Pokerati | Texas Hold'em and Las Vegas Poker Blog » dallas-poker-raids

Best Poker Lawyers?

DanM — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 22:26:48 +0000

Big Chris the Commenter went to trial yesterday for his presence in the Aces bust in Dallas (June 2006), and he’s requesting an attorney recommendation.

I’ve gone ahead and passed on the name and number of Brady Wyatt, in Dallas, mostly because my fellow high school alum is the one accomplished poker attorney — president-elect of the Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and undefeated in the Jackie’s cases he represented — who’s contact info I had handy. (Brady also played a little nickle-dime-quarter mixed games with me back in the late ’80s/early ’90s.)

I know there are others though, some with even much more experience handling poker cases in Dallas and elsewhere around the country. I figure we might as well start compiling a list … so if you have any poker attorneys to recommend, or if you are one actively taking on poker cases, please let us know here.

UPDATE: The PPA has a litigation support network for its members.

Lee Rousso has handled some of the bigger poker cases out there, most recently online issues in Washington state. We’ll add him to the list.

RE: Murder in the Dallas Underground New York poker robber arraigned on murder charge this week

DanM — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:49:12 +0000

If the New York justice system is anything like Texas’ (er …), we can expect it to take about a year before the people responsible for the killing of a low-stakes (but high-action) poker player in Arlington. Just this week, New York courts officially charged William Delvalle with the murder of Frank DeSena, who you may recall was the recreational poker player killed last November in the robbery of an underground poker club in midtown Manhattan.

Interesting to note that the courts aren’t even claiming Delvalle pulled the trigger — and yet he still faces life in prison for being the leader of the robbery/homicide. Interesting to me because the poker robbers in Dallas likewise face a similar fate. Sure, laws are different, state-to-state … but not by that much. And without a doubt, though no arrests have been made in any Dallas poker robberies and there’s no certain connection between the latest in Arlington and others around the DFW area that were very similar … poker players in Dallas have a pretty good idea about the identities of at least a few people who have may or may not have donned ski masks and wielded weapons to rape a poker room. (And no, I’m not taking about the police SWAT teams who have done that recently, too — that’s a different story altogether.)

When the Ashton got robbed, I was a little dismissive of the finger-pointing (it was a bad time to be a black Dallas rounder). But now, four or five robberies later — +1 dropped cellphone, +recurring player presences, +1 dead — the reality in this sub-subculture is becoming clearer. Not to mention that police have had their own inside players in games since at least 2006 … we know this for a fact, and even who some of those guys are, but probably not all … but regardless, point being that whether it’s a year from now or not, it’s only a matter of time before we see the poker crooks and the law come to showdown.

SIGH/ADDENDUM: As much as i understand why police kinda had to start busting poker rooms, it’s sad that these robberies and related violence started only after the raids, upon games’ being driven deeper underground. These sorts of things just didn’t happen in the freewheelin’ days when poker rooms were virtually open-to-the-public.

RE: Attempted Robbery in Arlington

DanM — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:13:29 +0000

Just to clarify for some who are writing in a bit confused … the room that got robbed/shot-up the other week was not the same place that got raided by Arlington police most recently …

That raided place was the Longhorn Room — similar neighborhood, I believe, but not certain, as South Arlington isn’t exactly small. I know it’s sometimes hard to differentiate between cops and robbers in these cases.

BTW, why does it always seem that robberies follow raids almost immediately? You’d think it would be the other way around.

My Poker Gun-dar Is Buzzing Confirmed: Dallas’ biggest little game gets capped

DanM — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:39:32 +0000

Was there a poker robbery in Dallas last night — or perhaps talk around some tables about an old one?

Not trying to start anything, rumor or otherwise … I just happened to notice a few visitors coming to us via Google searches overnight for “dallas poker robbery”. Not to give my secrets away, but monitoring Google traffic isn’t too different from the way night-shift journos used to listen to police radios back in the newspaper day … and when I’ve noticed a quick surge in such searches before (or more commonly, “dallas poker room raided”) it usually meant something was up. But other than this “hunch” I’ve got nothing.

UPDATE: Yep … VFW hall that screams poker room was popped last night:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26065611

VIDEO: http://video.nbc5i.com/player/?id=283511

UPDATE: Oh, dude, I recognize exactly where this is! One of the best and biggest games kinda-sorta but not really in Dallas. Have played there a handful of times, and always enjoyed the action. Interestingly enough, both cops and robbers have been here before. This was the place where the guys who just might be the Dallas Poker Bandits got their start …

It was a totally botched robbery about two years ago … where one (Michalski-trained) lovely boisterous lady dealer crawled inside a garbage bag to hide during the commotion. (We didn’t teach that in Lodge amateur dealer class, of course, but I applaud her creative thinking in the face of bad guys with guns.) I forget why the police were there like six months ago, but they did a walk-through and play was hardly halted. Then sometime earlier this summer (or maybe spring?) some robbers did show up and again were thwarted!

Previous to that I had been hearing from someone who supposedly had an inside connection with a cop that people might want to steer clear of this game because the Dallas police were finally all over it and just waiting for the right moment bust in and take it down.

RE: Another Dallas Area Poker Raid

DanM — Mon, 26 May 2008 08:01:33 +0000

Here’s more info on the raid of the “40 Deuce” club in Hurst. It was indeed another undercover narcotics investigation followed by a paramilitary SWAT-team incursion:

Hurst police said they found two dozen people inside the home, which had tables, dealers and even a banker, and was set up to look like Las Vegas.

You know, Pokerati used to defend the police for just doing their jobs, and reminding poker players of that. But c’mon … SWAT teams? That’s so 2006. When you want to shut down a game next time … here’s a hint … try just knocking on the door(s). I know I know … I’m just a blogger and don’t understand police operations — so maybe you can explain to me how, using knowledge gained from your undercover, a knock on the door combined with a marked squad car in the driveway wouldn’t stop any poker crimes from being committed.

In fact, I’ll even give you the answer to this question: “Uh, duh, Mr. Know-it-All, because then there would be no money to confiscate for us to put toward other poker raids/the police “petty cash” fund.”

And while we’re bitchin’ about the money … yo local news media … when “dozens” of players gather with a sum total of a few thousand dollars … since you’re not going to really follow the money to look into what police are really up to with it, at least do the math and realize that this is not “high stakes.” You should be journalistically ashamed of yourselves for being so careless/sensational with your word choice.

For the rest of you, check out the comments on the Channel 5 story. At the time of this posting, they’re running 11-1 in favor of poker and against the police:

marty McFly
Fort Worth, TX
they should just make gambling legal in texas

Micheal
Fort Worth, TX
To use the taxpayers dollars to raid a card room where honest hard working are enjoying themselves on a Friday night is unbelieveable. Are they aware that poker is not gambling but a skill. It is worlds apart from pulling a laver on a slot machine. What a joke.

Micheal
Fort Worth, TX
And why does Hurst have a swat team anyway? To patrol the Abuelo’s parking lot?

What a Crime
Bedford, TX
Cooper and Catalytic Converter theft on the rise. Even gas theft on the rise. These are the things Police need to focus on, since they can’t seem to catch anyone doing it.

rabbitt
Dallas, TX
Oh thanks Hurst police department I feel so much safer now. This is a joke. They were gambling with their own money in privacy.

jcg
Grand Prairie, TX
I keep seeing all these poker raids in the news, All you here is they seize thousands of dollars in cash. Lets get real, are they seizing $2,000, or $80,000. The real question I have is How much does it cost to exucute one of these raids. I mean swat team, police, undercover narcotics unit. Maybe you can look into that.

joi
Irving, TX
I would hope this type of energy rush could be reserved for, oh I don’t know, violent criminals and predators.

The Id
Plano, TX
and they were hurting who?

Randy
Fort Worth, TX
Let me see if I’v got this right.( high stakes Las Vegas style poker game busted ) Sorry. my side hurts from laughing…… Swat team, Narcotics unit, under cover…
swat team had nothing to do.
Narcotics unit can’t seem to do what they are paid for.( catch dope dealers )
And the under cover guy, Yes Sr. I think I know who you are.
It’s a damn shame the working stiff guy can’t enjoy himself as to playing a little nickel and dime poker without being F with like that. I play alot of poker in Dallas and Ft. Worth. And yes, with police and fire fighters from every area………Guess I need to go to jail. Or at least get a ticket. Then again, maybe I should just start to play bingo.

The Id
Plano, TX
Did they also have the NSA zoom in the “Las Vegas style” house with their surveillance satellites to get a clear entry point and have snipers ready to fire if anyone tried to escape?

what a waste of tax-payers money

big bad John
North Richland Hills, TX
Micheal wrote:

To use the taxpayers dollars to raid a card room where honest hard working are enjoying themselves on a Friday night is unbelieveable. Are they aware that poker is not gambling but a skill. It is worlds apart from pulling a laver on a slot machine. What a joke.

My dear fellow stupid people all I ever hear nowdays is the police does this are that. The fact is they were doing there job and doing what they were told. Yes they have other certain units that go after the hard core crimnals. You trashy people get so mad when police officer,s are only doing there job. So shut up and stop your whinning and stop blaming the police department for doing there jobs you self rude moron.

Stacy
Bedford, TX
Ive worked and played @ many local rooms, no harm is done. People that think this is wrong are the ones who want taxes or their cut some way out of the earnings. Most of these players and employees are just killing time and having fun!!!! Life is so stressful, gas prices are getting higher everyday, most of us work 40 hours plus a week. Just leave us alone no harm is being done. Cant people just mind their own business now days, they seem to when they see a real crime!!!!!!!!!!

Another Dallas Area Poker Raid Does Media Attention = Enforcement Action?

DanM — Sun, 25 May 2008 09:55:17 +0000

A poker room in Hurst (a suburb between Dallas and Fort Worth) got raided Thursday or Friday night. I have few details — perhaps some Pokeratizens can fill us in on the game action, weapons in play, arrests made, etc.? — but according to my source:

Channel 4 said it was a gambling club.
Channel 5 said it was a poker club.

Hmm, makes me wonder if ItsOverJonny may have been right when he suggested that a little extra poker ink tweaks the coppers into action. Not saying that Pokerati or a forthcoming poker documentary is to blame (the doc, after all, wouldn’t be coming out for a long while, and Pokerati generally prefers to pass on responsibility) … but there was apparently a big to-do in Dallas (again) over turning Reunion Arena into a casino … and boom, a few days later, perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, somebody in some police force decided they didn’t want to look like they were turning a blind eye to “gambling.”

BTW, The Dallas Morning News poll results to the question:

Would you support a casino in downtown Dallas?

So far …

85 percent yes
15 percent no

Dallas (Underground) Poker on Film?

DanM — Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:02 +0000

There’s a legitimate New York film-making outfit working on a documentary about the history of poker … and next week they’ll be in Dallas. Naturally, because it has such a relevant role, they want to talk about the Dallas underground — and they’re asking me for contact info for people to talk to, games to see, etc.

I’ve talked with a lot of you before about doing something similar with local news crews — but perhaps not shockingly, ever since the first newscaster to sneak a hidden camera into the Dallas underground ended up getting engaged to the (already married) Chief of Dallas police around the same time her station got a sweeps-week exclusive showing SWAT teams busting up three games simultaneously, most of the “good guys” in the Dallas poker scene have been a little shy about opening their doors to the media … even with assurances that no one would give up any identifying info.

(Ahh, remember the good-ole-days when Stagecoach used to openly run its ballin’ website and pay little-ole poker websites for ads the Observer couldn’t run?)

Anyhow, so this outfit, 4th Row Films, is offering the same guarantees that they will protect identities and locations. Personally I think it would be a shame for this part of poker not to be seen. But I respect the fact people who run these games generally do so to support their ~~gambling addictions~~ families … so I’m not giving out any phone numbers or email addresses without any special OKs. I have, however, suggested they simply drive around to area strip malls looking for the telltale white, wireless doorbells — but that doesn’t seem to be giving them confidence as they fly their people and equipment to town. So if you happen to run a game in Dallas and would like your room to live on long after you die/get arrested and have to plea bargain down your misdemeanor … send me an email and I’ll be happy to put you in touch with the right people.

Breaking News: Dallas Poker Bandits Strike Again

DanM — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 05:53:38 +0000

Another North Dallas poker room apparently just got robbed about two hours ago — the gunmen making off with more than $10,000 in cash, watches, cell phones, and at least one bracelet.

The 15/30 Omaha game had just broken a little after 10 pm central and a full 2/5 NLH table was going strong when players heard Smash! Crash! “What the fuck?!?” one player screamed.

“I know what that is,” another player answered as he ran toward the back room and others followed. It sounded like a police raid — we all remember how the cops busted through the walls at Jackie’s on semi-live TV — only this time it was robbers. Two armed black males wearing ski masks and hoodies came busting through glass windows and sheet rock to enter through the smoking room. Players looked for an escape in the seconds that followed, but there was no back door. This game â€“ located in an office building near the Galleria â€“ was relatively new â€¦ had been open just a few months â€¦ and seemed plenty secure with a two-door entry system monitored by cameras.

“Where’s the fucking money at?” the lead thug shouted as he emerged from the smoking room into the main area and made his way to the gace.

â€œThere are a couple 50s beneath the drawer,â€ on of the room operators said.

Four or five players had crammed into a supply closet in the back room and locked the door behind them. Huddling together in the dark, they scrambled to find places to hide their wallets. One player had wedged his in some plastic wrap behind a stack of plates just a few seconds before the robbers realized there were people in there and ordered them out. They were told to lay on the ground with their faces to the floor â€“ all complied â€“ at which point the other robber frisked them one-by-one for their valuables while his accomplice made a quick check of the closet but apparently found none of the stashed goods.

The whole robbery lasted just a few minutes â€¦ as of last night, no decision had been made about whether or not to call the police, which you can suspect whoever is behind this latest string of poker robberies is partially banking on.

Woot, another Dallas Poker Raid DC’s Poker House Goes Down

DanM — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 17:14:51 +0000

According to current forfeiture laws, when the Dallas cops raid a poker game, they generally get to keep whatever money they confiscate. However, assuming the DPD is operating all on the up-and-up, that money is supposed to be used for more poker busts …

In addition to what I was calling “Henser’s Game” (have since learned it might be “Gennser’s Game”), DC’s Poker House also got raided last week — Friday, I believe, about the same time as the robbery at the Ashton.

From a Pokerati citizen journalist on the ground:

Another game that got raided was DC’s POKER HOUSE in dallas off of shiloh & northwest highway. The cops single handedly busted that game because of money laundering. DC had about 40 slot machines in the building that caused his place to be shut down. I beleive what made DC’s place get so hot was when he pulled out a 9mm on one of the players who were getting a little out of hand.

Yikes, mix 8-Liners and 9-millimeters together and you kinda gotta expect some problems, no?

Also, maybe this is where the reports of a triple poker robicide came from … within a few days last week you had two busts and one robbery nearly simultaneously … and as we know in poker, it’s often difficult to distinguish between the two, because the action and results are usually pretty much the same.

UPDATE: Hmm, this is the second time that a robbery and police bust went down at two separate poker rooms nearly simultaneously. Strange coincidence? It’s possible that both sides make similar assessments when it comes to game selection — picking nights when they expect the most money to be in play.

Synchronized Poker Robberies in Dallas?

DanM — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:32:42 +0000

That’s what we’re hearing … that three games got robbed on Friday. One such robbery is semi-confirmed at a popular 2/5 locale.

Not sure about the other two. The last time guys with guns stormed in to three places simultaneously and took all the money was in November 2006, when the DPD busted out the big guns and battering rams. More TK, of course.

UPDATE: The one semi-confirmed robbery took place in an Uptown high rise. Reportedly, “the phone rang indicating that someone had entered the access code in the lobby. They authorized access without picking up the phone. Whoever opened the door did not check and the perps stuck a 9mm in the door. 2 black males. They told everyone to empty their pockets but did not even take all of the money on the floor.” One player who was there also happened to be at another Dallas poker robbery a while back and says it was the same two guys.

We continue to hear that two other rooms were robbed, but whenever there was a poker raid, we would always hear about two others with it, and only once did that check out.

Mesquite (TX) Game Shut Down

DanM — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 07:42:54 +0000

Unconfirmed word coming in over the Pokerati newswire …

Police shut down a suburban Dallas game on Wednesday — I only knew it as [name temporarily withheld]’s Game — located in Mesquite at Motley and I-30. It wasn’t vice or SWAT, reportedly, but detectives … confiscated the money in the game, and issued players Class C misdemeanor tickets outside. The game’s purveyor was “caught on the street” and police supposedly confiscated his car, along with all the cash he was carrying.

I never played in this game before, but I did hear about it and find out about playing. If I recall properly, they were running a 1-2-5 … medium action and pleasant crowd. Can’t remember if it was in a house or office park. That’s all we know for now. If you’ve got any reliable info please fill us in. Interesting to see War on Drugs-style forfeiture laws being applied in poker cases where we pretty much know the results of prosecutions even before they don’t go to trial.

CORRECTION/DETAILS (3/16): A guy named “Henser” was arrested. The game took place in a residential house. Detectives were in the game (?), but they ticketed players outside the house. Not for gambling, but for parking too close to the curb and things like that. And Henser was apparently pulled over (driving away from the scene?) when cops caught up with him.

More Aces Cases Dismissed

DanM — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:58:31 +0000

DALLAS–Man, I thought we were done with the legal proceedings from the first big poker raid in Dallas (June 2006) … and almost done with the trials stemming from the subsequent triple-raid (November 2006). But learned that charges against another dealer from Aces were thrown out just last week — as they should be … but are we done yet?

Go insufficient evidence!

Whack-a-PokerDallas poker raids continue, despite Drew Carey’s pleas for better government/poker amnesty

DanM — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:36:30 +0000

As Matt the commenter informs us, DC’s Poker House in Dallas was raided last night. Hmm, we kinda thought Dallas poker raids would stop now that Pokerati has relocated. Apparently not. Details not clear — am curious to know the number of arrests vs. tickets … also, if someone could let us know where that room was located … and anything else that may have contributed to its shutdown.

Re: Tarrant County Legal Rumbles

DanM — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 02:07:34 +0000

It’s kinda funny sometimes the way news spreads … all the way to Chicago. Should be interesting to see how the non-poker masses respond (if at all) to the Dallas poker plight.

Tarrant County Legal Rumbles

DanM — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 23:15:14 +0000

It’s much easier to be in the news than write the news …

Drew Carey on Dallas Poker

DanM — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:08:41 +0000

You may recall the raid on the Audie Murphy VFW. Comedian Drew Carey thinks it’s a not-so-funny indication of disturbing trends in the nation’s approach to policing as a whole.

via Reason.tv

Poker Tells: Police State

DuggleBogey — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 23:13:33 +0000

Re: Red Men’s Raided (2)Dallas County maintains perfect record of zero convictions in poker cases

DanM — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 11:01:53 +0000

A temporarily anonymous reader writes in with an update on some cases against “alleged” poker dealers and room operators at the Audie Murphy VFW, which was raided (as opposed to just busted) in April:

I just thought you might want to know that all of the Gambling Promotion charges that were pending against 11 alleged dealers, and or operators have been deleted,or shall I say in the words of that wonderful attorney of mine “Dallas County has decided to throw in the towel”. Chalk up another one for the Poker Players and give my attorney a raise? NOT!!! he was expensive enough to begin with but well worth it.

Cool, awesome … good for you. I mean except for the legal fees part. But considering how much money Dallas attorneys tend to donk into a game, it’s probably a wash, right?

(Not sure “deleted” is an actual legal term, by the way. But I suspect it is still good for the defendants.)

More on the VFW and other poker busts in Dallas here.

These came, interestingly enough, just a couple weeks after the Dallas DA publicly declared his support for HB 3186, which set out to clarify the legality of raked poker games and set up standards to regulate such businesses.

More on Dallas’ poker-friendly courthouse here.

Poker in the Courts

DanM — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 16:09:45 +0000

Today’s a big day for poker in Dallas County. Sorta. Some cases from JB’s/Goodfellows are at the Dallas County Courthouse right now. I don’t have many details — perhaps some of the defendants can fill us in as their cases get postponed/settled/dismissed (or otherwise adjudicated, of course).

Perspective forthcoming …

UPDATE: All cases against players dismissed. Charges against dealers and room operators put on deferred adjudication … meaning if they can stay clear of running a poker room for 90 days, all problems will go away.

Dallas VFW Poker Cases Dismissed

DanM — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 00:55:54 +0000

Just received a text from a concerned Pokeratizen informing us of some relatively quick dismissals of criminal poker charges in Dallas County:

Fyi. Dallas poker. Approx. 22 from the audie murphy vfw bust all hired the same atty for fifty a piece. This wk allcases were dismissed for misc reasons.

Another Big Dallas Poker Bust – 4/15/07
RE: Another Big Poker Bust (2) – 4/15/07

Aces Cases?

DanM — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 13:06:55 +0000

LAS VEGAS–Word spreading to the Pacific time zone is that a big batch of misdemeanor cases from the made-for-TV paramilitary poker raid on Aces have been dismissed. Can anyone verify the truth to this?

Official Word on Latest Dallas Raid

DanM — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 19:53:56 +0000

Julian in Dallas writes in with a trip report from his most recent poker activity:

On Friday night, June 1, 2007, the Dallas Vice Unit and Northwest Division Patrol officers executed a Search Warrant at:

“Live Straddle”
7141 Envoy Ct.

28 citations for gambling

5 arrests gambling promotion M/A

seized:
4 poker tables,
poker chips,
playing cards, computer equipment, assorted paperwork, $4,599.00 cash

Deputy Chief J Bernal
Narcotics Division
Dallas Police Department

Umm, I guess $4,600 is a nice score … but really Deputy Chief, if you keep on being such a table bully, it won’t be long before you have no one to play with. I mean you probably feel like you’re winning … but really, check your bankroll … are you?

From what I hear, you and your players are not allowed in Oklahoma … and I have a feeling that’s where most of the Dallas action is headed, because, frankly, people are troubled by the way you guys play. Not trying to be judgmental or anything, I just suspect that once you have no more poker to contend with … c’mon, we both know your past … you’re gonna get back into drugs, aren’t you.

Dallas Raid, Again?

Michele Lewis — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 19:45:06 +0000

I don’t know much about Dallas but I heard a room was raided last night…

“[Name removed] room (The Straddle) got raided last night”

Does anyone have information on this?

Ameripoker’s Most WantedFelon Escapes Latest Dallas Poker Raid

DanM — Mon, 21 May 2007 18:28:02 +0000

Police busted through the doors of another Dallas poker room on Thursday — this time not to round up a bunch of low-stakes misdemeanor offenders, but rather to serve a warrant on a convicted cop-killer wanted in connection with the death of Meaghan Bosch, the 21-year-old SMU coed whose lifeless body was found disposed of in a portable toilet last week.

Click here to read the kinda scary story by Jason Trahan in The Dallas Morning News.

James McDaniel, who ran what Dallas players knew as “James’ Game,” admitted to having lunch with Bosch around the same time she sent her friends a text message saying she was with her drug dealer, shortly before she disappeared. Not sure who conducted the raid on McDaniels’ poker room — the Texas Rangers are taking the lead on this investigation, not DPD — but he was not there, nor was he at his house in Pleasant Grove, and is now apparently on the lam.

So much more to this story … developing.

CLARIFICATION: McDaniel was convicted of killing an ex-Dallas police officer in 1978, not one on active duty.

TO BE FAIR: Sources of unknown reliability are telling Pokerati there may be evidence supporting claims of innocence for that crime. Hmm, a black man falsely convicted of murder some 25+ years ago in Texas? Yep, certainly plausible enough … just as it would be that an assertion of “didn’t do it” is a bluff.

Re: And a Robbery at a poker room

DanM — Fri, 18 May 2007 13:06:17 +0000

Yep, turns out there was indeed another poker game robbed in Dallas Wednesday night … yeesh, sounds very friggin’ scary. It appears to have been low-stakes action, but that didn’t stop three men from busting in to take whatever loot they could find. The main bad guy was wearing an orange ski mask and carried a pump-action shotgun. The other two wore black ski masks — one was brandishing a semi-automatic pistol, the other was standing guard at the door with a baseball bat, according to what two of the eight victims told police officers.

Wednesday Night scoreboard (amongst armed, masked men acting out of turn):

Cops: $1,473
Robbers: about $800

Click here to read the police reports.

And a Robbery at an 8-Liner joint a poker room

DanM — Thu, 17 May 2007 18:53:46 +0000

Meanwhile, as Dallas Police were busting a poker game last night, an 8-Liner room less than a half-a-mile away was getting robbed. (Maybe not at the exact same time, but pretty close to it.)

I am not sure that non-poker people realize that even though the charges are the same, we could kinda care less about 8-Liner rooms getting tagged by the 5-0. We are selfish like that. I mean we don’t want anybody to get shot/robbed/killed … but, shit, they don’t even have blogs! Clearly the slot-machine players here have gambling problems, and they would be better off discovering the educational joy and subsequent Zen of Texas Hold’em.

(NOTE: My opinion might change if they ever bust Grandma Michalski, who loves her some nickel slots, but can only find quarter machines when she goes on church trips to Oklahoma.)

~~ALT HED: War on Video Poker?~~

UPDATE: It was a poker room that got robbed, not an 8-Liner room. DPD’s mistake … but hey, they were busy writing tickets to players down the street, right? Developing …

Really, itâ€™s almost like the people robbing rooms know when the police are busting other joints. Thatâ€™s three robberies (one just attempted) in a row on the same night that the cops were also confiscating cash from poker players. Whaddya think, coinkydink?

Dallas Police Take Down a Small Pot

DanM — Thu, 17 May 2007 18:28:19 +0000

Poker bust last night at the Slick Billiards at 2344 Oates Dr.

I don’t know the details of this game — it was clearly more drunken low-stakes “home game” than sophisticated poker operation. Police arrested one person for Gambling Promotion (class A misdemeanor) and issued tickets to 11 others for Gambling (class C misdemeanor).

They also arrested three people for Public Intoxication. Cops confiscated one table, assorted “gambling paraphernalia,” and $1,437 in cash. It took an undercover operation (in response to a citizen complaint, police say) to take this game down.

Pokerati would also like to take this opportunity to remind all our pokery attorney friends that we happily accept advertising from law firms interested in representing players. It’s a great deal — should cost you less than a few billable hours — and it seems there may be a growing need for your services.

Citizen Poker

DanM — Sun, 06 May 2007 08:11:31 +0000

Good story in today’s DMN about the VFW poker bust, the Texas Poker Act, and police frustration with the issue of illegal Texas Hold’em games in North Texas. No mention of the armed robberies that police don’t/can’t handle … and the person who accuses poker players of throwing bottles in her yard doesn’t give her name, which is too bad. I wasn’t aware of any poker players who have ever left poker rooms carrying beer bottles … in fact, I am so confident that these sorts of nuisance crimes from poker players are so infrequent that I would like to volunteer Pokerati’s services to clean up whatever mess poker players do leave in any particular residential neighborhood. I’m being serious. But we can’t help you or any accuser who isn’t willing to give their names/meet eye-to-eye.

That’s the thing with the anti-poker forces, whatever and wherever they may be … they don’t know what they are talking about.

This became clear in Austin when the Baptist lobbyist guy got his ass handed back to him by the legislative committee of elected representatives charged with hearing his point of view. If so many people have been calling in complaints as police claim, why is there not one of them speaking on the record with actual information, research, and knowledge? Think about how Dallas is when residents have had real problems — like the “Barking Dogs” folks who put up pictures of drunken Greenville Ave. revelers pissing on their fences. They had a real beef, and even though their solutions weren’t to my personal liking — hate dealing with parking now — they were fair, understandable, and enforceable. I don’t see anything like this when it comes to dealing with underground poker.

OK, that’s my rant. Sorry, just got a little hyped up. Jason Trahan did a nice job with the story. And the DPD are doing the best they can with the bad cards they have to play. And so many people in Austin are working their asses off trying to make things better for those of us who would like to pursue our hobby in legal peace.

And, of course, the people in Oklahoma are also hard at work — and are clearly banking on the notion that Texas will not be doing what ~~is right~~ makes so much obvious sense. I’m still holding out hope that our present issue will fall on the side of what is right … but every decent poker player knows that hope is seldom the best strategy.

UPDATE: If you want to engage in some electronic convo with the non-poker people, check out the Morning News forum here.

Poker Room Robbery in Dallas

DanM — Fri, 04 May 2007 11:00:45 +0000

Turns out it’s true … while we were all abuzz about police poker raids last month, there was not only the attempted robbery that we already told you about, but also there was an actual robbery just a few days later in Dallas proper* — and this time the armed bad guys were successful.

Pokerati’s “facts” are still fuzzy … perhaps we’ll get some more right here. What we do know is that the victims were at a $5/$10 game located somewhere along what many of us have called “Poker Row” or the “Dallas Poker Corridor.” The perpetrators were two black males (as was the case in the foiled robbery above), and one of them put a shotgun to the face of whomever answered the door — I believe it was a woman. From there they barged in and took somewhere around $7,000 (an extremely rough number based on the typical size of this game) … and as far as we currently know, police were not called.

Perhaps these robbers are just building their bankrolls for the WSOP?

*NOTE: It is Pokerati’s editorial policy to not name poker rooms in Texas unless the operators are overtly public about it and/or it has been shut down. Ahh, remember the good ole days when they used to buy ads?

Too Hot for Poker TV

DanM — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 20:49:39 +0000

Over at The Agitator, they’ve got a firsthand account from someone mis-arrested during the June Aces raid. (Thanks, Jason, for the link.) If you recall, that was the poker room busted in cahoots with the A&E network … only to have the tapes from that episode of Dallas SWAT mysteriously disappear.

Bear in mind that, prior to police entering, the place was virtually quiet. There was the sound of poker chips in the air, but not much else. The players were essentially professionals and working stiffs having funâ€¦there were doctors, lawyers, accountants, and other professionals. There was hardly anything â€œdangerousâ€ about the place at all. In fact, the cops found no weapons in the facility or on anyone there. The show of force and weaponry brought by the cops was simply outrageous and unjustified, given the circumstances, but, then again, are they enforcing the law or making a TV show?

[...]

Despite the abject mistruths in the police report, I was still confident the tapes would help me. We finally got our subpoena response. Guess what? According to Granada Entertainment, there wasnâ€™t any videotape of the event. All of the tapes had been recorded over, and there simply wasnâ€™t any tape available. Two camera crews and helmet cams on the SWAT guys and not one single inch of tape existed.

It’s a lengthy report, but definitely worth the read (especially if you happen to have a poker case pending) — particularly because this guy had nothing to do with poker … he was simply helping out in the kitchen because the main food lady had an injured hand. Even as a non-poker player, this guy was able to call down the Assistant District Attorney on his bluff (literally!) when he said during the plea bargain that they had video of the defendant at the tables.

All charges ended up being dropped (even the ones for possession of marijuana and a pipe, which were actually found on him) — as has been the case for all poker cases where defendants have insisted on a jury trial.

No word on whether or not any charges will be filed against the the city of Dallas or agents of Granada Entertainment (the forces behind Dallas SWAT) for destruction of evidence, or perhaps more aptly, lying about destruction of evidence.

Go Poker!

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