Two armed men dressed as police officers entered a poker room in rural North Carolina on Wednesday, shortly after midnight, and with weapons drawn shouted, “This is a robbery!” … to which one of the players responded, “No it’s not!”

Gun battle ensued.

One robber was shot in the shoulder and one player in the buttocks. The thieves reportedly made off with about $2,000.

Franklin County Sheriff’s Dept. say they are treating the players as victims, not criminals, as stopping the poker robbers (especially those willing to fire their weapons!) is more important than stopping 1/2 No-Limit Hold’em.

Police are hoping citizens will help them identify the bad guys, whose images were briefly captured by poker room surveillance video.