Doug Polk has shared new details on the raid at the Lodge Card Club in Texas in a YouTube video released on Tuesday.
The club was initially raided by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission on March 10. All assets and bank accounts were frozen, though no charges have been filed. An upcoming deadline looms as to whether or not those assets will be returned.
The Lodge has since shut its doors indefinitely and laid off all of its staff amid an ongoing investigation reportedly linked to alleged money laundering and illegal gambling.
Polk is a co-owner of the club, alongside Jake Abdalla and Jason Levin.
In the 22-minute video seen above, Polk addressed the legal issues, the layoffs, and the future of poker in Texas. Polk also reiterated his pledge to make players whole.
"If The Lodge does not make these people whole, I will," Polk said. "I'm taking on seven-figures in personal liability. Not because I have to, but because I want to, and I don't want anyone that's involved with this to end up losing their money."
He recently donated $10,000 to a GoFundMe set up to support staff affected by the closure. Brad Owen, also listed as a co-owner, donated $5,000. At the time of writing, the fundraiser has raised $32,000 towards its $50,000 target.
Polk 'surprised' by layoffs
On the subject of layoffs, Polk was "a little surprised" when it happened.
"Some people might think I personally run The Lodge. I am just a shareholder. I do not run The Lodge. When I saw that we had let go of the employees, I did feel a little bit upset for our people."
The club ownership still doesn't know what it might be charged with, or what the next steps might be.
"It's all just a big question mark," Polk said. "But two hundred people didn't face a question mark. They faced having to lose their jobs and leave."
Polk also addressed the narrative that The Lodge is permanently closed.
"I feel like this was also falsely commented on publicly," Polk said. "Yes, this does mean that the Lodge's employees are being let go, but that does not mean The Lodge is permanently closed. Like, if the government decided to give us back the money and let us reopen, of course that the business would reopen."
Will The Lodge reopen?
So can, and will, the club reopen? That seems to depend on the status of the seized funds. But there's a key deadline approaching for the state to make the proper claims to keep that money.
"There's an important date on the timeline here that people are not currently discussing which is April 9," Polk said.
Polk cited civil forfeiture laws in Texas, saying that the government has 30 days to file for a claim.
Polk said, "So, that means that on April 9, there will have to be a filing for civil forfeiture if they do want to to to hold on to these assets that they seized from Lodge Card Club.
"Now, that doesn't mean the case has to end. They have to bring charges and all these things forward. It does mean that by April 9, they have to make some sort of claim on those assets or return them. And that is an extremely important date to keep in mind here as we move along. I'm not an attorney obviously, but typically speaking, in these cases, you see it filed closer to that deadline."
Time will tell if The Lodge can get its money back and reopen, Polk said, but in the meantime they're going to stand pat.
"Until this fully resolves with the government, we will not be doing anything," he said. "If they are saying this is an investigation and they're going through our transactions, of course, we want to get to the bottom of that before we do anything else. And we of course want to show that we are willing to comply and work with the county and the TABC that we are a lawful entity. We want to do the right thing.
"It could take a couple of weeks. It could take a couple of years. But the day will come where people are made whole when we are allowed to do so. It's the best I can do."
