Popular poker player and Instagrammer Tom ‘3BetPanda’ is in a serious but stable condition in hospital after being shot leaving the Texas Card House at 4am, with Austin police investigating what they believe was a robbery-turned-shooting.
The young poker player was shot in the back as he and a friend were leaving the poker room at around 4am as the club was closing, with emergency services attending and taking ‘man in his 20s to St. David's Round Rock Medical Center with serious, potentially life-threatening injuries’.
Some well-known poker pros took to Twitter to express their shock at one of their own being targeted in such violent fashion…
Texas Card House co-owner Justin Northcutt spoke to local media, telling them:
"By the time I knew about it, the victim was being cared for, the police were about a minute away and then I was notified," adding that his business has 26 surveillance cameras inside and outside.
One of the outside cameras captured the attack but investigators are not releasing the video, according to news outlet kxan.com.
Cardroom owner Northcutt promised of the security measures in places:
"We're going to continue looking at how do we expand them, how do we make them better, more useful, more effective.”
A Reddit thread discussing the attack also saw a regular of the Texas Card House commenting on security, saying:
"Those of us who play the bigger games there are aware of these pitfalls and have the security escort us out/make sure we aren't followed. Tom is a good kid, but he's used to casino environments where security is more of a guarantee."
Local pizzeria owner Gino Reale said he was:
"Very shocked, very shocked,” stating that the area was a “safe environment for the most part."
The cardroom is described as "Texas' Premiere Poker Club” - a private, membership-based social club offering cash games and tournaments with 150 to 250 people per day passing through its doors.