A vice squad in SWAT gear returned fire, hitting Awtry with multiple rounds in his arm and thumb … which was followed by a 20-minute standoff between cops and players, according to a spokesman for the Greenville County Sheriff’s Department. Both shooting victims were taken to the hospital where they are in stable condition.

There were 12 people and Awtry in the house at 502 Pine Knoll Drive when police arrived at about 9:20 pm last night. According to frontline witnesses, they had just finished a small buy-in dinnertime tourney … and a 1/2 cash game was just getting underway when someone saw 5-0 approaching on a security monitor. Before he could clearly vocalize an alert, a battery ram begin slamming the front door and players froze. Awtry, who players say has notoriously bad hearing in his senior years and presumably believed the game was being robbed, began shooting at the door with his pistol, firing “at least once” according to a player, “multiple shots” according to police. At least four officers returned fire at the door with at least 20 bullets from their higher-powered assault weapons.

As Awtry fell back into the poker room entryway, he balked, “Why didn’t you tell me it was the cops?”

click to enlarge

Police supposedly pulled backed after the exchange of gunfire to secure the perimeter while players inside called 911 to report that people were hurt, they needed an ambulance, and they meant no harm. Eventually they all had to remove their shirts as they came out of the house one by one to be handcuffed and transported downtown for questioning and gunshot residue tests. All were eventually released and received $100 gambling citations except for the Awtry, who is still in police custody at the hospital, charged with attempted murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He could face additional charges related to the allegedly illegal gambling operation.

72-year-old Aaron Awtry could spend the rest of his life in prison for shooting a cop while hosting a 1/2 game that South Carolina’s highest court isn’t yet sure is all that illegal.

A Greenville County Sheriff’s Office press release says deputies seized $4,785, two poker machines, two poker tables, three surveillance cameras, 3.7 grams of cocaine and about $2,000 worth of gambling paraphernalia such as cards and chips. A copy of the search warrant left behind reveals the house had been under police surveillance for months … and the raid netted about $2,500 in cash.

Less than three weeks ago, the South Carolina Supreme Court was hearing arguments from a PPA-backed legal team about a similar but less injurious poker raid in 2006 — and will be considering whether or not such a game is even a crime under South Carolina gambling laws written in 1802. A ruling is expected by mid-2011.

The poker house shot up last night was in a relatively rundown semi-residential, semi-industrial nook on the edges of suburban Greenville — about a mile from a high school and a mile from an underground room that the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office raided in January, arresting 27 players and seizing about $64,000 in cash.

As is often the case in underground poker scenes nationwide, a string of armed poker robberies followed a string of armed police raids this year in Greenville, a longtime hotbed of good poker that many players affectionately refer to as G-Vegas.

Since 2009, South Carolina lawmakers have been pushing legislation to revise and clarify state gambling laws, and potentially legalize raked home games and/or charity tournaments.

According to the tweet of a player who was at this latest Greenville raid gone awry:

Un-fucking-real.To my surprise, Im alive. So is everyone else. Going to sleep… i hope…

Jay Busbee (from Bluff) has a good State of the Poker Union address on ESPN.com, where he officially declares the poker boom dead. Also interesting to see ESPN, for the first time I remember in a long-long while, running (non-affiliate) PokerStars ads. [ESPN.com]

Poker Shrink Cranky Olde Coot has a good post wondering why FIDPA still hasn’t made the “new rules” they’ve long ballyhooed public. [PokerBlog.com]

Full Disclosure: FIDPA is one of my MySpace friends. [MySpace.com]

Liberal columnist Michael Kinsley shares a story about John McCain going on some extremely unpresidential tilt at the craps table. (The TJ Cloutier of Politics? Tons of success, a sometimes dangerous love of craps, and never quite able to win the Big One?) [The Daily Beast, via Huffington Post, via Short-Stacked Shamus]

Beyond the Table has a new home online. [Podcast.com]

I think Dr. Pauly’s starting to get a little miffed at me for not working out some production kinks and posting our re-constituted incarnation of Tao of Pokerati, but I think I can make him feel better by simply reading his blog. [Tao of Poker]

With all the talk of what really goes into a world-record endurance poker session, I forgot to send y’all to live-forum coverage of The Poker Den 3 — PartyPoker’s 36-hour high-stakes televised cash game. [MatchroomPoker.com]

Dutch Boyd apparently bought Steve Hall’s Pokerfolio in a semi-hostile takeover. Poor Steve … but he has found a new home for his poker updates/pictures of attractive Asian female dealers. [Pokerfolio.Spruz.com]

Also, the X-10 electronic table — a knock-off of the PokerTek PokerPro popping up in so many places — sharing the same name as a hidden camera used by so many pervy peeping toms before a few lawsuits encouraged them to re-market themselves as a security device. [SlipperyBrick.com]

And long overdue, here’s a great tale of a totally degenerate poker blogger/gambler rescuing his bankroll by poetically chasing/hitting the Station Casinos bad-beat jackpot. [TheTrooper97, via Up for Poker]

There’s more, too, coagulating in my bookmarks and inbox. News stories, forum threads, tourney results … Who knows … maybe I’ll get to them for your reading pleasure, but as is always the case from Head Slacker at this Little-Ole Poker Blog, no promises. It’s good to be back with you all.

LATE ADDITIONS:

Lacey Jones is getting ready for her co-hosting duties of Real Deal, the pokery interactive musical at The Venetian, which kicks off next week. [PokerListings.com via LasVegasAdvisor.com]

She also hosted an interesting event at Cathouse (as simply Lacey J) where women showed up for a seductive-attire contest where the winner got a boob job. [Photobucket.com]

Meanwhile, there was a hardcore SWAT-team poker raid in Fayetteville, NC. A firsthand account as well as some non-poker media coverage here and here. [Triangle Poker Journal]

Congrats to John Phan, who took down the WPT Legends of Poker main event at the Bike. That makes 2 WSOP bracelets and 2 WPT final tables since mid-June for the Razor.

The debacle at the $50,000 HORSE event appears to have affected the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge at the Cherokee Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The page dedicated to the event appears to have changed a bit in the past week:

August 23rd version from Google’s cache

The same page on August 30.

An interview with Nolan Dalla, WSOP Media Director, on Lou Krieger’s Keep Flopping Aces podcast says to expect new rules regarding player behavior to be instituted in time possibly for the WSOP Circuit events in October.

Strangely enough, the current rules in place were able to disqualify a player who was misbehaving at the final table, even though said player had the chip lead.

The five remaining defendants from an arrest (and SWAT team raid) on a South Carolina home for playing poker back in April 2006 are still trying to get a trial, which may be over a year away.

The Asian Poker Tour drew a field of about 250 for their latest stop, Macau. They had two day 1′s to whittle down the field to 67 remaining. Notable names remaining: JJ Liu, Casey Kastle, and Mel Judah. Play starts again at midnight Eastern time, with updates available on the APT site and Pokernews.

Circle your calendars for Oct. 14, when the Real Deal poker game show (with host Paul Rodriguez) at the Venetian makes its debut. Tickets start at only $75, but audience members will be able to walk away with valuable prizes (imagine how hard it is to walk away with a plasma TV).

More exciting stuff later, maybe…

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!!!!!!!!!!