The mayor of the Dallas, Texas suburb of Farmers Branch, where a group of investors fronted by Doug Polk hoped to open a social-poker club, has been cleared of wrongdoing after one of the suburb's residents filed a pair of ethics complaints linked to the would-be club's attempt to receive licensing and zoning approval.
Farmers Branch resident Vicki Harrison lodged two complaints against Mayor Terry Lynne, according to a report published by the Dallas Observer, accusing Lynne of "conflicts of interest and improper dealings" with other city officials, supposedly in an attempt to fast-track the needed approvals for Polk's club to open.
The city brought in an independent law firm, Ross, Gannaway, Clifton PLLC, which investigated Harrison's allegations. The law firm interviewed Lynne and other city officials and quickly confirmed that the mayor had done nothing wrong nor extended any special favors to Polk or his group. They also attempted to interview Harrison, the complainant, but she declined to further discuss the matter.
Lynne followed normal procedures and returned political contribution
In clearing the mayor of any wrongdoing, the law firm investigating the complaints determined that Lynne had done nothing unusual. After learning of Polk's interest in opening a club in the northeast Dallas suburb, Lynne referred Polk to other zoning and city-planning officials. The mayor also recommended some local realtors who might be able to assist Polk and his fellow investors in finding a location that was a good possible fit for a poker room.
All of that was a normal part of Mayor Lynne's duties, the investigation found. “Lynne asserted that he didn’t think he provided Polk with any access to staff that he wouldn’t have otherwise had, and that he told Polk repeatedly that he would need to follow the process,” the Observer quoted the investigative report as stating. “Finally, Lynne stated that he considers helping businesses locate in the city to be part of his job, so he helps them sell themselves through a municipal approval process.”
Lynne also returned a poorly timed political contribution sent his way by Polk in September of 2023. Lynne was elected as Farmers Branch's mayor in May of 2023, and as investigators learned, it wasn't unusual for politicians to receive donations after an election had already occurred. However, when Polk contacted Lynne a week or two after making the donation, Lynne “put two and two together”, and he told Polk he'd be returning it "so there was no issue of impropriety." The Observer report did not mention the amount of the donation nor the channel through which it was originally made.
Farmers Branch 'no' turned Lodge owners' attention to San Antonio
The Observer also contacted Polk regarding the failed attempt to receive zoning and licensing approval from Farmers Branch's city council. He concurred that Lynne had not stepped across any ethical lines, telling the Observer, "I went through the appropriate channels and ultimately was denied." Whether or not the Observer newswriter sought to get Polk to comment more on the post-election nature of the contribution isn't clear, though it's written to imply that Polk chose not to address that element of the story.
The loss in the face of the heated opposition from local residents, despite finding a possible venue not close to residences, schools, or churches, soon prodded Polk's investment group to change course. Instead of continuing to pursue a Dallas-area room at the present time, the group pivoted and acquired San Antonio's Rounders Poker Club. Now renovated and expanded, it has just opened as The Lodge San Antonio and will become Texas's largest social-poker club.
And, the trouble with it all...
Sometimes, a greater tale involves both distinct plusses and minuses. This is a fine example. For Polk and his co-investors, it's probably a financial wash. So the Dallas-area room won't happen right away; they'll probably make just as much money running the new Lodge San Antonio. San Antonio's poker image suffered a healthy bruise not that long ago, when another area room, the San Antonio Poker Palace, reneged on a $100,000 bad-beat jackpot that hit. The club closed soon after when players refused to continue supporting the operation. The club owner was subsequently sued by the landlord for non-payment of rent and other unpaid expenses.
The Lodge San Antonio will certainly improve on that fiasco. But in abandoning Dallas-Fort Worth for the time being, Polk & Co. may have left a little bit more stink in another Texas metro area where card clubs have been fighting an uphill battle for several years.
How exactly the public became aware of Polk's curious donation is a matter of speculation: My personal belief at the present time is that an anti-poker someone in Mayor Lynne's office also "put two and two together", then shared the apparent purpose behind the contribution with one or more fellow Farmers Branch outstanding citizens. That primed the pump for an enthusiastic display of outrage at the notion that a social poker club could be coming to Farmers Branch.
To be clear, it doesn't seem like Polk broke any laws. It's up to the politicians to refuse to accept contributions that can appear to be tainted, and that's exactly what happened with the Farmers Branch mayor. Besides, even in poker terms, this is small potatoes; it wasn't that many years ago that Full Tilt honcho Howard Lederer slipped a million dollars under the table to Nevada Senator Harry Reid, who promised to float pro-online poker legislation in DC. That became the Reid-Kyl bill, which was a hopeless mess from the start, and it was exactly one million dollars worth of a very bad idea.
Bad ideas don't need to waste a million dollars, however, as this tangled Dallas poker tale shows. It's a loss for poker's image in the Dallas area, no matter what anyone wants to admit. Given that it made area news, it's going to make it just a little bit harder for the next entrepreneur that wants to open a social poker room in or near DFW.
