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You and your pup can enjoy a special happy hour at Austin Eastciders for International Dog Day. (Austin Eastciders)
If you've got a pup, you're in luck! This Thursday is International Dog Day, and Austin is the perfect city to be in to celebrate this special day.
Here are some businesses in Austin worth checking out with your furry friend on Thursday.
Hopsquad Brewing Co., 2307 Kramer Lane
This year, Hopsquad is going all out for International Dog Day! They've teamed up with Three Dogs One Bar to create the Good Boy Golden Ale, which is brewed with natural blueberry dog biscuits from Tomlinson's Feed. Pups will also have the chance to munch on some fresh treats made with spent grain. With each beer purchased, $1 will go toward supporting Divine Canines' work. Other featured events: a raffle for some goodies, local and dog-themed vendors, a pup portraits photo booth, and a dog-friendly space within the taproom and on the patio.
Austin Eastciders Barton Springs, 1530 Barton Springs Road
Get ready for a paw-some happy hour at Austin Eastciders! From 6-8 p.m., Austin Pets Alive! will provide a mobile adoption center, Paws on Chicon treats and doggie froyo. There will be a raffle with prizes including dog food and gift cards for Drooly and Barkin' Creek, and a local dog photographer will offer a photo booth for dogs and their owners. For every pint sold during this event, $1 will go toward APA.
Irene’s, 506 West Ave.
This Thursday, Irene's is hosting their Yappy Hour from 4-6 p.m. They are partnering with Austin Pets Alive! and providing on-site adoption (you could take home your new best friend that same day). Tito's drink specials will also be offered, with $1 from each cocktail going toward APA. There will also be a donation-based raffle with prizes that include dog-related swag and portraits as well as an Irene's gift card. Key free stuff: a dog photo booth, treats and food.
Z’Tejas, 1110 West 6th St.
Want to give back to the dog community? On Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Z'Tejas will be offering custom dog bandanas to purchase at the bar, which will help raise funds for the Austin Humane Society. For each bandana purchased, 10% will go back to AHS.
Hearth & Soul, 2727 Exposition Blvd.
Think your dog is the cutest of them all? Come get your pup photographed and have them entered into the Dog Day photo contest on Instagram for a chance to win a grand prize bundle that's valued at over $200. To RSVP, you can call or message the store and reserve your spot.
Dogtopia of Austin, 2105 Ranch Road 620 South Suite 101
It's a great day to be a dog at Dogtopia, an open area doggy daycare, spa and boarding facility in Lakeway. All-day on Aug. 26, Dogtopia will offer frozen treats at lunch with a $3 donation.
Flat Creek Disc Golf Destination, 24912 Singleton Bend East Road (in Marble Falls)
Do you love the outdoors? Do you love discs? Do you love dogs? If you said yes to all of these, this is the perfect way to celebrate International Dog Day. From 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Flat Creek Estates will be hosting Dogs & Discs, offering free disc golf day passes, giving you a chance to explore the 18-hole course and 80-acre estate with your pup. You can either bring your own disc or rent one for $5 each. If you want some booze, you get $10 off either the Wine & Disc or Dine & Disc experience if you reserve by Wednesday, Aug. 25, using the promo code DOGS.
Read more on dog-friendly places in Austin:
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(Austin Pets Alive!)
Theroux launched Kuma's own Instagram account on Saturday with a link to Austin Pets Alive!'s website in her bio. And the grey pitbull mix is already garnering the kind of attention worthy of her movie star dad: As of Monday night, she has over 55,000 followers.
Chief among them is Jennifer Aniston, who posted a photo of Theroux and his newly online dog on her Instagram story yesterday with fond words for the Austin shelter.
"Love what these two are doing to help people who help pups who help people," the 'Friends' star, and Theroux's ex-wife, wrote. "They helped save 60 pups at Austin Pets Alive! yesterday."
Theroux began volunteering at the shelter while filming 'The Leftovers' in Austin when he fell in love with the shelter's pitbulls, according to Dr. Ellen Jefferson, Austin Pets Alive! president and CEO.
"We are thrilled that he and Kuma are spreading the word about the work APA! is doing and the need to keep Austin no-kill," she said, referring to the shelter's commitment to save animals most at risk for euthenasia.
Theroux adopted his mut in 2018 after Kuma was rescued—dirty and injured—from the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey by A Chance to Bloom Dog Rescue, based in Conroe, Texas.
While Kuma is not from APA!, Theroux connected with the Conroe-based non-profit while visiting the Austin shelter, and he has remained "an enthusiastic supporter" ever since, Jefferson said.
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Austin's poker house scene continues to flourish through a loophole in Texas gambling laws. (Palms Social Club/Facebook)
Gambling may be illegal in Texas, but over a hundred poker houses are using a loophole to open up shop across the state, especially in Austin and Dallas.
The classic poker game is finally getting played for real cash around the Lone Star State thanks to an exception in Texas' gambling ban that allows poker games to be played in private residences. Instead of taking a cut from the pot like traditional gambling ventures, private poker houses don't make money from the results of a game; instead, they get their revenue from membership and hourly fees.
It's a business strategy that's gone (mostly) unchallenged by Texas politicians, especially as the industry begins to heat up.
Austin may now have around 20 poker houses around town, but it wasn't long ago that one stood alone like a small town saloon. The city's premiere poker house, Texas Card House, was founded in 2015 and has since grown to include a YouTube channel with over 30,000 subscribers, a wide range of gameplay and regular visits from big-name poker gurus like Brad Owen and Doug Pope.
David Lagana, a content creator who has worked in college sports and Hollywood, was brought into the scene in May as the house's live streams began to blow up. He said the live streaming battleground is only beginning.
"The space is ever-growing," Lagana said. "It's been interesting to try and find a lane that everybody can succeed. It's all about finding something that people want to watch on a nightly basis."
Carolyn Hapgood, who has worked for Texas Card House for three years, has made a name for herself as a live stream producer, dealer and player herself with the company. She's seen Texas Card House grow from a two-room card house to the most well-known poker venue in Austin with another branch in Dallas.
"It was a teeny tiny little house with five tables, and that was the first legal card house in the state," Hapgood said. "And since then it's blown up."
Texas Card House dealer Carolyn Hapgood has been working with Austin's premier poker house since 2018. (Texas Poker House Austin/Facebook)
From $100 pots to buy-ins of $15,000 or more, Texas Card House has it all, especially as in-state players learn more about the game. Hapgood said there isn't really a typical poker player at the house—instead, the poker table forms an "interesting little ecosystem" that includes college students, a 93-year old Vietnam War veteran, online gamblers, old-school players and everyone in between. The diversity at the table has been enhanced even further by COVID as people clamor to return to in-person events.
But Texas Card House no longer holds a "royal flush" in Austin's poker culture. The Lodge, based in Round Rock, is now expanding to over 60 tables, the largest in Texas, while Palms Social Club, owned by Texas Card Houses' original owner Sam Von Kennel, brought service staff and a refined atmosphere to the Austin scene.
Hapgood said the base of poker players is very large and continues to grow, forming a community as players form friendships on and off the table.
"My favorite part of the poker community is how much fun we have," Hapgood said. "You sit at a table with eight of your friends, everyone's kind of just having a good time. There's a lot of players who will, you know, call or text each other after they're done playing, and they end up inviting each other barbecues, and going out to dinner with their families and stuff like that... those are my favorite people to hang out with."
Getting involved in the poker scene is as easy as tuning into a live stream, and Lagana hopes to see more outsiders like himself get inspired by poker in the future.
"It's kind of like life," Lagana said. "Life isn't just one hand to play... you're only in control of sort of what's in your hand (and) you can't play the card that you weren't dealt with. So it's really been a fascinating life lesson for me."
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