The Collegian

Issue date: 3/5/09 Section: Your News

Media Credit: Andrew Dodson

Poker players will have a new place to push "all in" come mid-March in addition to benefitting local charities with proceeds from their games.

Ron Bristow, director of The Hunt Club Poker Room company, will institute poker games at the Hunt Club restaurant every Thursday through Sunday, beginning before the end of this month, pending approval from the state government.

The State of Michigan needs to approve The Hunt Club Poker Room as a limited liability corporation before the opening. Bristow said they are currently behind in confirming that the first set of charities on their list are legitimate charities

Bristow said The Hunt Club's owners transformed the upstairs area into a mini casino with premium tables and chairs this winter. The restaurant also installed a new bar to prepare for the poker nights. Currently, the poker company is hiring and training poker dealers, which include local residents and college students.

One dealer in training, senior Tim Routzahn, attended the first three dealer trainee afternoons in The Hunt Club's newly renovated upstairs and received a callback for this Saturday's training session. The Hunt Club Poker Room hopes to hire 15 dealers.

"It's basically all of the dealers playing hours of poker on those Saturdays," Routzahn said. "I've loved poker ever since I learned Texas Hold 'em over five years ago."

Hunt Club owner Dale Stevens said The Hunt Club is allowing the poker company to use the upstairs in hope of profit from drinks and food.

Bristow said any local charity will be able to apply to host two poker nights in a given week. It could be a successful fundraiser for college fraternities and sororities, he said.

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