POKER BUSTS

The following links are to recent stories in the news where a poker event was busted by the police. Note in each case whether the players should be held responsible for breaking the law or are victims who should not be punished for their conduct. You will see that it is often quite difficult for the player to know he is committing a crime. The police often decide to not prosecute the players, but keep in mind that in nearly every case, the players were violating the law (usually because the person running the game was making a profit from it), and could have been prosecuted. FLOP does not want the players to be at the mercy of the police opting to not charge them with a crime, and feels that only those persons profiting by the activity should be vulnerable to prosecution.

INDIANA: Indianapolis Poker Bust Police raided the Pinnacle Club in Indianapolis, which had been running poker tournaments there for four years. In question is whether policemen had been frequenting the club.

COLORADO: Pueblo Poker Bust The Colorado Bureau of Investigation busted a poker room on Pueblo's East Side called Pocket Aces. According to my correspondent, the club did not serve alcohol or take a rake, but had a $20/month membership charge.

LOUISIANA: Baton Rouge Poker Bust This bust occurred in a licensed liquor establishment that was running poker tournaments. None of the players were charged in this case, but they could have been, because their tournament was held in a public place.

MARYLAND: Baltimore Poker Bust This story is about a club that was running poker tournaments which had an owner alleged to have underworld ties.

ILLINOIS: Chicago Area Poker Bust The players in this "gentle" bust were not even aware for a while that they were being busted. Some of them thought the police were there simply to protect them.

VIRGINIA: South Boston Poker Bust The This article about a police raid in a small Virginia town gives two accounts. One is by the police report as written in a local newspaper, the other is what the owner of the establishment says really happened.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Greenville Poker Bust This article is about a police raid in a Greenville, South Carolina apartment complex clubhouse where a group of people were holding a poker tournament. This is the bust that I wrote a series of articles in Card Player concerning the unconstitutionality of the law they are being prosecuted under.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Mt. Pleasant Poker Bust Here is another South Carolina bust where the poker players were treated rather roughly by the police.

TEXAS: Dallas Poker Bust On the weekend before Thanksgiving of 2006, poker players in the Dallas area had a lot to be unhappy about. Police in a coordinated bust raided three poker clubs and made many arrests. One of these clubs, the Redman’s Club, had been in existence off and on since I had lived in Dallas from 1980 to 1983, and had been functioning for a while before I even moved there. Be sure to watch the video, featuring a group of very frightened citizens being screamed at to lie down on the floor and not move.