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|  | HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION | 
|  | WHEREAS, The popularity of the poker game Texas Hold'em has | 
|  | increased dramatically over the past several years, and each day | 
|  | untold numbers of people throughout the world play this exciting | 
|  | game of skill, intuition, and good old-fashioned luck; and | 
|  | WHEREAS, A true phenomenon of our time, Texas Hold'em has | 
|  | taken the world by storm, captivating countless card enthusiasts | 
|  | with its deceptively simple format; whether betting and bluffing | 
|  | across casino tables and kitchen tables, raising and folding in the | 
|  | virtual world of online card rooms, or moving "all-in" at charity | 
|  | poker tournaments, poker players everywhere have embraced this | 
|  | fascinating and challenging game; and | 
|  | WHEREAS, The game's invention dates back to the early 1900s | 
|  | when it is traditionally held that the first hand of the popular | 
|  | card game was dealt in the city of Robstown, and from there it | 
|  | traveled northward in the hands of "rounders" and up the sleeves of | 
|  | cardsharps who quickly recognized the game's potential for mass | 
|  | appeal; and | 
|  | WHEREAS, Poker legends such as Crandell Addington and Doyle | 
|  | "Texas Dolly" Brunson helped further popularize the game in and | 
|  | around Texas in the 1950s, and they and others eventually brought | 
|  | Texas Hold'em to Las Vegas, where it was first played at the Golden | 
|  | Nugget Casino in 1967; three years later, the inaugural World | 
|  | Series of Poker was played at the Horseshoe Casino, featuring | 
|  | no-limit Texas Hold'em to determine the world champion, and that | 
|  | annual tournament has continued to grow in both size and stature | 
|  | with each passing year; and | 
|  | WHEREAS, The popularity of hold'em has no doubt been spurred | 
|  | by the advent of online gaming and by the broadcast of televised | 
|  | poker tournaments, most notably the World Series of Poker's "Main | 
|  | Event," a $10,000 no-limit Texas Hold'em tournament that attracts | 
|  | top poker professionals, talented amateurs, celebrities, and poker | 
|  | wannabes from around the globe hoping to become the next world | 
|  | champion of poker; and | 
|  | WHEREAS, It is said that Texas Hold'em takes a minute to learn | 
|  | and a lifetime to master, and this telling statement underscores | 
|  | the high level of skill necessary to win consistently; a successful | 
|  | hold'em player relies on reason, intuition, and bravado, and these | 
|  | same qualities have served many notable Texans well throughout the | 
|  | proud history of the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it | 
|  | RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas | 
|  | hereby formally recognize Robstown, Texas, as the birthplace of the | 
|  | poker game Texas Hold'em. |