Texas Membership Cardroom Copa Club Raided: 2 Arrested

The troubled Texas live poker scene has suffered a setback as police raided the Copa Club in Westlake on Thursday, Feb. 27. The raid was conducted by the Tarrant County Sheriff's Department after a “months-long” investigation and resulted in the arrest of two employees. Westlake is a suburb of Dallas-Forth Worth.

About the Copa Club

The Copa Club, located at 63 Tarragona Drive, opened in late December 2025 as a members-only facility. Among the “Amenities & Benefits” listed on its website were bar cuisine, cocktails, meal delivery, valet parking, concierge service, private room reservations, and complimentary card games. It is this last item that led to the club's recent trouble with the law.

Website of the Copa Club

The Copa Club allowed members to pay an hourly table rate. In exchange, the club supplied professional dealers to oversee games of Texas Hold'em. According to Copa Club, “Any winnings collected are yours to cash in; Copa Club takes no stake, and merely facilitates with impartiality and professionalism.”

Copa Club With Several Games Running

Most of the games offered were low stakes NLHE tables. Sometimes, a PLO game would fire up. The 13-table poker room also hosted about a half dozen tournaments a week.

Entry level Sporting Membership ran $280 per month. There were other membership tiers, like Legacy and Corporate, that cost more and allowed access to additional amenities and perks. Crucially, access to the game room and thus Texas Hold'em tables was available even at the lowest membership tier.

About Texas Private Poker Clubs

From all the information we've gathered, it appears that the Copa Club was relying on an often-employed loophole in Texas law that exempts some private clubs from the state's strict anti-gambling statutes. The relevant portion of the Texas Penal Code is found in Title 10, Chapter 47, Section 47.02 – Gambling:

(b) It is a defense to prosecution under this section [i.e., prosecution for gambling] that:

(1) the actor engaged in gambling in a private place;

(2) no person received any economic benefit other than personal winnings; and

(3) except for the advantage of skill or luck, the risks of losing and the chances of winning were the same for all participants.

The first stipulation about gambling occurring in a private place leaves open the possibility for membership-only clubs to offer gaming. The second seems to make it OK for gambling to occur as long as there's no house rake being taken. The final condition implies that there cannot be any cheating or other unfairness going on that might favor one player over another.

A Legal Gray Area

Unfortunately, things are not clear-cut when it comes to membership clubs dealing Texas Hold'em and other forms of poker.

For instance, it's not immediately evident what a “private place” is. The Copa Club actually has a stronger case on this point than many competitors because its memberships are monthly or yearly as opposed to some TX cardrooms that feature daily “memberships” that basically anyone can acquire for the payment of a small fee.

The Outside of the Copa Club

The wording in the law about “any economic benefit” is also subject to interpretation. The card clubs feel that only directly raking the pots counts as an economic benefit of gambling. However, others believe that the seat or table fees paid to the establishment are an economic benefit. Even merely selling food and beverages to players, some contend, is an economic benefit that is a direct consequence of hosting gambling.

Cardrooms Targeted Before

The uncertain nature of Texas anti-gambling law means that its enforcement has varied widely. While some cardrooms have been left to operate unhindered, others have been shut down by the authorities with the rationales for doing so often based upon idiosyncratic understandings of the law by local officials.

On May 1, 2019, for example, the Post Oak Poker Club and Prime Social Poker Room in Houston were raided and nine arrested. However, all charges were later dismissed when it came to light that the defendants had been previously told by the Harris County District Attorney's Office that their cardrooms were operating within the law. Prime Social reopened for business later in the year.

Not only does the threat of legal action loom over all existing Texas live poker rooms, but it also makes it difficult for new establishments to open. For instance, the town of Farmers Branch, northwest of Dallas, held a city council vote in May 2024 that prohibited noted pro player Doug Polk from turning an abandoned furniture store into a poker room. While we cannot know for certain that this denial was the result of legal uncertainty surrounding Polk's business proposal, it surely can't help that the Texas laws on the matter are so vague and unclear.

Doug Polk Already Runs Two Texas Cardrooms and Is Looking to Expand

Further muddying the waters is that several cardrooms are allegedly breaking the rules and surreptitiously charging a traditional rake, contrary to the law. Legends Poker Room in Houston has been accused of such behavior as well as dealer cheating. Such shenanigans mar the image of Texas poker as a whole even for clubs that are not engaging in such wrongdoing.

Copa Club Raid Details

Two individuals from the Copa Club were arrested and charged with gambling promotion and engaging in organized criminal activity: Scott Whittington and Mark Hulme. Whittington is a floor supervisor at Copa Club while Hulme is director of guest experience.

In addition, $4,000 in cash was seized along with poker tables, chips, and other equipment. A Reddit user posted the following image of police vehicles outside the club and equipment being loaded onto a truck:

Image of the Raid on the Copa Club

Gambling promotion is a Class A misdemeanor, which under Texas law is punishable by a fine of up to $4,000 and/or jail time of as much as a year. However, if the misdemeanor is part of organized criminal activity, then the offense is elevated to a state jail felony, which can carry a sentence of up to two years and a fine as high as $10,000.

In a press release dated Feb. 27, the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office stated that, “More arrest warrants are expected and there is no danger to the public.”

Reaction From Copa Club

Following the unwanted visit from law enforcement, the Copa Club posted the following message on its Instagram account:

Visitors to the Copa Club's website are now greeted with a popup window that says:

Tellingly, all mention of complimentary card games has been removed from the club's home page. Management may be preparing to reopen without poker at least until it can reintroduce the game on a firmer legal footing.

Avoid Live Poker Woes by Playing Online

People in Texas who wish to play poker without the hassles and potential legal issues surrounding the live game may want to head online instead. There are a number of reputable offshore poker sites that welcome residents of the Lone Star State.

Among the best of them is Ignition Casino Poker. Not only can you enjoy cash games, tournaments, and sit-n-gos from the comfort of your own home, but Ignition will actually give you a poker bonus of 150% up to $1,500 when you make your first crypto-currency deposit (the bonus is 100% up to $1,000 for non-crypto users). Click below to sign up today:

To learn more about your other options, check out this guide to online poker in Texas. If you live in another state, then perhaps this page devoted to online poker USA would be more appropriate.