You can LOL all you want because nobody got shot … but as things usually go with poker robberies, attempted or otherwise, someone in the Stratosphere poker room probably has more than a sneaking suspicion of who attempted to rob a single table Wednesday night of its low-stakes casino chips. Or maybe not … because from the sounds of it there might not have been any players around … which makes sense, because as far as I know no one tweeted from the actual scene … so did it really happen?
Hear for yourself about the man police are seeking:
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[audio:https://pokerati.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/lvpmd-strsatosphere-call.mp3]
Sound like anyone you know?
Dude … I’m actually pretty sure I’ve seen him at the tables somewhere.
Now where’s a guy like Devilfish gonna go to work on his tan?
We saw them in bikinis every day … and though we didn’t get to know their names (at least their real ones), they had without a doubt become part of the WSOP family at the Rio. The hot wayward distant cousins, I suppose, roaming the halls of the Rio with free drink coupons and promises to poker players of nipples in the sunshine …
And now they are gone.
Sapphire Pool at the Rio has closed, after failing an “integrity check” by LVMPD.
We can only wonder what that might have entailed. Brilliant concept, though — stock a casino/resort pool with topless dancers working on their line-less tans (who in turn use it as a way to recruit customers to an off-premise strip club).
It also raises the question of why go after the Sapphire Pool? Were the post-WSOP shenanigans just out of control (after the girls had to make up for the cheap bastardness of poker players)? Do the Las Vegas cops have it in for the Rio? Or can we expect further “integrity check” crackdowns at the clubs themselves? You know, rough economy and all has made the, er, “intensity” of lap dances rather negotiable …
ANSWER: No, according to the LVRJ story (Thanks, F-Train, for the link). Harrah’s supposedly requests these integrity checks, and voluntarily closed the pool down on its own behest.
UPDATE: Prostitution and cocaine selling. (You naughty girls!)
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jul/29/metro-prostitution-activity-found-topless-rio-pool/
(Does anyone recognize any of the mugshots as poker-hallway girls?)
Compare for yourself … Layne Flack starting his night on the red carpet at Pure, and finishing it on the cold concrete floors of LV city jail:
photo: LVMPD
Lara Miller of the PR firm Diamond Draw Management has issued a statement from Layne Flack. Here it is in full:Â
I attended the Draw Party at Pure on Friday night and then met with my brother, who had flown into Vegas for Heads Up. I was under the impression that I was to play in the last bracket the next evening at around 8 pm. I was pulled over for speeding and refused a breathalyzer test as I have been instructed to do. I have no idea why I was written a ticket for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle. There were no emergency vehicles around, besides the police car. A test, given by the Las Vegas PD, later revealed that I had a blood alcohol content of zero. I also took a blood test, as I have nothing to hide. I was held for the mandatory 6 hours and released. I always go out of my way to not drink and drive. I regret that I was not able to play in NBC Heads Up and hope to be invited next year to play in this prestigious event.
There’s little reason to doubt Layne Flack’s version of events at this point. Refusing a breathalyzer test isn’t that unusual, because the blood tests are more accurate.Â
If his blood-alcohol level was really zero, then the DUI charges would likely be dropped. That leaves two other relatively minor charges (speeding and the failure to yield to an emergency vehicle), which means that Layne Flack could come out of this untimely little episode with nothing more than traffic tickets — and a missed opportunity at the NBC Heads-Up Championship.
Clarification 1: Layne Flack was not in a car accident. Some of the earliest reports of this situation came from a statement that Mori Eskandani gave to some reporters at the NBC Heads-Up Championship, saying that Flack had to withdraw because he had been in a car accident. He wasn’t. (11:00 am PT)
Clarification 2: Lara Miller has followed up to say that Flack claims he had just one drink at Pure that night. Also, Flack took the blood test to prove that he was not just alcohol-free, but drug-free as well. (11:30 am PT)
Update 1: Andrew “good2cu” Robl blogged that he “ended up getting quite drunk” with Layne Flack that night, taking shots of tequila. This side of it seems to be turning into a he said/he said situation, where the tie will ultimately go to the results of the blood test. (12:00 noon PT)
Update 2:Â Andrew Robl has edited the Layne Flack story out of his blog without an explanation. (6:30 pm PT)
He’s there right now … in Clark County City of Las Vegas Detention Center, charged with DUI, driving more than 21 mph over the speed limit, and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle.
http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/information/17503.htm
CORRECTION: City of Las Vegas Detention Center, not Clark County. The city booking unit is a much drearier place — it’s where they take locals to be charged with misdemeanors, while the fancy new CCDC is for tourists and alleged felons.
A typical stay-time in this joint is usually about 13 hours (I think they legally have to keep you for 12 to sober up) … so not knowing what time Layne’s Drawing Party festivities ended, it’s hard to speculate on whether or not he was involved in an accident that required medical treatment. When he does get let out, the unit he’s in doesn’t allow direct releases into the industrial North Las Vegas neighborhood … so you don’t just walk out the door. They take a van-load of inmates downtown and drop them off right outside the Golden Nugget.
UPDATE: Flack has been released. Neverwin Poker confrms.
