HOUSTON -- A law is landing some local business owners behind bars for letting you play a popular card game, the Local 2 Trouble Shooters reported Sunday.

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Bar Owners Surprised At Gambling Charges

Bar and pub owners across the Houston area say they were betting on the popularity of "Texas Hold 'Em" poker tournaments to draw in big crowds. But, they weren't betting on getting in big trouble.

In the last several months, police across Houston and agents with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission have run dozens of raids, issued hundreds of tickets and even sent people jail -- all because of the popularity of one card game, the station reported.

From Houston neighborhoods to bars to TV specials, "Texas Hold 'Em" poker is a phenomenon. The problem is, the newest craze is also the newest crime wave.

"I'm 72 years old and I've never been in jail in my life until they put me in jail that night," said Frank Skaggs, who was arrested on charges of gambling.

Skaggs has owned the Texas City bar, Shenanigans, for the past 20 years and by all accounts, runs a clean place, In one night, Skaggs, his bar manager and 78 customers were busted for gambling -- all because he was running a "Texas Hold 'Em" poker tournament.

"It was like gang busters. You think we were dealing in drugs or something, the way they acted," Skaggs said.

He thought his tournament was legal because he said Texas City police never told him he couldn't do it.

"They would not tell me it was illegal. Why didn't they call me and tell me it's illegal? That's all they had to do was drop a phone call," Skaggs said.

"Well, that's not true," said Sgt. Curtiss Pope, with the Texas City Police Department.

Pope said Skaggs was told he could not run a poker tournament.

"When Skaggs left here, he was told, 'No. The chief says no,'" Pope said.

"It's very frustrating. We're a retail business. The goal is to get as many fannies in the seat as you (can)," said Gina Casey, a pub manager.

Casey manages the Yorkshire Pub in west Harris County. The idea of having a "Texas Hold 'Em" tournament did draw in customers, but it also got the bar raided by the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission.

"It brought us a huge amount of business and because it brought us so much business, it also brought us under the microscope to determine, 'Should this be allowed or should this not?'" Casey said.

Both Casey and Skaggs thought they were running legal poker tournaments because no money was changing hands between the players, and the house wasn't making a cut off the game. But both tournaments were being held in a public place, and that, above all else, is what makes it illegal.

"If they have a permit to sell alcohol, it's a public place and they may say, 'We're having a private party and we're only inviting certain people.' It doesn't matter. If they have a permit, it's still a public place," said Capt. Keith Coleman, with the TABC.

Harris County prosecutor Ted Wilson goes a step further. A poker tournament means more customers, more customers mean more alcohol sales, and to Wilson, more alcohol sales mean the house is making a profit off the game.

"You know everybody tries to come up with some creative way to get around the law, but you know you just can't do it. You can't make money off these things," Wilson said.

One thing a lot of bar owners have been asking is what's the difference between running a poker tournament and a pool tournament. Well, it takes skill to play pool. While it takes skill to play poker, there's still an element of chance. That element of chance, under Texas law, makes it gambling, according to the station's report.

There are only three ways to have a legal poker game in Texas -- the game is in a private place, like someone's home; the house does not make a profit off the game; and it's a clean, fair game.

"For gambling to be legal, all three elements have to be there," Wilson said.

For someone like Skaggs, it's a very expensive lesson in the law.

"I'm not saying I'm legally right. Apparently I'm not. But I didn't know that at the time," Skaggs said.

"But you know ignorance of the law is not a defense?" Local 2 Troubleshooter Robert Arnold said.

"Well, that's true," Skaggs said.

If you are a player in one of these tournaments, you will also be charged with gambling. It does not matter if the bar owner told you the game was legal.

Gambling is a Class C misdemeanor that carries a $500 fine and possibly a night in jail.

The people who host these games can be charged with keeping a place of gambling or gambling promotion, both Class A misdemeanors that carry a punishment of up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

In some cases, people hosting poker tournaments can be charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, which is a state jail felony that carries a punishment of up to two years in jail.