People from the States may not realize how loosely organized the tongs can be and how a rich guy who likes to gamble may have inevitably crossed paths with different outfits, despite clearly having no discernible connection to the group themselves.

Just because they may have crossed paths with shady characters and may even consider some personal friends, doesn't mean they are associated with any of their business.

My grandfather played cards and hunted ducks with people from all walks of life, including tong bosses and younger gang leaders, in SF Chinatown. He was a pharmacy owner, not a gangster.

People should stop mentioning that stuff in relation to these guys (unless they have some evidence beyond the statements of the press and equally sensationalistic US attorneys).

Seems like a really good "investment" by Andrew Robl.

You got that right. That Robl knows which side his bread is buttered on i.e. both sides.

He knows Durrr longer than 4 years. I wonder would he bail him out for 1.5 milly right now?

Think we know the answer

+100
getting a guy who is worth like a hundred million, and his son, out of a 7'x10' jail cell, by using your own cash, may just be the best investment a high stakes poker player has ever made. Sure beats the hunt for Noah's Ark chip and Doyle supposedly invested in.

he is a part-owner of IBCBET, one of the three big asian bookies

Sick brag.

+1...He is much smarter than I thought....really really good move by him to be the first out of the gate with his 'support';...this will pay off big for him in the long run...

Thanks Tom for chiming into the NVG.
it is a complete joke what the fbi are saying, fling dirt & it might stick lol not likley in this case, from what i know about these ppl. I mean when these people gamble high, live the good life etc ofc they come across all types off characters, have to do some stuff to stay arms lenth away from the actual real criminals off the world does not mean they are associates or involved with, but the fbi is gonna NVG.
I hope this situ is a minor inconvience to all use guys, & what casino is the BIG Game gonna take place in now? lol
Illeagal betting in Vegas WOW i taught i had seen it all....... ceasers are really as dumb as F**k Guess there demise will be sooner rather that later

Most other countries don't have jury trials so the problem doesn't arise, but in other countries which do have juries, if the police announced to the press and to potential jurors that they had arrested a leading organized crime boss, then charged him with something else then the defence lawyers would be asking for a mistrial.

Betting on a sporting match; Um, I remember President Obama sending a few cases of beer to pay off his losses over the years. If it's good for the goose. . .

In before Paul and Darren Phua is a scammer and a thief thread.

Paid their 1.5M bail and now they won't pay me back.

or jump bail

Haha, just pictured Robl hiring Dog the Bounty Hunter to find rich Chinese men in China

Doug Lee, Bounty Hunter....

this needs at least a little love

ya betting on sporting events among friends is legal if no one is charging juice.

I got the impression Robl was just gathering money, not putting up $1.5M of his own money. I highly doubt Robl has that kind of money, and if he actually does, then it's surely from winning in the Macau games.

The whole bail money story doesn't make much sense anyway. An asian whale getting bail money from a relatively poor american?

The sportsbook that was allegedly involved in illegal wagering have released a statement a few days ago:

An update from ****** themselves:

Global online sportsbook ****** wishes to make it clear that recent press reports linking its name to a Wei Seng Phua (or Phua Wei Seng) who was arrested in the US for illegal online sports betting on the 2014 FIFA World Cup conducted out of a Las Vegas casino base are entirely without foundation.

Neither the accused nor those arrested with him have any involvement or association with the ownership or management of ******, or with its operators, Celton Manx Limited and Richwell Ventures Limited.

Additionally ****** wishes to clarify that the US is one of more than 30 jurisdictions worldwide from which it does not accept bets from and that any alledged wagers placed via ******.com by the accused could only have been made illegally, as press reports confirm.

Got it from the source below:
Las Vegas Illegal Wagering: A Statement From ******
http://www.******imes.com/index.php/...nt-from-******

So you don't believe he has that kind of money, but you believe he plays in the game with pots larger than that amount of money? Hmmm

Are you sure it was the amount that set them off or were you with Steve Stevens or something

I never got this impression at all. If you read the statement he signed and filed with the court, it clearly states that the money is definitely his. I was under the impression that concealing the source of bond money or acting as a front was a serious crime, possibly a felony.

I also don't find it strange that a foreign national with some sketchy business practices might not be able or want to import 1.5 million in cash, no matter how much he is worth.

If some guys pooled their money to get him out, and Andrew was the point man, each poster would have been required to sign a statement like the one Robl submitted.

I suppose I know a little too much about this kind of stuff, considering I am not an attorney.

We'll learn all the details as the case winds down. The thing that is weird is how little care these people put into the "job". Meaning, how could they set up their ops with all the IT equipment requests at a casino and not think it would attract attention? Couldn't they have just rented a house or condo near the strip instead? Just odd how careless they were in hindsight ...

.

Why does Robl's letter emphasise that the money is his not Phua's?

Is it a) because a defendant would not be able to use his own money to pay the bail, as it could potentially be from criminal sources, due to be confiscated anyway, and a defendant who skipped bail would be freerolling? or
b) so that bail money is not potentially confiscated to pay fines and costs if the defendant goes down?
c) other

That would be my guess


Being that we are in 2014 what kind of "unusually large amount of electronics equipment and technical support" would they be requesting? Couldn't this basically be done with a few laptops and monitors?