Three More Defendants in the World Cup Betting Case Released on Bail

After Paul Phua and his son Darren were finally released from custody thanks to $2.5 million bail posted by Phil Ivey and Andrew Robl, a court session on Thursday saw three more defendants set free to wait the beginning of the trial.

The trio in question are another father-son couple, Richard and Wai Kin Yong together with Hong Kong real estate executive Hui Tang. According to Las Vegas Review Journal, the bail for elder Yong and Tang was set at $1.5 million each, while the court set Wai Kin's bail at $500,000.

Phil Ivey fronted some more money towards the release of the two defendants - $500,000 towards the bail for Richard Yong and the entire amount for younger Yong. The remainder for the Yong family members was provided by another well known highstakes player Daniel 'Jungleman12' Cates.

Both Ivey and Tom ‘durrrrr’ Dwan expressed that they have utmost respect and trust for both defendants, and in line with that Dwan and Gabe Patgorski agreed that the defendants (Yongs and Tang) could stay at their homes in their custody, awaiting trial.

The judge in this case, Bill Hoffman, put several restrictions on the defendants, including electronic monitoring, prohibition of any gambling activities and use of any devices that have internet access. Although these restrictions may make their days somewhat less enjoyable, they will at least have much better shot at organizing their defense.

The accusations are of very serious nature, as not only that the defendants are being charged with operating illegal gambling ring for this year’s football World Cup, but the district attorney is also trying to link Paul Phua to 14K Triad, powerful Hong Kong based criminal organization. Although Phua and his lawyer David Chesnoff vigorously dispute the charges connecting him to the crime syndicate, they could have a tough legal battle ahead of them either way.