| UNFAIR PARK | THE GAME GOES ON BY JACOB VAUGHN M inh Huynh, a local small business owner, has been playing cards and gambling ever since he was a kid. “I’ve always enjoyed playing poker,” he said. He was excited when what were billed as the first legal poker rooms began opening in Dallas a couple of years ago. Of all the poker rooms he’s frequented, he says Texas Card House stands out as the best-run. But in recent months, the poker rooms’ legality has been called into question, and late last year, the city of Dallas yanked Texas Card House’s certificate of occupancy. Last week, Texas Card House got their certificate back thanks to an appeal that reached the city’s Board of Adjustment meeting, as first reported by D Magazine. About two years ago, Texas Card House got approval from the city to run a membership club where people could play poker for money. As long as the poker games were taking place in a private establishment, the house didn’t take a cut of the bets and all the players had an equal chance of winning, the city said Texas Card House was allowed to do its thing. These appeared to be the exceptions laid out for such establishments in Texas law, but the city of Dallas has since changed its inter- pretation of the law and started revoking the certificates of occupancy for the poker rooms officials previously approved. Ryan Crow, CEO of Texas Card House, told the Observer, “We are pleased the Board of Adjustment unanimously agreed with our position.” Dallas has put Gary Powell, the city’s se- nior assistant attorney, on the case. Powell and the city now say those exceptions in the Texas Constitution only apply to a person’s home. They say Texas Card House can’t claim to be a “private establishment” if some 650 come through there a day. The problem is the City Attorney’s Office, the City Plan Commission and City Council all approved Texas Card House, and nothing has changed about their business model since. Lawrence Halcomb, one of the board members, said during the meeting, “There was never a persuasive argument that new information came to light.” Powell thinks the certificates of occu- 44 pancy should be taken away retroactively because the city didn’t have a clear under- standing of Texas law when it approved Amid a clampdown on legal poker rooms, the city reinstated Texas Card House’s certificate of occupancy. these businesses. Still, Board of Adjustment members didn’t feel they had the authority to decide if Texas Card House was breaking the law. So, they re- instated Texas Card House’s certificate. Now, the other poker rooms that had cer- tificates revoked will work to get theirs back through the board. Another company, Champions, tried to open a room in northern Dallas but was de- nied a certificate of occupancy. This seemed to kick off the rest of the poker rooms get- ting their certificates revoked. Champions sued the city, and the legality of poker rooms may be furthered argued in that case. Whether they’re deemed legal or not, poker players say the cards will keep being dealt. “People are going to play,” Rebecca Thompson, a local poker player, said. “They’re going to play wherever.” ▼ COURTS FATAL FALL C CHRISTOPHER HILL’S FAMILY IS SUING OVER HIS DEATH AFTER FALLING OFF THE ROOFTOP OF 77 DEGREES IN NORTHEAST DALLAS. BY MICHAEL MURNEY hristopher Hill was one of many hit- ting the bars in Dallas the weekend before St. Patrick’s Day. On the evening of March 12, the 25-year- old went to 77 Degrees Rooftop Bar on Hen- derson Avenue in Northeast Dallas. The bar was crowded and didn’t have enough staff on site to control the crowd, court docu- ments allege. During the party, Hill fell off the third floor of 77 Degrees to the pavement below. “Christopher suffered extensive injuries, in- cluding massive facial and cranial fractures, and a brain bleed that ultimately caused his death at the hospital later that night,” his family’s attorneys said in the lawsuit. Now, the Hill family is suing the bar’s owner, Ginger/Degrees Dallas LLC, and 2107 Henderson Avenue LLC, the company that owns the property. News of the lawsuit comes after Ginger/ Degrees and property owners allegedly re- fused to allow the family and their attorneys to inspect the bar as part of their indepen- dent investigation into Hill’s death. The family’s legal team claimed that both Gin- ger/Degrees and the property owner never responded to their requests to access the bar, raising questions about preservation of evidence. “By failing to respond to our requests to Shutterstock enter the property and begin our investiga- tion, the owners of 77 Degrees are making a horrific situation even worse and raising se- rious questions about the safety of their business,” said Michelle Simpson Tuegel, at- torney for the Hill family. “Through this ac- tion, we are beginning the process of ensuring all relevant facts come to light and the Hill family gets justice for Christopher.” Part of the legal team’s action includes a request for a temporary restraining order. According to court filings, the requested re- straining order would block Ginger/Degrees and 2107 Henderson from altering poten- tially crucial evidence relevant to the case. Court documents focus on the protective railing around the perimeter of the third floor, claiming that the bar’s “safety railing was too low, and constituted a dangerous condition on the premises.” Mike Simpson, another attorney for the Hill family, said their legal team is “confi- dent that a legitimate and thorough investi- gation” would prove that the defendants’ “negligence” ultimately led to Hill’s death. “His family deserves nothing less than com- plete transparency as we begin the painful process of investigating the events leading up to this tragic incident,” he added. Ginger/Degrees Dallas Group LLC didn’t respond to the Observer’s requests for com- ment, but Dave Wishnew, an attorney repre- senting the company, told WFAA that “77 Degrees was not negligent in connection with Mr. Hill’s death.” He added, “The bar’s structure is fully code-compliant and has been inspected and approved by the city of Dallas.” ▼ ENVIRONMENT FEWER FLOODS D NATURE ADVOCATES SAY GREEN STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE COULD CUT BACK FLOODING IN DALLAS. BY SIMONE CARTER uring last week’s downpours, storm- gawkers captured video of flooding on Dallas’ Abrams Road. Last May, Dallas reinstated an occupancy certificate, so Texas Card House can operate again. firefighters rushed to rescue a young couple caught in a creek’s rapidly rising waters just north of White Rock Lake. Extreme weather events like these have battered Dallas in recent years, with envi- ronmentalists sounding the alarm that it’ll only get worse amid a changing climate. But in a news release, the organizations behind a joint report offered a glimmer of hope. Green stormwater infrastructure (also known as GSI) can help urban flood resil- ience through its use of Mother Nature, said Dr. Kathy Jack, Dallas Healthy Cities Pro- gram director at The Nature Conservancy in Texas. “As the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex continues to grow and develop, it is impera- tive that we preserve and integrate nature into the fabric [of ] our communities,” Jack said by email. The Nature Conservancy and Texas A&M AgriLife announced the report in col- laboration with the city of Dallas and the Trust for Public Land. It estimates that im- plementing GSI could be 77% cheaper than a gray infrastructure upgrade on its own. (Gray infrastructure can refer to structures like pipes, culverts and ditches that are aimed toward flood prevention.) GSI can be easy on the eyes because it beautifies concrete jungles through luscious green landscaping. It also allows for a de- crease in pollutants, including pesticides and car fluids, that get carried into streams and bodies of water during storms. Plus, GSI mirrors Mother Nature’s capac- ity to filter and absorb water, an important feature for urban areas. In Texas, Houston and San Antonio are embracing the technol- ogy, as are other cities nationwide, such as Philadelphia and Raleigh. Dallas-Fort Worth is outpacing other metro areas in terms of growth, meaning concrete and asphalt are continuing to en- croach on the region’s natural land, accord- ing to the news release. These >> p6 MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2014 MARCH 31–APRIL 6, 2022 DALLAS OBSERVER DALLAS OBSERVER | CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | MOVIES | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | SCHUTZE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS | CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | CULTURE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS dallasobserver.com dallasobserver.com
