Security on the scene at Legends Poker Room, 3971 Richmond Ave., Houston
There’s a right way and a wrong way to own, open and operate a legal, legitimate poker room in Houston, Texas. Legends Poker Room at 3971 Richmond Ave. in Houston is a perfect example of the wrong way.
The story of their ownership and operation has evolved over a very short time period. The story involves four clubs or poker rooms and a handful of different owners.
Let’s start first with a club known as “52 Social.” The 52 is obviously a reference to the number of cards in a playing deck used to deal hands of poker. Cute.
But that’s all it is. 52 Social was purchased, opened and operated by a relatively well known poker player, Johnny Chan, and two others — a man by the name of David La and another partner, Ho Jun Sin. Chan was the face of the place, La and Sin supposedly managed it.
Johnny Chan is a Chinese-American professional poker player. He has won 10 World Series of Poker bracelets, including the 1987 and 1988 World Series of Poker main events consecutively.
David La and Ho Jun Sin are Vietnamese. David La’s professional background is murky. He has built a reputation as being a mob boss; think of Tony Soprano in the award-winning HBO serial series called “The Sopranos.” That kind of guy. The kind of guy who would just as soon have you whacked (and by whacked, you know, we mean kill) as look at you. Only Vietnamese. That should tell you something.
Honestly, though, we’re not sure how La has earned that reputation. Perhaps among those who don’t really know him that well. He’s really an “avoider” — a ditcher, a dodger. He’s someone who would just as soon fold his business when it runs into trouble due to his mismanagement, the flaunting Texas state law, and running an illegal alcohol and beverage area with no liquor license. Then he’ll pop up in another place, operating under a different name.
He eschews running a legitimate business, above board, while establishing and maintaining a positive reputation. No, he’s just happy to operate under the radar, sliding from one place to another, dodging responsibility and playing Federal, state and local authorities as fools.
Here’s how the website, cardschat.com, an insider’s look at poker, described what has been going on with Chan, La and Sin:
“Chan and his business partners David La and Ho Jun Sin bought the room [88 Social] a few years ago when it was called 52 Social. Soon after, the group had a falling out and Chan filed a lawsuit claiming that La and Sin had mismanaged the club and stolen money. The lawsuit was settled without going to court in 2019.
Chan took over the room [88 Social] and his aforementioned business partners left, with La starting the Legends Social Club a few hundred yards away soon after the split. The Legends room ran a host of popular promotions and drew much of the traffic from Chan’s club, possibly contributing to the 88 Social Club’s woes.”
To sum up:
- Chan, La and Sin open 52 Social
- After the three have a falling out, Chan sues and the case is settled out of court.
- Chan reopens 52 Social and rebrands it as 88 Social (presumably with a nod to his last World Series of Poker win in 1988).
- Johnny Chan’s 88 Social closes in early December of 2021 over concerns of financial mismanagement and insolvency.
- 88 Social reopens under new owners and management as 101 Poker Club Richmond in late December 2021; initially operated under the corporation of 101 Poker Club Richmond LLC, it transitioned, with the same owners, to ARK ALLIANCE LLC.
- David La opens Legends Social Club just a few hundreds of yards away, which he continues to operate today. (Although we understand it is to be moved soon, will reopen in a different spot just up the road, and likely with a new name.)
The sketchy management style of previous operations seems to be replicated at Legends, with allegations of mismanagement, questions of money laundering, and head-scratching come-ons in which La’s Legends club literally gives away money and alcohol to players and skims (A K A, rakes) money from the tables (which is illegal to do) as a way to put money in the club’s pocket.
Q: How does he get away with all this?
A: No one calls him on his unethical and illegal practices. Until now.
Also, as cardschat.com notes:
Poker played in private clubs in Texas resides in a gray area where authorities don’t comment on whether the games are legal, and there’s no regulation for the clubs in Houston, or throughout the state. Poker clubs in the state typically charge a fee to become a member or to enter, and usually charge an hourly fee to play. Some of the rooms have been caught on camera charging a rake, but this is illegal in Texas and, according to players in the Houston area, not standard.
There’s much more to this story, and we will write about all the players and the places in great detail. Much, much more to come.