Poker Criminals, Wherefore Art Thou?
Just watched my first full episode of Dallas SWAT. It took more than a dozen officers, lots of machine guns, and a mini-tank to bust a poker player. Not really … he was actually a methamphetamines dealer who set up shop across the street from an elementary school. But when the heavily armored 5-0 charged in, they caught the chief suspect off-guard, as he was playing online poker at the time. Dude is likely kicking himself if he was playing on a table without disconnect-protect.
But it made me wonder … have we missed the Aces raid episode? Might it have ended up on the cutting-room floor? I’ve been a bit out of the local loop lately … so any updates on where the various Aces court cases stand would be appreciated. I hope they didn’t decide to axe this hotly anticipated scene because there weren’t enough recognizable pros at the final table.
FakePoker says:
November 3rd, 2006 at 4:56pm
I have Tivo’d them all for the past few months. I haven’t seen the word “poker” or gambling or anything appear in the show description, so I have just been deleting them.
Aces says:
November 3rd, 2006 at 10:11pm
Our attorneys filed injunctions against A&E to air that show, that’s why it’s not on. We asked for the whole tape so we can see if there are any types of incriminating evidence before we let them air it. They are not handing it over, but at the same time, they can’t air it until the case is over. In the meantime, we are still waiting, they haven’t tagged us with any offenses yet, and there is no dates pending. My guess is that they will negotiate to keep all the dough and property and our offenses get dropped to a misd “c” from “a”. I got 2 citations for code violations, one was dismissed, the other one is in January and will probably get dismissed too. Some of my players who were ticketed and were smart enough to fight the tickets, they went to court and the judge dismissed those tickets as well. I guess they got what they wanted, the moolah, and the chilling effect.JC
TommyTwoToes says:
November 4th, 2006 at 12:40pm
the players tickets that were dismissed…. on what grounds where they dismissed ?
(reason i ask is that i am sure that other people in the future might find this info useful in their own defense)
DanM says:
November 4th, 2006 at 5:11pm
JC, thanks for the info. Good luck with your case. And fight the power!
itsoverjonny says:
November 7th, 2006 at 1:37pm
I sent my ticket from Aces back immediately marked “Not Guilty” and requesting a trial. I don’t go to court until JANUARY!!
LiveStraddle says:
November 8th, 2006 at 1:35am
Hey Dan and Subway… If we could organize a better part of the 80 people that got ticketed requesting jury trial, we could get some leverage. Like that case in NC you posted. Let me know. I’ll support in more ways than internet text.
bmxpro1 says:
November 8th, 2006 at 6:45pm
I requested to see a judge instead of a jury trial and my court date is in late January. I’d like to know more about those cases that were dismissed. Did those guys have an attorney or did they go on their own? Any info would be appreciated.
Thx.
Vince
Aces says:
November 10th, 2006 at 11:00am
Hey Tommy, they dismissed the cases on the grounds of temporary insanity..lol.jk
I spoke with 2 players who went to court, with attorneys. They went on their assigned dates, the judge took roll call, then dismissed everyone for one hour. When they came back, they dismissed the players based on “lack of evidence”. On my citation for allowing illegal vendors (chef), the same thing happened. I have another citation for locked doors during business hours (givemeabreak, like I hold games during business hours..lol). That case is in January, and my attorney expect that one to be dismissed as well.
If your ticket is in January, that’s pretty normal, there’s quite a few people who has dates in January, I believe mine is Jan 9th, not sure though. I don’t think it matters much if you chose judge or jury, my guess is that they won’t subpoena any SWAT to the witness stand to get you to pay a couple of hundred bucks.
Pokerati | Texas hold’em blog » Blog Archive » Dallas Poker Busts, Round 2 says:
November 18th, 2006 at 5:51am
[…] For some of the latest discourse on the status of the original Aces cases, click here. […]
jim hughs says:
November 22nd, 2006 at 11:54am
Dan, I am sure this won’t be published but I would like to register a small complaint. I have read your web site off and on for sometime. I am very involved as a player in the Dallas poker world, and as such, I always like to see what is “in the news”. I am somewhat confused as to the role Pokerati wants to play in the Dallas poker scene, are you trying to be a resource like Newsweek or is your focus more in line with National Enquirer? I say this because at times you post items that are in many ways detrimental to the poker community. An example is the pictures you have posted of the 2 ladies who were unfortunately caught up in the bust at Jackie’s. Is this really necessary? Knowing both of these very nice ladies and having talked with them extensively since the bust, I know for a fact that they do not want or appreciate their pictures being put on display on the Pokerati web site. I am asking you on their behalf to remove their pictures from your site. I know they would appreciate this and it would help me better understand the role you want your web site to play in this close community…Thanks Jim Hughs
bmxpro1 says:
December 4th, 2006 at 9:40pm
In response to the airing of the SWAT episode, if you check out aetv.com, you can check out the episode guide and you’ll see that episode 14 of DAllas Swat is missing. Episode 15 is about the 18-wheeler that was hijacked a week or 2 after the Aces bust, so you can figure that episode 14 is our episode that is in limbo. I’m eager to see how it all happened from the outside to see how it compared to the real life experience from the inside. I think I had the best seat in the house to see them come busting in. I’m still bummed that I was playing well and building up my chips nicely only to have it all end in an instant. I was betting my pocket 77 when they busted in so I’ve now termed that my SWAT hand!
Oh well, guess I’ll settle for a spot on a WSOP final table in 2007!