D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is taking another swing at legal poker — and this time, she’s not burying it inside a budget bill.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Bowser confirmed she’s bringing back legislation to authorize poker and blackjack tournaments in the District. The move comes months after a similar proposal was removed from her $21.8 billion FY2026 budget before final passage.

The plan would allow regulated poker, blackjack, and bingo tournaments for players 18 and up – games Bowser believes could pump some life into the local economy and keep D.C. players from heading across the border to Maryland casinos.

Poker Plan Returns After Council Rejection

The poker provision was originally floated in the FY2026 Budget Support Act (B26-0265) but stripped during negotiations. Bowser is now separating the poker bill from the larger budget package and making a clearer case for it.

“We are investing in our future,” Bowser said Tuesday. “It’s so important, especially now with the changing footprint of the federal government, that we are creating good-paying jobs for D.C. residents.”

When asked about projected revenue, Bowser acknowledged there’s no estimate yet. “The ideas are so novel,” she said, referring to the lack of a forecast from the city’s CFO.

Deputy Mayor Nina Albert added, “The revenue projections really depend on how many events we host. So, we’re still sort of formulating what the plan would be. But even if we had just one or two marquee national tournaments here, that is another attraction that brings both national and international visitors to D.C., which is always the platform we wanted to create for our entertainment ecosystem.”

Not Only Poker on the Agenda

Bowser’s poker bill is one piece of a broader push she’s reviving after the council shut down several initiatives last session. She’s also moving to restore stricter enforcement on unlicensed street vendors, simplify zoning rules for developers, and allow businesses to contest certain taxes they say hinder investment.

None of it passed this summer, but Bowser isn’t walking away from any of it.

Her office is treating legal poker as part of a course correction – a way to shake off the city’s post-pandemic slump and brace for the fallout of expected federal job cuts.

Betting on the Draw

Unemployment in D.C. has been stuck at 6%, and hiring hasn’t kept pace with demand. Axios recently called it a “pivotal moment” for the city’s economy, pointing to empty offices downtown and low business confidence among employers.

Consequently, Bowser sees the economic pressure as a reason to act.

“They tell me it’s hot,” Bowser said back in May, when she first floated the proposal. The city hasn’t released projections, but the mayor seems willing to gamble that poker still has a place in the capital’s comeback story.