Why Doesn T Texas Have Casinos
Oh, Lone Star State. I have a bone to pick with you. This is a touchy subject, too, as I’m a proud citizen of the great state of Texas.
I love your food; I love your diverse cultures and climates. I love that you can be country and hipster all at the same time.
But.
None of the other answers actually address the main reason. They blame it on religion (namely Southern Baptist denominations), ignorance, and a lack of desire. While all of these are minor factors, the original reason was that in it's establishme.
- The United States doesn’t have a federal regulator of online Texas gambling apps, so you’ll be playing at offshore casinos in most cases. Unless you’re willing to fly to Costa Rica or Panama and make a scene at a casino’s corporate office, you probably won’t get your money back.
- Because this bill explicitly prohibits gambling. One of the Indian casinos in Texas, Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino, offers pull-tab machines, bingo, and poker. That casino is the larger of the two casinos in Texas. It has a hotel, five restaurants, and a casino with 3,300 gaming machines.
I want to know why you hate gambling.
This is a heart breaker for this gambling Texan girl.
Why are almost all forms of gambling illegal in my home state?
Why do you want me to take my hard-earned dollars out of state to spend on my favorite hobby?
I don’t want to give that taxable revenue to Louisiana, Oklahoma, or Nevada. I want to go to the Gulf Coast and let my family enjoy our warm waters.
Then I want to gamble.
Why are you keeping this from me?
Did I do something wrong?
Why are you so mad at gambling?
So many questions.
Let’s see if I can answer some of them.
The History of Gambling in The Lone Star State
Texas, much like its neighbors to the east and west, has changed hands many times of the course of its history. It was once even its own sovereign nation. Texans often refer to the Republic of Texas.
Texas was originally part of multiple native tribes, but we know how this goes. It changed hands between the Spanish (Tejas is the Spanish spelling), American, Mexico, and even the French.
Texas has the strictest real money gambling laws in the United States.
I would’ve guessed our Mormon friends in Utah would be a no go on gambling, but no.
It’s Texas.
This was huge swing from the Wild West attitude of the 1800s. Texas is the home of many outlaws like Billy the Kid and Jesse James. Let’s not forget that Bonnie and Clyde were Texas residents, too.
This is not a neat or prim and proper state. We like to be left alone, not told what to do, and keep to ourselves.
The Prohibition Era ushered in a clamping down of the above vices to almost do a 180 from the torrid, wild past of the state.
So, when did the State of Texas make gambling illegal?
It’s a long drawn out answer. I wish it were easier. I wish it were something simple like 1920.
But no, it was a slow suffocation of the hobby.
The state would see local governments outlaw vices in their regions starting in the Reconstruction Era of the post war South. The nail in the coffin was the passage of the 18th amendment to the United States Constitution. This made alcohol and gambling illegal throughout the country.
Once this amendment was overturned, many states started to reopen racetracks and saloon or bars. Texas dug its heels in the ground on the topic of gambling.
The legality of gambling has wavered throughout the state over the years, but one thing has stayed true.
Texas doesn’t condone most forms of gambling.
Texas has 2 casinos. We are number 2 in size and population in America. We are last in gambling.
And it doesn’t look like the legislature is going to budge anytime soon.
There are some obscure loopholes in our gambling laws, and the lottery is a big government business.
What Type of Gambling Are Legal in Texas?
There are a few types of gambling that are legal in Texas.
Most of these are weird – except for the lottery.
The Texas State Lottery
The State of Texas legalized a state lottery in July of 1991. That was a big win. I remember when my parents got together with their friends to go in a ton of tickets. My siblings and I started seeing scratch off tickets in birthday and holiday cards from our grandparents.
Playing the lottery in Texas is a big deal. An estimated 68% of Texan play some form of the lottery. With almost 40 million residents, that is a lot of money.
I am from Austin, the capitol of the state. Downtown they used to live film the drawings and we would watch through the window on our way to the bar when I was in college at University of Texas at Austin.
I don’t know anyone who hasn’t played the lottery. When my husband and I were young and broke we would buy scratch off in hopes to win enough to cover our bills
The Texas lottery is as common as a rodeo or going 2 stepping after a meal of Mexican food or BBQ.
The state makes billions off the proceeds. This money is allocated to schools and wildlife and land protections. Texans are big hunters which makes them conservationists by default.
Horse and Dog Racing
Under the pari-mutuel racing rules, Texans can participate in dog and horse betting. There are 3 class 1 racetracks in the entire state.
This type of gambling was legalized in Texas in 1978. Texas was about 30 years behind the rest of the country.
I didn’t grow up with adults going to the races because of the old hold over of prohibition and the Progressive Movement.
Native Tribe Casinos
Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, the 3 recognized native tribes of Texas were granted the right to open gaming establishment.
The Kickapoo Tribe has the Lucky Eagle Casino. It’s found in Eagle Pass, in far West Texas on the Mexican border. It’s a long hot drive from almost anyone in the state except Laredo.
The Tigua Tribe owns and operates the Speaking Rock Entertainment Center.
You’ll find it in El Paso on their native lands. El Paso is the 5th most populated city in the state, but it’s still a 9+ hour drive from the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex.
Are you seeing a trend?
The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe offers gambling, too – at Naskila Gaming.
That’s located in Livingston, just north of Beaumont, Texas. It’s only a 3-hour drive, but there’s not a lot to see once you get there
The Naskila Gaming and Speaking Rock Entertainment have been wrapped up in red tape and legal disputes for years and may not be able to survive. This is against trend for other native casinos in other states.
You’ve heard of WinStar?
The largest casino in the world?
It is a native owned casino and has its own economy. It’s literally an hour drive from my house over the Oklahoma border.
What gives?
What Are 8-Liners and How Do They Work?
If you’re not from here, you’ve probably not seen these shady little machines. They’re the video poker looking machines in gas stations and dive bars.
They are gaming machines that offer noncash prizes of less than a $5.00 value. I have played these at a now closed bar (probably because they didn’t ID people).
Nowadays I see them mostly in underserved communities. It’s always a slimy gas station. The state legislature has been trying to outlaw them since the 80’s.
They argue that they qualify as in-person gambling and don’t follow that state guidelines of approved gambling.
That’s not the type of hobby gambling I’m look for in my home state, are you?
Casino Cruises
This one is tricky. I’m impressed to be honest. These one day “cruises” take people to a cruise to essentially nowhere.
They stop in international waters so that there is no jurisdiction to say, “Quit it!”. It is pretty genius but expensive.
The cost has caused many startups to fail or rebrand with more failure. They leave out of a Texas port with mostly Texas passengers.
The problem is most of the Texas ports are a short drive to Louisiana, our eastern neighbor. Louisiana is very pro gambling.
See the problem?
Why would I get on a day cruise and risk sea sickness when I can take my entire family to the Golden Nugget Lake Charles Casino and Resort for an all-inclusive resort vacation?
Conclusion
It’s not good. Texas has even made friendly wagering illegal in the state. If I host a poker night with real money, I could serve some prison time.
When will Texas catch up and join the 21st, heck even the 20th, century?
I don’t know.
Every year it’s on the state legislature’s docket.
Every session it fails.
Maybe other states have made it too easy for Texans to come visit.
I see it as a missed opportunity for tax revenue for the state. And tourist dollars. Texas is so big that driving from Dallas to the coast is considered being out of state in other parts of this country.
Austin has 100s of 1000s descend on it every March for the SXSW festival.
Why not also make some tax venue off them with gambling?
It just doesn’t make sense.
But this state likes to do things the hard way because that’s how it’s always been. For a long time.
I would love to hear your thoughts and questions. Please leave a comment below.
Poker is definitely one of the most popular games in casinos, and it competes with slot machines for the top dog position. Unlike slots, though, poker doesn’t have any house edge. The players don’t even play against the house but against each other. That leads many to uncertainty about ways casinos earn money from card games.
Casinos would never host a game that doesn’t make them money, and just because Texas Hold’em is trendy, it doesn’t mean it’s an exception to this rule. The most apparent way casinos earn money from it are poker tournament entry fees.
Most of you have heard of insane sums of money being awarded to players topping tournaments. What’s even more mind-blowing is that the fees participants pay are usually even more substantial than the prize pool. Casinos can also receive money from sponsors or advertise certain products during the competition.
Another, albeit much more roundabout, way casinos earn money through tournaments is publicity. Tourneys are a big draw, not only for players but for viewers as well. Some are even televised or streamed online, drawing players to the casino.
Some casinos, besides hosting tournaments, will charge poker players to even sit down at their tables. That represents a guaranteed profit without much effort for the casino.
Tipping the Dealer
No table game would be enjoyable without a competent person running it. Poker etiquette suggests you tip the dealer if they are doing a good job. The rule of thumb most seem to agree on is to tip at least a dollar per a winning hand. The dealer will surely be thankful if you give them more than that, but you should be cautious — tipping too much is a great way to cut down your winnings.
A piece of advice seasoned poker players like to give is not to withhold tips based on how the game is going. It’s not the dealer’s fault you got a few bad hands in a row, and tips are often their primary source of income. While casino owners don’t make any money off of tips, they are crucial for dealers. Make sure you tip great dealers at least something as it helps keep them around.
Another means in which a casino can profit, and the most common one, is raking players. That means they take a certain amount of money from any pot played at the poker table. Sometimes rakes can be collected even if a player hasn’t contributed to the pot at all; this is called a dead drop.
Rakes can be both fixed and percentage-based and are the most common in online poker due to the ease of collecting them.
Calculating Rakes
How rakes are calculated differs from casino to casino. The three most common methods of collecting fixed rakes are: dealt, contributed, and weight-contributed.
Dealt rakes are essentially dead drops; they are taken from each player at the table. If the rake was $5 and there were ten players present, each would need to pay 50 cents. Contributed are similar, but are only collected from players who added to the pot. Say five players fold right away; the others would need to pay $1.
Weight-contributed rakes are a bit more strenuous to calculate. They are taken from each player that contributes to the pot, based on the weight of their contribution. It’s easier to understand through an example, so we’ll give you one.
Four players are playing a hand, and the rake is $4. Two players bet $5 and end up folding, the other two finish off the round each betting $15. The former get raked 50 cents, and the latter pay $1.5. Since the last two contributed three times as more to the pot, they are raked three times as hard.
The other two variations of rakes are percentage-based rakes and timed rakes.
Percentage-based rakes simply take a portion out of each pot. Land-based casinos generally use timed rakes since they are easier to collect and don’t disrupt the game much. The casino will charge players in certain intervals, usually of 30–60 minutes.
List Of Casinos In Texas
Rakes, although they may seem insignificant, can drastically impact how much poker players profit. An average Texas Hold’em player could expect to break even over a longer period. That is due to poker being a game with no innate house edge. However, rakes make it so that average and even slightly above average players are actually at a loss due to giving part of their winnings to the casino.
Ways Online Casinos Make Money on Texas Hold’em
Many opt for enjoying the experience poker provides from their phone or PC instead of visiting a casino. The structure of online casinos also allows them to circumvent some of the ways traditional ones need to tax players.
One of the methods that these casinos can afford to use is charging a subscription fee. Some will provide weekly or monthly events that take a lot less effort and money to organize than live poker tournaments. They can also host a larger number of players as they aren’t restricted by physical space.
Some online casinos will offer rakebacks, which are a system that returns a portion of rakes to players. Rakebacks actually lose online casinos but are an excellent way to retain players. The casinos are hoping that poker players who stay on the site for a while eventually move on to more lucrative games like slots.
Rakebacks are calculated similarly to rakes themselves. Dealt rakebacks award each player equally, no matter how much they contributed to the pot. Contributed rakebacks are the opposite, with casinos returning money based on the wager the players make.
Players skilled enough to play in multiple poker rooms at once can use rakebacks to their advantage. Depending on how many hands they play, they can earn up to thousands of dollars per month, allowing them to minimize their losses.
Conclusion
Gambling Age In Michigan
In a sense, casinos have a love-hate relationship with Texas Hold’em. On the one hand, they’d prefer you to play anything else, where the house edge is higher, and the chance for profit is more significant. On the other, they can’t remove poker tables due to how many players enjoy it. Doing that would nearly guarantee that the casino runs out of business fairly quickly.
Over the years, casinos have adapted to the situation. They have learned to use poker, not as a huge moneymaker, but a powerful advertising tool. It’s no wonder we’re starting to see more hype generated around poker tournaments recently, and we doubt the marketing campaign is stopping anytime soon.