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.
