Why Won’t Dallas Show Its Cards On Poker House Controversy?

A poker house, located in South Dallas, is suspected by some to be an illegal gambling house. (According to state law, as long as the house isn’t keeping a cut of the stakes, it is lawful.) And now, parking tickets have somehow gotten involved. While some believe the house conducts illegal gambling, Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway seems to be “throwing his weight around” in an effort to support the house. Caraway has admitted to gambling at the house, and his 81 year old father continues to do so. There was some public posturing on the matter, and then on January 31, there were 16 tickets issued to patrons of the gambling house who were parked in the house’s backyard which had been converted into a graveled parking lot. Some look at this as the city using “any means necessary to put heat on Frank D. Harris,” the house’s owner. Sharon Boyd, who sits on the city’s Board of Adjustment, believes the tickets are unjust. “We are told the police cannot issue parking tickets for cars parked on private property, even unimproved surfaces,” she said.