RE: Houston Poker Room Gun Battle (3) More details emerge as fallen robber is buried
The funeral for Barron Glenn Boutte is today in Houston. He’s the 24-year-old shot and killed while attempting to rob a Houston underground poker room earlier this month. His shooter is not being publicly identified, though police have determined Boutte’s death a matter of self-defense. Club 203, where the fatal shootout occurred, has been indefinitely shut down.
A few more details about the thwarted robbery, coming to us now secondhand, as opposed to thirdhand …
Apparently the robbery suspects confronted a player leaving the game in the parking lot, and a scuffle ensued. The first shots were reportedly fired at the door to gain entry, and the robbers continued shooting into the air once inside. They did indeed shoot one patron in the leg when he was slow to get on the ground as ordered.
Boutte’s armed nemesis and several others were smoking in the break room when the melee went down. One robber supposedly told these players they’d better not be coming out without cash — thinking maybe they were hiding it — and that’s when the poker-room hero emerged brandishing his own gun.
Boutte was shot at least four times in the abdomen and made it out to the parking lot before falling and dying.
A nervous wave has washed over the Houston poker underground — with action slower than normal, and some rooms looking to hire visible security.
Alicia says:
September 18th, 2009 at 3:41am
too bad he wasn’t able to get the other robbers as well. good riddance, scumbag
DanM says:
September 18th, 2009 at 8:35am
You are welcome to feel that way, Alicia. But I can’t bring myself to celebrate the violent death of someone else’s loved one … no matter what led them down that path.
If all three robbers had been shot and killed, but one poker player also got killed or even just paralyzed, would you chalk that up as a victory, too?
Ken says:
September 18th, 2009 at 11:47am
You mess with the Bull, your gonna get the Horns… Another low life thug off the streets who could potentially rob or hurt more people other than poker players.. It would be different if someone in your family actually was a victim to a crime like this.. Your words wouldnt be so ‘kind’… Just my .01c
benjammin509 says:
September 18th, 2009 at 12:44pm
I realize this is not a new idea by any means, but getting the rooms out of the “underground” benefits everyone. This is a pretty shocking situation. You have to be careful even at legit casinos. I’ve known people who have been followed and robbed after winning a big bonus on a pit game. Unfortunately, games like poker and the such attract super interesting people, and super douchey people alike. Nothing is more uncomfortable than noticing people watching you as you’re cashing out.
George Soros says:
September 18th, 2009 at 2:38pm
Good riddance!
benjammin509 says:
September 18th, 2009 at 2:40pm
I realize this is not a new idea by any means, but getting the rooms out of the “underground” benefits everyone. This is a pretty shocking situation. You have to be careful even at legit casinos. I’ve known people who have been followed and robbed after winning a big bonus on a pit game. Unfortunately, games like poker and the such attract super interesting people, and super douchey people alike. Nothing is more uncomfortable than noticing people watching you as you’re cashing out.
BTW I love your blog!
DanM says:
September 18th, 2009 at 2:55pm
LOL, George Soros … I applaud your efforts at prison reform. No one has put more money towards that than you. Were you aware of that?
@Ken … maybe so. Look, I’m not pro-robbers … but none of you pro-deathers have answered my question about whether it would be OK if we knocked off three bad guys at the expense of one good. After all, isn’t it just mathematical at that point?
DanM says:
September 18th, 2009 at 3:03pm
BTW, does anyone recognize him? That’s my real point of putting up the picture here.
G-Squared says:
September 18th, 2009 at 3:34pm
I wouldn’t say that I am a pro-deather, but if a person chooses to carry out acts of violence, they do so knowing that at some point they will likely meet violent resistance that could put their life at risk. Who am I to place any value on the life of Boutte when he didn’t place any value on it himself?
Johnny Hughes says:
September 18th, 2009 at 3:39pm
Hijackers need killing. Sad, but true.
Jason says:
September 18th, 2009 at 5:33pm
Texas has gun laws for a reason. If they poker players didnt have guns they could have been dead or mamed.
Obviously its unfortunate, and I feel for the poker player that took the robbers life, because he still took a mans life.
As for the robber who got shot, I dont feel bad, and Im thankful that one more scumbag is off the earth. He was probably already a jailbird or would find his way there soon enough, at which point I have to support his ass for the next 50 years…no thanks.
DanM says:
September 18th, 2009 at 5:53pm
I agree Jason … am a big supporter of CHL’s. Just would prefer fewer bullets in general being fired in poker rooms.
And you are right about the path Boutte was on — https://pokerati.com/2009/09/07/re-houston-poker-room-gun-battle-2-attempted-robbers-criminal-record/
You can see he was a petty thug trying to step into a bigger criminal world — and apparently he saw a poker game as his route to a bigger score. You will also see from his guest book that he is the daddy of a young baby, and I’m not sure I want to get into the business of speculating whether or not that child will be better off never knowing her father.
DanM says:
September 18th, 2009 at 6:07pm
p.s. i agree with you G-squared. The importance of Boutte’s life to me (selfishly and personally) is that I hope some day it helps show legislators that poker players don’t deserve to be put on any front lines for playing a game with their own money.
We all know how the laws of math apply to gutshots and gunfire … next time the man with a grieving family is one of us.
I’m sure the police don’t want to be raiding poker rooms where players are armed to the teeth and ready to fire, either.
A.BOUTTE says:
March 29th, 2010 at 2:56pm
barron boutte is love
\
lisa says:
December 2nd, 2010 at 4:29pm
Barron Boutte is known in loved by so many its sad. You know after reading all these comments awarding the person that took the life of my man I laugh. Just thinking how judge mental we the people can be but who are we to say that was good for him or that’s what he deserve really! Look at your on reflection your not so perfect ya dame self. God knew the road was getting tough so off he went. It took me a while to get into this bullshit but this is my carbon footprint to all you haters in all the soon to be demons that gamble on life isnt that one of Gods sins too?????? Yeah his daughter knows her father very well dumbass in i make sue of that!!!!!!!!!!