Doug Polk issued a formal statement on March 16, six days after the raid on the Lodge Card Club. He denied any personal involvement in or knowledge of money laundering. He said he was cooperating with law enforcement and repeated his personal guarantee that all player funds would be returned.
Outcome: Polk was never charged. In its April 8 civil forfeiture filing, the state dropped the money laundering allegation, and on April 28, 2026 a Williamson County grand jury declined to indict anyone. Here is how the grand jury decision played out.
The statement came five days after Polk first promised it. On March 11, the day after the raid, he said he would release a detailed response “within the next day.” His first video update on the raid only followed on March 31.
For the full timeline of events from the March 10 raid through the March 15 asset freeze, see our original Lodge raid coverage and the asset freeze follow-up.
What Polk Said
The statement was posted on X (Twitter) on March 16. The tone was measured and legal, a clear shift from the “witch hunt” language he used on March 11. Here is the statement in full:
Doug Polk's full statement (March 16, 2026):
I did not participate in, and still have no knowledge of, any money laundering in the operation of the Lodge.
I understand that some people assume that because there was a search warrant, a crime must have been committed, but that's not really how the process works. A search warrant is just one step in an investigation, based on an affidavit from law enforcement.
That affidavit has not been given to the Lodge or made public.
My heart goes out to the hundreds of Lodge employees whose jobs are in jeopardy. These are good, kind, hardworking people, and it is painful to see them struggle through this uncertainty.
I also care deeply about the situation for our members. There are numerous people with both chip balances and tournament payouts that cannot currently be processed. I want to reiterate that these members will be made whole, and I will personally make sure that happens, in coordination with my attorneys, so that it is done properly.
With the advice of my lawyers, I am committed to cooperating with law enforcement officials, answering any questions they have, and doing everything I can to clear up the confusion of what has and has not been happening at The Lodge.
I expect to provide another update soon, once more information is available and my attorneys have had an opportunity to fully assess the situation.
The line about Lodge employees carried more weight than anything else. With the club closed, its staff were out of work, and Polk calling them “good, kind, hardworking people” was the most human moment in an otherwise carefully constructed response.
Lodge minority owner Andrew Neeme struck a similar note three days later, with a March 19 post on X about a dealer who would have to move on to support herself.
What the Statement Doesn't Address
The statement is careful about what it says. It's equally careful about what it leaves out.
- No reopening timeline: the Lodge confirmed on March 15 that it could not reopen during the investigation. Polk's statement did not mention a timeline or any progress towards reopening.
- Co-owners silent: Andrew Neeme, Nik Airball, and poker vlogger Ethan 'Rampage' Yau had not commented publicly. Brad Owen was the only other co-owner to have spoken, backing Polk's personal guarantee on March 11.
- No specifics on the investigation: Polk said the affidavit had not been shared with the Lodge. At that point, nobody outside law enforcement knew what specific activity triggered the warrant.
- No mention of the IRS: the March 10 raid involved three TABC units and the IRS. Polk's statement referred only to 'law enforcement officials' without naming agencies.
The warrant details surfaced a day later, as our report on the search warrant explains.
At the time, the player funds situation was unresolved. Polk had guaranteed payouts personally, and with the Lodge's bank accounts frozen, any payouts would come from his personal finances. Brad Owen estimated the total exposure at “somewhere in the seven-figure range,” which put significant weight on Polk's personal net worth and business portfolio.
Texas poker players had seen this before. When Johnny Chan's Houston room closed with players unable to cash their chips, it took weeks for the situation to resolve. The Lodge's scale was significantly larger.
What Happened Next
At the time of the statement, nothing had changed on the ground: no charges, a sealed affidavit, the Lodge closed and its staff out of work. The next real development was always going to be formal charges, the release of the affidavit or a reopening. Here is how it played out in 2026.
- March 24: the Lodge laid off its staff and closed for the foreseeable future.
- April 8: in its civil forfeiture filing, the state dropped the money laundering allegation but kept over $2 million in seized assets frozen.
- April 28: a Williamson County grand jury declined to indict anyone. Polk said the seized money and equipment would be returned.
- May 26: the Lodge reopened, 11 weeks after the raid.
- July 3: Polk said he would remain a shareholder but no longer have any active role at the Lodge.
Our later coverage tracks each step, from the closure and staff layoffs and the April 9 forfeiture deadline to the civil forfeiture filing.
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