Four Arrested In Katy Poker Club Illegal Rake Probe

Four people were arrested on Thursday night at Katy Poker, a social club on the Katy Freeway, after a Harris County investigation into alleged illegal rake collection. 

Deputies from the Harris County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant at the business, which prosecutors describe as an illegal gambling operation.

The four are charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, and District Attorney Sean Teare said his office is looking at possible money laundering charges too. The club is at 24445 Katy Freeway, near New Hope Lane, according to the Houston Chronicle.

What Authorities Say Happened

According to the district attorney's office, the owners had profited by collecting a rake from patrons for months. A rake is the fee a cardroom takes from each pot to run a game, and collecting one is often illegal without the right licences or without complying with operating rules. 

Teare said it was unclear how much money the business made but that the amount was possibly significant.

Katy Poker's own social media account says it has been operating since August 2024. Officials told reporters the investigation itself had run for about a year. 

Teare said most of those arrested were not simply players but people who were running the establishment, and the sheriff's office said all four were involved in operating the business.

Why Prosecutors Object To The Rake

Teare explained the objection in terms of fairness to players. In a room that rents seats or charges only for food and drink, he said, what a player wins is what the player keeps. Where the house takes a cut of each hand, players lose a percentage of their winnings every time they win. 

Fox 26 reported that officials described a poker room as legal when everyone at the table has the same odds, and the problem as the house taking an amount off the top of each hand.

Sheriff's office Captain Mike Santos went further, saying poker rooms of this kind can be hubs for wider criminal activity, and listing human trafficking and robberies among the examples. 

Authorities did not publicly present evidence of that link in this case, and Fox 26 noted it is unclear whether Katy Poker funded any other offences.

What Happens Next

Teare said authorities will likely seize money made through the operation and keep investigating, tracing bank accounts and examining how money moved through the business. 

When the news conference took place on Thursday evening, officials had not said what had been seized because the search of the premises had not yet taken place. The names of those arrested have not been released.

The raid is not an isolated one. Fox 26 reported that officials said it was the second operation the district attorney's office had been involved in within about three weeks, and Teare said illegal rake collection is a countywide issue and that he expects to announce other illegal operations in future. 

All charges are allegations, and the four are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. For wider context on gambling in the state, see our report on Texas gamblers crossing into Louisiana.