The story behind an underground game in Houston that broke with a flurry of bullets last week — resulting in one fatality and two others wounded — is starting to emerge. Filtering through braggadocio, legal ambiguities, and the inherent fuzziness of thirdhand sources, here’s what we definitely know, what we are hearing, and then some speculation about an “inside job”. And what this robbery may or may not have to do with similar ones in Houston, Dallas, Arlington, and San Antonio.

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Included is a semi-thorough timeline tracking the progression of violent poker robberies across Texas over the past 2+ years. The casualty tally so far: 2 dead, 4 wounded by non-fatal gunfire, at least 1 pistol-whipping, >150 players in the middle of it all (surrendering anywhere from a few hundred to more than $10,000 at a time). 3 arrested so far.

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The game currently being talked about was known as Club 203, located in a southwest Houston semi-industrial warehouse complex, nestled in a nook about a quarter-mile from the intersection of a highway and major thoroughfare.

The dead robber’s name is Barron Glenn Boutte. (Anyone recognize the name?) He was a 24-year-old black male. The official cause of death is homicide/multiple gun shot wounds. It’s not clear where Barron was from, though one mention of him on the internet does suggest Houston.

From the Houston Police Department:

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New to me … Here’s a (just-barely) safe-for-work video by the Norwegian rock band Jaqueline, called “Olivia,” about the convergence of poker and strippers … and all the potential tilt associated with both:

Sexy. You’ll notice the attractive presence of Kem cards in what looks to be a game of Omaha on a table by Cardmeister, a high-end Scandinavian tablemaker.

Online Poker Tactics

Without entering in-depth in the poker tactics and analyzes, because I ensure you, that it is impossible to be constantly winner with the poker online. If you are not defined the tactics suitably, it will be then only thanks to the chance that you will win.

In other words if you do not control well the tactics and the techniques of Texas Holdem you undoubtedly lose.

Dear friends, to understand best the play of poker and in particular Texas Holdem, when you play in front of small tables (6 players maximum, or less) it is very easy for the professional players to beat you. On the other hand if you choose the large tables you have more possibilities of winning  because more charts are distributed more players play their hands. The principal error of the majority of the beginners, is in what they lend much attention to the cards, while the positional play, the comprehension of the play is much more important than the cards themselves. The cards have usually a secondary role and what is important in Texas Holdem on line, it is to understand the position of your adversaries, to envisage their tactics and techniques, to beat their strategies.

Details are just coming in, but it took place in an underground game in southwest Houston late Wednesday night …

Three armed gunmen burst into a strip-mall game to rob it, and one of the players pulled out his own weapon and began firing. The player shot one of the bandits (whom police found dead in the parking lot) and the other two escaped. One player was hit and transported to Southwest Memorial Hospital with what appear to be non-critical wounds.

From the Houston Chronicle:

Sigh. This is what we saw in Dallas … The underground blossoms for a year or two, the police start raiding rooms … games move more underground … robberies follow the next year … eventually someone gets hurt. Expect a huge boom for poker business in the card rooms just across the Louisiana border in 2010.

UPDATE: More details here.

It’s called Pool, Poker & Pain, and apparently was inspired by hardcore 9-ball grinders. From PokerNews:

The show’s format will have contestants begin a match by playing pool. After a winner is declared, contestants will head to the poker felt. After a contestant annihilates an opponent at the poker table, he put on gloves and mix it up in the “Circle of Truth,” a 32-foot combat cage.

Though the show’s site doesn’t say much about any specific TV deal they’ve got in place, I hope they find one. (Spike TV maybe?) They’re actually looking for a poker coach, too. The fact that they don’t have one of those yet, either — the show obviously wasn’t conceived by a poker person working for FullTiltPoker.net — is part of what makes me think it might be good. I also like where they see poker’s role in the manly dynamic of technical skill, gambling, and brute strength.

Seriously, it’s 2005 again, right? Remember, Juha Helppi and Robert Varkonyi were playing underwater, or maybe it was on an iceberg? Regardless … while on first glance this gets more eyeroll and groan than live-event invitations to Michael Phelps, Lady Gaga, Barack Obama, Sasquatch, and Superman … the idea of Mike Sexton and Tom Dwan playing against some Danish online qualifiers while dangling over the streets of Copenhagen? Yeah, I can dig …

From a poker perspective, it’s actually an interesting concept: Let’s force difficult poker decisions under conditions that guarantee a little extra heart-pumping, with some extra life-on-the-line chemicals in the bloodstreams. Though that’s about as gimmicky as you can get, gotta say, I think I’d be really interested in seeing this on TV — bring back some heart monitors and attach everyone to bungee cords for when they get knocked out! And maybe sprinkle the set with bread crumbs to attract the railbirds …

Click below for full details from da.PartyPoker:

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From CardPlayer.com:

“Next year, you’re not going to have a Champions Invitational. You’re not going to have a $40K for the 40th-annual event,” said [WSOP Communications Director Seth] Palansky. “Both events probably come back 10 years from now, when we’re celebrating 50 years. We announced them and intended them as one-off specials.”

First off, I’m not sure I really understand the meaning of “one-off”. Have heard it bandied around for the past year and have even used it myself, but the above quote doesn’t fit in with my definition.

Secondly, wasn’t there talk — perhaps on Gary Wise’s radio show? — about there being a $41k next year, $42k the year following that, $43k, $44k … basically an event growing each year in accordance with an attached Super Bowl number?

Scrapping the Champions Invitational also seems an interesting move. I won’t miss it, to be sure, but interesting that they’ve apparently just decided to nix it all together instead of giving it a second made-for-TV go and trying to scrap it.

With these being two of the four televised events this year, ESPN clearly had to have some say in the matter.

Officially it’s just been postponed … but I might be willing to make a wager.

The red flags flying around this thing made it seem, well … at best, like the second coming of the Poker Bowl. Not implying that the guys behind the Sports Legends Challenge are in any way shady, but the numbers just didn’t add up. They promised so much — so much poker, and black jack, and party-party-party with not just poker pros but real celebrity athletes, and $10 million worth of prizes, all on a beach! — and yet it was based on 2,100 people ponying up $10k (in 2009?) for Poker-Sports fantasy camp and that didn’t even include travel. No way its presenting sponsor, Absolute, could send as many people as PokerStars sends to the main event. Even with PokerNews pumping it up, mix in tons of freerolls and a disclaimer that any million-dollar jackpots would be paid in 40-year annuities … and yeah, all those who thought they might be headed to the Bahamas in a couple weeks got an email today like this one:

From: entries@sportslegendschallenge.com [mailto:entries@sportslegendschallenge.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2009 1:17 PM
Subject: On behalf of the Sports Legends Challenge

Hello,

On behalf of the Sports Legends Challenge, this letter is to inform you that due to circumstances beyond our control, we have decided to reschedule the inaugural Sports Legends Challenge event.

From the outset, our unvarying commitment has been to produce a world class event for participants, sponsors and spectators. It is our conviction, that this goal can best be achieved by rescheduling the event for a domestic location that will not only make the event more accessible to major population centers, but also make travel much easier for the participants. We are also modifying the time of year for the event so that weather issues are much less of a concern (a major issue for a September event in the Bahamas).

We are pleased to note that not only are the investors involved in the program fully supportive of this change, but it is also supported by our key sponsors, partners and affiliates. The essence of the program will be unchanged – creating unique opportunities for sports and gaming fans to interact with some of the greatest Sports Legends of our time along with some of the world’s top poker pros while competing for major cash prizes. However, we plan to use the time leading up to the rescheduled event to add elements and make adjustments that will make it even more exciting.

Over the next few days we will provide you with additional information about the rescheduled event, including the new location and dates. We appreciate your patience in working with us to accommodate this change and will do all in our power to help ensure that the Sports Legends Challenge is a highly successful event.

Thank you,

Bruce Bibbero, CEO and Larry Lubin, President

Interestingly enough, no word on any money or refunds for those who might like to back out now that the dates and details have changed. (Though their website did claim all would get refunds should it be canceled, which is why the claim will be that it isn’t canceled … just postponed, lest they started having to give money back, I speculate.)

UPDATE: Click here to learn about the lawsuit resulted the last time Bibbero and Lubin tried to put on a similar tourney with PokerPlayerNewspaper.

UPDATE 2: Allegations of bad internet etiquette, too … http://www.patrickokeefe.com/2009/07/02/sports-legends-challenge-presented-by-absolute-poker-is-engaging-in-a-despicable-online-marketing-campaign-relying-on-lies-and-spam/

Click below for a list of sports legends you will not be playing golf, poker, blackjack, and slot machines with on Sep 14-17 in the Bahamas this year, despite strong means weak! super-heavy promotion and mass emailings offering buy-ins at a 40 percent discount:

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I swear Attack of the Show (on G4) is a great show, despite the epic fail-after-fails in this bit … the cast of 2M2MM steps into Olivia Munn’s War Machine to play some one-card-better-than (aka War) … though the cards themselves get kinda forgotten amid all the eggs and toilet paper.

Still, it’s testament to what poker has become, as you can bet Doyle Brunson never thought he’d see this:

(feat. Dani Stern and Jay Rosenkrantz from Two Months. Two Million.)