SWAT Team Raids Private High Stakes Poker Game

14:55
28 Jan

Heavily armed SWAT team raided the high-stakes poker game in Fairfax County, Virginia and terrified ten players who gathered in a private home in Great Falls to play poker.

The minimum buy-in for the game was $20,000 and players were allowed to re-buy if they bust. Ten men were sitting around the poker table situated in the house basement and they were enjoying the game when suddenly a SWAT team entered the house with a search warrant, yelling and pointing the assault rifles at players.

According to the Washington post players were terrified and shocked, especially because the police were yelling and they were heavily armed. Two well known poker professionals were at the table while another player was performing as the host, taking 1.5% cut from the buy-ins in order to pay the two assistants.

Although the cut is the very part that turns the game into a 'criminal activity', the charges haven't been pressed against him. It seemed that all was well organized and hidden but when the police entered the house, players had no choice but to stay calm and do everything police asked them to do.

The only goal they had at that moment was to not get a conviction or a misdemeanor on their criminal records. The deal was reached at the court, so if the players are clean of gambling charges for six months, the case will be dismissed and the police will return 60% of the seized cash and keep the rest.

The Great Falls game itself is not a big secret. It has been running regularly for several years now, and big name pros such as Phil Laak and Antonio Esfandiari have played there. Players are given $20,000 in chips, though much of that is on credit, the regular player said, and at the end of the night those who lose write checks to make up for what they owe, rather than carry big cash to the game. The only games played are no limit Texas Hold Em and pot limit Omaha. www.washingtonpost.com;
The police took about $150,000 from the tables and eight of the ten players were charged with Class 3 Misdemeanor of illegal gambling which is punishable by a $500 fine. One of the players was not charged along with the others because, according to the police statement, he was waiting for a seat and hadn't buy-in.
The police found no weapons in Great Falls, but they stated that it is not unusual for the illegal weapon to be present in these cases. One of the players said that police told him that the reason they were there was because the Asian gangs were targeting these games. According to the Washington Post article, the player wanted to respond something along the lines “So you robbed us first” but he bit his tongue.
If the players stay away from the gambling charges for six months, the case will be dismissed, but home games could lose some popularity due to this incident.

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