InstaPoker (Dallas SWAT edition)

Heading out for a little family-time vacation … but before I go, here\’s a round-up of what others have been saying about the triple-hit to Dallas poker.

OMAHA, Nebraska–Enjoying a little family-time vacation. Hope you are, too. But before I head out to the local church and then casino, here\’s a round-up of what others have been saying about the triple-hit to Dallas poker last week.

First, the news videos — CBS 11\’s exclusive live coverage of DALLAS SWAT vs. glass walls and poker … and NBC 5\’s less dramatic report.

The second CBS story (they led with it twice) here.

UNCLE BARKY reminds us that these televised raids happened to coincide with SWEEPS. Ah, now it makes sense. Brought to our attention by Texas Gigs. MIKE ORREN\’s sibling site PegasusNewswire is also on top of legislative developments.

Some relevant numbers related to the Dallas SWAT offensive

November poker arrests: 20
Ticketed players: 79
Cash ceased: $43,929
Weapons found: 0
Drugs found: 0
Players with outstanding warrants: 0

A SMART PERSON over at ScienceBlogs offers more numbers:

Dallas is one of the most violent cities in the nation, with a violent crime rate 3 times higher than the national average. The murder rate of 20.2 per 100,000 people is nearly 4 times the national average. Rape occured in Dallas about 50% more than the national average, while robbery and aggravated assault were more than double the national average.

That PISSES OFF The Fat Guy … but we already knew that.

Here\’s what the kids at 2+2 are saying. A few more firsthand details, a spoiled Vegasite who doesn\’t get the whole UNDERGROUND thing, and a New Yorker calling NYPD SOFT compared to Dallas. (\”And I thought the NYPD was rough, [but] we had it easy compared to those raids.\”)

Speaking of NEW YORK, a Long Island VFW game also had masked, gun-wielding men bust in and take almost $40,000 on the same night of the Dallas raids, but their guys were ROBBERS, not cops.

This comes via Part-time Poker Forums.

Peeps are also talking about it on East Texas Poker.

And Weston Poker, of course.

Over at the Google version of RGP, GARY CARSON says, \”People attempted to run from a Dallas Swat team and aren\’t dead? Wow. Lucky mother fuckers.\”

REASON MAGAZINE is really unhappy about the PARAMILITARIZATION of America\’s police forces. More than 50 comments about the Dallas raids from non-poker people.

Did you know the Dallas SWAT team has a 1959 tank built by ROLLS ROYCE in its arsenal? ATLANTA SWAT has two of \’em.

Speaking of Atlanta, earlier this week plain-clothes vice cops in that city busted into the wrong house with guns drawn, and when the 92-year-old resident OPENED fire on the intruders, Police blew her to KINGDOM COME.

The BRITS are gunless pussies concerned about American SWAT teams killing innocent citizens as if they were IRAQIS.

Back to poker … at least one HOUSTON ATTORNEY is concerned about DPD tactics, and points to a map of botched police raids in the United States.

But we shouldn\’t have to worry about Dallas SWAT making any MISTAKES — they train in Oregon.

Of course that doesn\’t make THE GERMANS feel any better about what went down in Dallas.

BIG BOB WILONSKY was one of the first to spread the word about Dallas poker woes to our local non-poker brethren.

The POKER PLAYERS ALLIANCE BLOG has been with us the whole time, too.

A forum of POKER AFFILIATES talking about us.

So is POKER LISTINGS.

LOU KREIGER has some intelligent thoughts on the matter — and his commenters are clearly smarter than Pokerati\’s:

According to the reporters, last year, 3 people were arrested and 8 citations were issued. This year, 31 people were arrested and 180 citations were issued. Now, a reasonable person might ask, what\’s changed from last year.

The answer, they now play poker at two Indian Casinos in Oklahoma, an hour from Dallas!

Last, before heading out, I wanted to point out that the DALLAS POLICE are kinda-sorta on our side, making the argument for legalizing poker when LT. CHRISTINA SMITH says:

\”Poker is not regulated, so these people who are running these poker houses charge a lot of money, [and] there\’s no way to check to see if what they\’re doing is proper.\”

That, of course, is our point exactly. And that SWAT teams probably aren\’t the best allocation of resources to attempt to do so.