Two Los Angeles Card Rooms Could Be Temporarily Closed

Two notable card rooms in Los Angeles could be temporarily closed until they pay annual fees to the state government.

That’s according to the agenda for this Thursday’s meeting of the California Gambling Control Commission, which will determine whether to temporary shutter Hustler Casino, Larry Flynt’s Lucky Lady Casino, and 10 other poker rooms until up to April 1 if they haven’t yet paid the annual fees required by the California Code of Regulations.

In total, the 12 card rooms in question are:

• Casino Marysville
• Casino Royale
• Hustler Casino
• Larry Flynt’s Lucky Lady Casino
• Magnolia House
• Pinnacle Casino
• St. Charles Place
• The Deuce Lounge & Casino
• The Mint
• Tommy’s Casino & Saloon
• Towers Casino
• Tres Lounge and Casino

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If these casinos still haven’t paid their annual fees 90 days after the due date, their gambling licenses will be surrendered.

Casino Marysville, Casino Royale, Pinnacle Casino, St. Charles Place, and Tommy’s Casino & Saloon are all closed.

The Mint and Tres Lounge and Casino have active or interim licenses with conditions, but they’re not operating. The Deuce Lounge and Casino is currently closed pending legal proceedings. But it says it plans to re-open in October.

Towers Casino is a small card room with eight tables east of Yuba City. Magnolia House, which hasn’t offered poker games since 2020, recently had its license transferred to Crown Casino, Inc.

The most significant names on this list are Hustler Casino, in Gardena, which is one of the state’s largest card rooms with 91 tables, and Larry Flynt’s Lucky Lady Casino, another Gardena property with 50 tables.

Annual fees are determined in one of two ways:

• If revenue is less than $200,000, the card room pays a certain amount per table.
• If revenue is more than $200,000, the card room will either pay a certain amount per table or a different amount per table based on the revenue — whichever is a larger fee.

With 91 tables, Hustler Casino’s fee based on tables would be $427,700. With 50 tables, Lucky Lady Casino’s fee based on tables would be $200,000.

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New Aviator Casino Tables

On Thursday, the CGCC will also determine whether The Aviator Casino can add two tables to increase from eight to 10 tables. All indications are that the CGCC will approve those additions.

The Aviator Casino is located in the Delano Municipal Airport, about 30 miles north of Bakersfield.