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Green felt tables fill the bright yellow room and framed Texas Hold'em posters line the walls, giving The Poker Room a casino-like atmosphere. Located in the Four Seasons Shopping Center on Route 896, the facility is the only legal poker hall in Delaware.
Brandon Buglio, owner of The Poker Room, has worked with nonprofit organizations for most of his life. He continues to do so with The Poker Room by renting out the facility exclusively to nonprofit organizations that hold poker nights to raise money.
"It's always a struggle for nonprofits," Buglio said. "They're always looking for avenues and fundraisers, any sort of way to raise money because they are so limited in their funding. I just try to help them as much as possible."
Though originally from West Chester, Pa., Buglio, 27, has lived in the Newark area for approximately five years. After attending the university for a semester, he left school to start his business.
He said he was a physical trainer at the Jewish Community Center in Newark when he first started running poker tournaments and fundraisers.
"We were always looking for fundraisers," Buglio said. "They asked me what I could do, so I was like, 'I'm into poker.' I looked up all the laws and it just grew from there."
He said he wanted to go beyond the JCC and work with other nonprofit organizations.
The Poker Room opened in May, Buglio said. In order to do so, he had to lobby the state legislature to allow him to open a public poker hall. The whole process took approximately three years.
The games that are hosted at the facility include Limit Texas Hold'em, Omaha, 7 card stud and Black Jack, he said.
Buglio said more than 30 organizations utilize the hall to raise funds.
"We're pretty much booked up here," he said. "Only one nonprofit can rent a night, so it books up pretty quickly."
All of the organizations combined have raised approximately $100,000 so far this year, Buglio said.
"Next year, because of the legal changes and because we're able to advertise, we hope to raise a half a million," he said. "That's our goal for all the nonprofits."
Buglio said he chose the Newark location because most of the organizations are in this general area, but also to be close to the university. Anyone who is 18 years of age or older can play.
"It's something for when freshmen have nothing to do or sophomores who are underage and can't go out to the bars anyway, they can still come up here and play poker," he said.
Buglio said he also plans to open a second hall in Dover to accommodate the nonprofit organizations in southern Delaware.
He said he started playing poker with his family when he was a child.
"I don't play as much as I used to only because I'm always working," Buglio said. "It has always been something enjoyable though. Usually I am running the games more than playing them now."
He said he enjoys his job because of the satisfaction he gets in raising money for the nonprofits and interacting with many different people.
"These are all groups we have worked with for years," Buglio said. "With the players, we know everyone by name and what kind of soda they like to drink, so it's a nice friendly atmosphere. There are benefits beyond just the monetary stuff."
As for the future of The Poker Room, he said he wants to sustain a prosperous business by increasing the clientele and maintaining a means of helping nonprofits raise money.
Sandy Krett, executive director of the Howard Weston Community and Senior Center, a nonprofit organization that utilizes The Poker Room, said the hall's availability has had a positive impact on their fundraising efforts and each event has been successful.
"As a nonprofit, we are constantly trying to find different ways to raise funds to keep our programs going, and it's just a fantastic venue for us and every other nonprofit," Krett said.
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