Anti-poker insurgents are on the offensive in suburban Atlanta — with dozens arrested at the second big poker-room bust in a week. This is more serious than in Texas, because Georgia law puts running a poker room as a felony, and players aren\’t just ticketed … they are taken to jail. One of the 52 players arrested (last night?) was a judge.
The sting came after a monthlong investigation by the Clayton County Sheriff\’s Office vice unit. Hill said the casino [in Jonesboro] – which had a sign out front saying Poker Palace and is literally down the street from the sheriff\’s office – had been operating for about two years.
Things have apparently been made worse in this case because some drugs were found during the raid, and one of the operators allegedly offered a $5,000 bribe to make his problems go away.
Atlanta, of course, is a pretty big poker town. About a year ago, Josh Arieh\’s favorite local game got raided. A-town is also the headquarters for Bluff and Wicked Chops.
Related:
Cops n\’ Rounders – 2/14/06
UPDATE: The Macon Telegraph just updated their story, so the one referenced above has changed. The new news item (by the same writer) points out that a former pro wrestler — Disco Inferno — was arrested by Roswell police. And he was also one of the people with the drugs. Here\’s a new link to the original story about the judge and the alleged bribe.
And here is a link to a story about charges being pressed against the operators in the first of these two raids.