California Poker Room Reopens Following Chip Issue
Playing poker at the Clovis 500 Club is once again allowed after a 15-day suspension induced by the California Attorney General’s Office has been lifted.
Located at Shaw and Willow avenues just outside Fresno, this California poker room houses a dozen poker tables and a wide selection of other table games. The Clovis 500 Club doors were however closed earlier in August with the state issuing an emergency order which forced it to shut its doors after it was determined that club owners had insufficient funds to cover all chips in use.
The state’s accusation followed an issue from June when the card room failed to disclose loans from people listed as ownership partners which was the first time this card room fell under the state scrutiny.
As reported by Fresno Bee, the state also accused the owners of lacking sufficient records to document chips-in-use liability which was another reason to close the doors of this card room.
During the closure, however, the club’s restaurant continued to operate as normal.
One of California’s 90 poker rooms risked getting its license revoked after an 11-page accusation has been made by the state authorities. The state also wanted the owners to pay fines and penalties, as well as the cost of investigation, whereas a removal of the card room’s general manager, Dusten Perry, was also requested.
The club owners previously claimed this card room had ‘more than enough’ money to cover the chips across the money held at the premises, the vault and the club’s bank account combined. The Clovis 500 Club also stated it had $800,000 in bonds acting as a backup fund.
The state Department of Justice’s Gambling Control, however, said it had already sought records about the card room’s bank accounts but add the Clovis 500 Club repeatedly failed to provide any documents to confirm their claims.
Two weeks after the club’s doors got locked, the Clovis 500 Club was allowed to resume operations after an agreement with the State Gambling Commission has been reached.
Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
