Prime Social Club in Houston is a few weeks away from bringing another major poker event to the Lone Star State. The series, which begins May 20, features a $1 million guaranteed Main Event and three additional six-figure guarantee events over two weeks.
Texas has some of the strictest anti-gambling laws in the country. For many years, poker players in the state mostly had to play in underground or home games. But over the past couple of years, an increase of membership-based poker clubs have popped up, and the gambling scene in Texas has grown.
State laws prevent gambling establishments from taking rake. That makes it impossible for traditional brick-and-mortar card rooms to operate. So, instead of the house taking rake out of a pot, they charge customers a seat fee, typically an hourly rate, and a membership fee.
A competing card room to Prime Social Club, Champions Social Club, is currently hosting a $1 million guaranteed tournament as part of the Lone Star Poker Series. Saturday’s fifth and final Day 1 starting flight had 640 entries for a total of 1,819, creating a $2,090,700 prize pool, more than doubling the guarantee.
Prime Social Club Hopes for Similar Resort in Summer Poker Series
This coming summer, Prime Social Club will take a shot at surpassing the Lone Star Poker Series for the largest prize pool in Texas poker history. The series begins May 20 with a $180 buy-in Summer Kick Off No-Limit Hold’em tournament that guarantees at least $200,000 in the pot.
In total, the Houston card club will spread 16 tournaments plus satellites into the biggest events. On June 2, the $1,100 Main Event, a $1 million guaranteed event, begins. Players can register for any of the four Day 1 starting flights, and reentry is available. The series concludes June 6 with the final table of the Main Event, a tournament that will attempt to surpass the Lone Star Poker Series’ record-setting prize pool.
On top of the juicy events and nearly $2 million guaranteed throughout the series, Prime Social Club will give out an extra $25,000 to the Player of the Series. If you can’t make it to Houston to compete but still want to catch the action, the poker room will live-stream the final tables on Twitch, with commentary by Tournament Director Justin Hammer, who previously worked in the same role at Commerce Casino in Los Angeles.
