Doug Polk Hands Out $100 to Every Player Seated at Popular Texas Poker Room
The Lodge Card Club near Austin, Texas surprised poker players on Wednesday who were seated in games with free money.
Doug Polk, who co-owns the room along with Brad Owen, Andrew Neeme, among others, sent one of his staff members out to the poker room floor to hand each player $100 in red chips ($5 each). He then showed appreciation to his customers.
"Attention Lodge players, as a token of our gratitude to have you hear at Lodge Card Club, everyone gets a free hundred," Polk told the room full of poker players, who cheered the free money. "Thank you guys for coming out. You are the heart and soul of the players here in Austin. We appreciately you greatly."
Polk said that around 75 players were seated in games and received the $100 surprise, mostly cash game players, but also some small stakes tournament players.
Renovated Poker Room
Polk's social poker club, a direct competitor with TCH Social in Austin, has been known to run unique promotions. The largest poker room in the state is giving out even more money — a lot more money — throughout the month of January.
The Lodge Card Club recently started its $15,000 weekly giveaway, a promotion that runs for four weeks. Every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in January, seven lucky players will win a share of $5,000 per day, with three players receiving the $1,000 top prize.
The Texas poker room has a history of juicy promotions, perhaps none bigger than a random drawing awarded a year ago. A player won $100,000 via a drawing from a December 2024 promotion, one of the most expensive live poker room promotions ever (for the owners).
The Lodge Card Club, home to over 80 poker tables and an attached restaurant, has finished up its massive renovation process that included new carpeting, fresh painted walls, and big screen TV's hanging above the tables.
The poker club, purchased by Polk in 2022, hosted the first ever World Poker Tour (WPT) event in the state of Texas in October with the $1,100 WPT Prime Lodge Championship, which attracted 1,648 entrants and was conquered by Harvey Castro, a 23-year-old local player, for $225,020.
The Lodge's main competitor in Austin, TCH Social, has a World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) event scheduled in the Spring, the first-ever WSOP-branded event in the Lone Star State. RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) is also coming to Texas (twice) this year, the first stop at The Lodge from Jan. 27-Feb. 1, and PokerNews will be on-site live reporting the Main Event.
*Images courtesy of The Lodge Card Club.
