal turns up on ESPN, a lot of people tune in and have their eyes on poker. But, for me, it's for the wrong reasons. I don't know if what's going on over there now has changed his perception of that... I would hope [Polk] would agree with me on this – that bad publicity is not good for poker in this case."
Negreanu also hoped the Lodge would win any case that may follow, saying, "All the people that I know who have gone there have had positive things to say."
With reference to Polk personally guaranteeing funds, Negreanu suggested that lawyers have likely advised him to wait until the situation becomes clearer before paying any money out.
"Some people might have a load of Lodge chips, and that might be the majority of their bankrolls, and that's tough for them. But if I had to bet, I'd bet that those funds will be honored."
Watch the full video from Negreanu below.
