Celebrities who are addicted to Hold’em pubs

“A golfer earns more than the prize money from a single championship.”

“I’ve seen people making billions or tens of billions of dollars a day.”

With the ball launched by actress Kim Sae-ron, the 'Hold'em Pub', known as a blind spot for illegal gambling, rose to the surface. Hold'em pub is an expedient casino that has recently been spreading mainly in downtown areas, and is formally legal. However, there are many illegal elements as illegal currency exchange takes place.

Kim Sae-ron visited a Hold'em pub with her acquaintances last February amidst controversy over 'drunken driving'. It was not revealed whether this was a habitual visit. .

According to reports from those who saw Kim Sae-ron that day, Kim Sae-ron stayed at the pub for over 3 hours, recharged her chip more than once, and played games while drinking beer. This was far from Kim Sae-ron's defense lawyer's argument that it was difficult to make a living due to hardships.

The ‘Hold’em Pub’ that Kim Sae-ron visited is a bar where you can enjoy card games. Users pay a game fee and receive participation rights to participate in the game. Even if it is a legal hold'em pub, it is a violation of the Gambling Regulation Act if the chips or seed tickets earned by participants during the game are exchanged for cash. Business owners who provide coupons that can be used to exchange chips for gift certificates are also subject to punishment under the Special Act on Regulation and Punishment of Speculative Practices.

There are also businesses that openly use expedient methods, claiming that it is not illegal gambling. Instead of prize money, the participants are given their own tickets, gift certificates, or other products as prizes and then exchanged for the participants by buying them back through a specific mobile app or second-hand trading platform. It is a clever way to avoid illegality.

To put it simply, a hold'em pub is a bar where people drink and play cards. If you go deeper, it could become a blind spot for illegal gambling. Although Kim Sae-ron's visit to the Hold'em pub itself is not a problem, some points out that there are concerns about her actions as there are some places that are used as gambling Hold'em pubs.

In fact, in addition to Kim Sae-ron, hold'em pub culture has also spread to young idols in their early 20s. SF9's Chani and Hwiyoung were caught by the police in January last year while playing in a hold'em pub in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, while violating coronavirus quarantine rules.

At the time, the bar's door was locked and not open, so police and fire forces 'forced' the door open and entered. Chan-hee and Hwi-young were having a party in the VIP room of a Hold'em pub with their acquaintances, and they were booked.

It looks like a scene from a movie. The popular Korean idol spent time until dawn in a secret place inside a Hold’em pub. Only the parties involved know how they enjoyed the game in the VIP room.

To that extent, Hold'em Pub is receiving attention in the entertainment industry, being called the second sports Toto. In Gangnam-gu, Seoul, where major entertainment companies are concentrated, 29 hold’em pubs are in operation. It is estimated that there are at least 40 businesses including those reported and operated as restaurants or board game cafes. Entertainment insiders say that celebrities who have difficulty accessing casinos such as Kangwon Land or overseas gambling have no choice but to look for Hold'em pubs as alternative venues.

Some people enjoy playing games with their identity guaranteed in a private room, and you can also rent the entire game for yourself. Hold'em pub is already spreading like a new culture among young stars in their 20s such as Kim Sae-ron, Chan-hee, and Hwi-young. It is not easy to distinguish between illegal and legal in a hold'em pub. It seems that thorough management and supervision is needed to prevent Hold'em pubs from becoming a new entertainment medium for stars.

Ryu Ye-ji, Ten Asia Reporter ryuperstar@tenasia.co.kr