I was just in Austin visiting my old haunts and I got filled in on the recent attempted robbery of a card game in north Austin last month. Seems that one of the robbers had an AK47 and shot at police. It didn't end well. The question is, will there be reprecussions to the underground poker community from this incident? Will APD look at the incident as a mandate to stomp out the games? If you close down the games, they are no longer a target for thugs, and it keeps the violence out of quiet residential neighborhoods.
Despite this incident, I am here to tell you that the Austin Poker Underground is alive and well. In fact, there is a proliferation of games available to play in, if you know who to ask. I am amazed that they all are able to operate. Many whom we thought would have gone away are still in operation, although they may have moved for obvious reasons. Even still, I saw alot of familiar faces and sprinkled with new faces to that seemingly seedy world. Ah, the stories I heard, the action I have missed. Gotta love Austin Poker, it is a society unto itself.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Police Raid Gambling Business
http://www.limaohio.com/news/lima_31335___article.html/police_gambling.html
Police raid suspected gambling business
No arrests yet
November 26, 2008 - 9:02 AM
Beth L. Jokinen
Published Nov. 27, 2008
LIMA - Recent complaints about gambling activity led the Lima Police Department to shut down a business Tuesday afternoon.
Police, along with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification, executed a search warrant at Northland Palms, 1570 N. Main St. at 5:15 p.m. No one was arrested, but police removed gambling equipment from the building and charges could be coming.
"We received some complaints about gambling going on up there, so we just followed up with it," Lima Police Department Lt. James Baker said, adding that the officials studied the establishment for a couple of months.
The establishment, which sits among a small strip of buildings, appears to have been open for the sole purpose of gambling, Baker said. It opened a short while before the investigation began.
Police removed gaming tables, poker chips, video equipment, video gaming devices, cash and business records from the establishment. The main focus of the investigation was cards, Baker said.
Multiple people are suspected of operating the business, Baker said. They were present when police officers arrived Tuesday.
"They were detained and questioned, but not arrested," he said.
The case will be presented to the Allen County Prosecutor's Office for consideration of charges. Baker suspects the case will not go to an Allen County grand jury until January.
There were a number of patrons in the building when police arrived. Baker would not comment on whether alcohol was being served, saying it is part of the investigation.
Baker said this sort of operation is not uncommon.
"Other communities have had this same type of problem," he said, citing raids performed in the past by the Allen County Sheriff's Office.
Two years ago, sheriff's deputies raided four locations, confiscating 26 illegal gambling machines.
Police raid suspected gambling business
No arrests yet
November 26, 2008 - 9:02 AM
Beth L. Jokinen
Published Nov. 27, 2008
LIMA - Recent complaints about gambling activity led the Lima Police Department to shut down a business Tuesday afternoon.
Police, along with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification, executed a search warrant at Northland Palms, 1570 N. Main St. at 5:15 p.m. No one was arrested, but police removed gambling equipment from the building and charges could be coming.
"We received some complaints about gambling going on up there, so we just followed up with it," Lima Police Department Lt. James Baker said, adding that the officials studied the establishment for a couple of months.
The establishment, which sits among a small strip of buildings, appears to have been open for the sole purpose of gambling, Baker said. It opened a short while before the investigation began.
Police removed gaming tables, poker chips, video equipment, video gaming devices, cash and business records from the establishment. The main focus of the investigation was cards, Baker said.
Multiple people are suspected of operating the business, Baker said. They were present when police officers arrived Tuesday.
"They were detained and questioned, but not arrested," he said.
The case will be presented to the Allen County Prosecutor's Office for consideration of charges. Baker suspects the case will not go to an Allen County grand jury until January.
There were a number of patrons in the building when police arrived. Baker would not comment on whether alcohol was being served, saying it is part of the investigation.
Baker said this sort of operation is not uncommon.
"Other communities have had this same type of problem," he said, citing raids performed in the past by the Allen County Sheriff's Office.
Two years ago, sheriff's deputies raided four locations, confiscating 26 illegal gambling machines.
Poker game ends with man shot.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20081126/NEWS/811260928/1014/ENTERTAINMENT02?Title=Poker_game_ends_with_man_shot__not_seriously_injured
Poker game ends with man shot, not seriously injured
By Lise FisherStaff Writer
Published: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at 3:51 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at 3:51 p.m.
It wasn’t a dead man’s hand, but another man’s poker hand was enough to land a Williston resident in jail for attempted murder Wednesday.
Williston Police arrested Ralph Rackard, 49, for firing a shotgun at another man after a dispute over a five-card poker game. The disagreement occurred Tuesday after Decurtis Lee, 33, of Williston, ended up with the winning hand, police say.
The two had been gambling at a residence in east Williston minutes before Rackard fired at Lee, police reported.
Lee had been walking to his sister’s home in the 300 block of SE 10th Street at about 11:15 p.m. when the shooting occurred.
The victim wasn’t seriously injured. Police said Rackard used a low-powered shot shell that didn’t penetrate Lee’s clothing.
The dead man’s hand comes from the legend of the poker hand held by Wild Bill Hickock when he was killed in 1876 and is two pairs of aces and eights.
Chief Dan Davis said the poker hands in this game were Rackard’s pair of fours and Lee’s pair of fives.
Rackard was booked into the Levy County jail Wednesday morning.
The case isn’t the first poker-related shooting in the area. Earlier this year, Putnam County deputies investigated two shootings. On Feb. 16, the bodies of three men were found at a building that had been the site of a private, all-night poker game. The shooter believed he had been cheated, according to investigators.
Duane Demaris Crittenden, 28, of Palatka, later entered a guilty plea to three counts of first-degree murder and was ordered to serve three consecutive life sentences in prison.
On April 17, another poker game at a Palatka home was interrupted by a gunman who fired shots, hitting one of the players in the hip.
Poker game ends with man shot, not seriously injured
By Lise FisherStaff Writer
Published: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at 3:51 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at 3:51 p.m.
It wasn’t a dead man’s hand, but another man’s poker hand was enough to land a Williston resident in jail for attempted murder Wednesday.
Williston Police arrested Ralph Rackard, 49, for firing a shotgun at another man after a dispute over a five-card poker game. The disagreement occurred Tuesday after Decurtis Lee, 33, of Williston, ended up with the winning hand, police say.
The two had been gambling at a residence in east Williston minutes before Rackard fired at Lee, police reported.
Lee had been walking to his sister’s home in the 300 block of SE 10th Street at about 11:15 p.m. when the shooting occurred.
The victim wasn’t seriously injured. Police said Rackard used a low-powered shot shell that didn’t penetrate Lee’s clothing.
The dead man’s hand comes from the legend of the poker hand held by Wild Bill Hickock when he was killed in 1876 and is two pairs of aces and eights.
Chief Dan Davis said the poker hands in this game were Rackard’s pair of fours and Lee’s pair of fives.
Rackard was booked into the Levy County jail Wednesday morning.
The case isn’t the first poker-related shooting in the area. Earlier this year, Putnam County deputies investigated two shootings. On Feb. 16, the bodies of three men were found at a building that had been the site of a private, all-night poker game. The shooter believed he had been cheated, according to investigators.
Duane Demaris Crittenden, 28, of Palatka, later entered a guilty plea to three counts of first-degree murder and was ordered to serve three consecutive life sentences in prison.
On April 17, another poker game at a Palatka home was interrupted by a gunman who fired shots, hitting one of the players in the hip.
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