Originally Posted by fish2shark
Is it just me who doesn't have much sympathy for young, brash poker players who think that having won some thousands or a couple of million bucks even, is enough reason to carry cash in bags, flaunt that new Rolex they bought, and act like they got a right to do whatever they want?
I do have sympathy for OP btw, and think he handled the case well after the airport incident.
But come on, this is 2009 who needs a $50K Rolex.. I'd rather spend that money on a car or something else instead.. on our laptops phones etc we can all see the clock so why do we even need a watch like that to attract attention. Also to other younger, say 21yo's who went deep in some tournament and loves flaunting that money, you know the type that talks loud at every tournament on the circuit as if they're this or that... well you are NOTHING, you have not completed your education, you have made FAR LESS money than some legit entrepreneurs in their mid to late 20s have and they did it the good ol' fashioned way. You dont contribute to society you just act like an a$$ as if you mean sh*t, so therefore, OF COURSE the DEA/police/customs/what-have-you will not waste their chance to screw you, it's not EVEN about the war on drugs, but it's more like the "War On Young Tryhard-Rich Douchebaggerry".
So, next time any of you makes a big cash in a tournament or is traveling to some highstakes cash game, how about try using the service that's been around for more than a century.. yes... BANKS!!!! Deposit that money in a national/internationally recognized bank account of yours, when you arrive, take that money out. That's ALL you need to do! There's Bank of America branches in every city in America! Citibank branches in every major city in every major country in the world. Or... you could put the money in traveler's checks and not declare. But you dont need to use it to buy a Rolex, a couple of gold chains, and stash the rest of them in big wads inside your carry-on bag... because if you do, don't blame anyone else but yourself if you get flagged and searched and lose what you got!
And no I'm not some old bitter losing poker player jealous of some people's wealth(I'm youngish myself, beat this game decently, and would never ever flaunt my wealth or carry much more than $1-2K through customs), I just think poker players give themselves too much credit and think the world ought to respect them, when in fact the world thinks of us as NOTHING. It's not like you're Bill fkn Gates so you can carry a few million, if he does, and not get harassed. You are a poker player, big deal, in the real world that sounds just like you are a drug dealer, because a lot of people think oh you got all this money from poker? Yeah right, you must deal drugs.
And, oh, bottomline is, when you flaunt wealth(which real wealthy people don't do, just the pretentious, not-very-rich-but-think-they-are-rich people do), then someone's gonna get you. If it's not the DEA it'd be some dude following you from a cafe and robbing you in the street, or someone breaking into your house, the IRS, or some woman who deliberately falls while walking past your house and sues you for having an unsafe driveway or whatever. I think of the cops as no different to the rest of 'em. Don't let anyone know you got money, dont wear jewellery(what does that do except to tell the world that you are a loser anyway), dont fly first class when you dont have to, dont carry thousands of dollars everytime you go out, etc etc. You'll have a much bigger chance of keeping all the money you make if you do that.