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Poker Rooms Face Poker Raids |
| Private poker clubs all over the nation are trying to control their 'hands' from shaking. Showing their cards to other poker players because of their nervous jitters is less worrisome to these poker fans at the moment – they are mainly concentrating on avoiding a police raid. In the past, police raids have taken place in New York City, but most recently the site of the latest poker invasion was in Baltimore, Maryland. Eighty players were charged with illegal gambling and the buy-ins totaling an estimated $25,000 were also confiscated by the authorities. The Owl's Nest, the scene of the crime, located near the Baltimore Orioles stomping ground, Camden Yards, was the location of a private tournament held to declare a winner to compete in this weekend's World Poker Tour final round. This victory would allow for the tournament winner to win a chair at the main event in Foxwoods Casino where poker playing is legal and worry-free. According to the local authorities, the raid was a success. 'This was a planned and well orchestrated raid. Everyone that was there cooperated,' said Sgt. Craig Gentile in a recent Baltimore Sun article. Additionally reported, of the 80 poker players cited, 15 other people, including the club's operators, 65-year-old Gerald C. Dickens, and 50-year-old Joseph A. Cary could face criminal charges. It seems many poker players will be watching their backs, as well as their hands, in the coming months as they play at their private poker clubs. |
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