Hi everyone:

I'm going to be intentionally vague with some of the details of this post, because I'm a little concerned that if I identify too much information the police will catch wind of it and seek retribution against those involved.

Also, to the mods- if this thread is posted in the wrong forum, I apologize.

Lastly, although I'm a regular in this particular game, fortunately for me on the night of the raid I was not present. So all info is second hand, albeit from people that I absolutely trust. I've been playing in this game for a number of years, the guy that runs the game is a very good friend of mine, and so are some of the guys that play there. The game has been running for at least 5 years.

Anyway, the police showed up with a warrant, knocked on the door, and then broke down the door even though the guy running the game told them to come in. The police then told everyone that there would be no arrests that night, but they were taking all of the money (including the money in everyone's wallets).
One guy refused to give up his money, he was arrested on the spot for 'intimidating a witness' and 'obstruction of justice'. (very nice guy, btw)

They asked a bunch of questions and indicated that they would consider sending court summons out to those that were involved (they have not done so as of yet).

It's just a 1/2 game. Most of the players buyin for $200 although some buyin for $300. Most guys bring 2 or 3 bullets. The game occasionally has gotten crazy over the years, but most of the time it plays fairly tight. Most the regulars have been playing against each other for years. A lot of us are friends and as such things like rebates, running it twice, chopping heads up pots when friends are head to head, are common. Bottom line: it's not a game with a ton of money circulating.

The cops knew everything. They knew the personal info of the guy that runs the game. Where he lives, his full name, even his background, etc.....they also questioned him about dealers in other games so it would seem that they plan to bust up other local home games as well.

Perhaps the most disturbing thing is that the police chief was present. The game is located in a city that is geographically fairly large. The city has some nice areas, but in general it has all of the problems that every other city has, like drugs, crime, etc.....
for the chief of police to show up on a friday night at a friendly poker game- 1/2 no less, with all of the other important issues surrounding the city.....well, I just don't see how that is defensible in any way.

Obviously we are all pretty outraged.

I do thank everyone for listening.

You shouldn't be outraged that they finally got around to you. Sounds fairly tame, tbh.

Money in everyone's wallets?

Unless you are arrested, I can't see how this is legal.

But it just sounds like a shakedown with a little publicity for the chief thrown in.

Next time just ask him who gets the grease.

Sent from my 831C using 2+2 Forums

what happened to the guy that got arrested?

I am assume this is in the US. Can you give a little more detail on the size of the city? Whether it is a million plus or under 50000 will have a significant difference on how important it is to the police. Is this a card room or just some guy hosting friends? I used to go to a home game like this in LA where they supplied food and drink covered by the rake but quit when it turned to a high stakes hookerfest. To many shady people and playing in a garage where people have 5k rolls on the table with hookers giving hummers nearby is a situation that isn't going to end well eventually.

Won't the police seek retribution once the lawsuit(s) are filed?

Besides that point, for all of this to have happened in the way you described, someone in your game or knows of the game informed on it to reduce charges in something else they got arrested for.

I think there's more going on with this game than either you're telling or that you don't know.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No-knock_warrant

If I were a cop going into a room with 10+ people in it, some of whom might have weapons, all of whom have motivation to hide/destroy the evidence of what they're doing, I might want to come in with a minimum of prior warning too.

I also want to echo the thought that "home game" can mean anything from a game with 7 friends sitting around a dining room table to a professional set up with 3-4 full tables, $10+ k in the room, paid dealers and rake being taken. My reaction to this story will depend substantially on which of those examples better fits this particular home game.

I would ask myself who was the last guy brought into the game.

Is this civil forfeiture in action?

This might not be the wisest thing. I remember reading an article where the cops came unannounced and the guy opened fire on the police thinking it was a robber. The guy was not charged with any crime.

do you have the link to that article?

Really? After the host told them to come in, so the door was presumably unlocked. If they had enough time to comprehend "come in" which it seems they did, there's no reason to break down the door.

You're notion of a city that is geographically fairly large might be a bit skewed. A police chief in a normal metropolitan area has better things to do on a Friday night than accompany his officers on a small stakes shakedown. What's the population of your town anyways ? 10 K ? You're assertion that the " cops " knew everything would lead me to believe that one of the players involved had supplied the police with all of the particulars. I guess things must be really slow for the local police if they need to raid a game that's been going on for 5 years as you so claim.
Have you ever considered just using poker chips used in the game to be paid for with credit ? A trusted third party could be the escrow collecting $$ and paying $$ to the winners at some other location.
Maybe one of your so-called " friends " in the game got leaned on for some other " infraction " and gave up the information in lieu of going before the local judge.

There are several instances where people have shot at cops and some were acquitted or not even charged. Then there are some where no drugs were found or whatever they were looking for and things went bad. Yet you still can get charged for shooting at cops. The justice system is not exactly consistent.

Here is one where the person was aquitted during a no knock raid.

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/man...pe53oY2h79W.99

Here is one where the police was shot but not killed. No charges were filed.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crim...icle-1.2082717

Here is one where the person shot and killed one of the officers. The prosecutor is aiming for the death penalty.

http://www.kwtx.com/ourtown/home/hea...274000421.html

Raked underground room?? Someone in authority didn't get paid off obviously to merit this. Few games last 5 years without being raided unless they are protected. Not cool,but not exactly a new thing either.

Really? How can they do this? I can understand them taking all of the money being played with, but that seems a bit unfair

For the OP: don't take any $ into the game and pay/get paid the next day if this is friendly game and u know game runner etc. if it's new game then only bring your buyin inside and leave rest in ur car or if that scares u in your socks. Robbers will get that $ if they strip u down but cops won't. The house will pay for what u bought in or u shd play elsewhere. Home games rake a lot more for this and more reasons (gr8 food, drinks, tab, etc)

I'd chalk this up to lesson learned cause you certainly aren't getting $ back unless u hire lawyer that costs way more than u lost.

legal robbery. terrorizing citizens of the city you're sworn to protect. wasting taxpayer resources that should be spent preventing real crimes.

the police chief should be fired for this. if the chief came by himself or maybe a couple officers and said "hey guys, this isn't legal, knock it off" it'd be problem solved.

No-one has asked the obvious questions yet, so I guess I will.

1.) Was the game raked? If so I'm pretty sure it is a crime (albeit a damn small and harmless one). This includes people putting in money for refreshments.
2.) Does your state have any laws on the books making it illegal to play the game of poker for money? This may also include advertising the game.
3.) Did the police issue any paperwork for the money seized?
4.) How big was the game on average? How many players could be seated at 1 time?

Some of the posters in this thread act like they could have been cops that were involved.

Being anything other than outraged and disgusted by this is a mistake.

What state this in?

"They might take our money (including the money in everyone's wallets), but they can't take our freedom."

Sorry to make light of this but this kind of stuff is becoming ridiculous. At some point humour is the only way to cope.

The size of the city is a little over 50k people. Geographically, it's fairly large.

I wouldn't call it a 'card room' per se. But in the interest of full disclosure, the game is (was) raked.

We think we know what happened to get the police's attention, and it's not this. I don't really want to say what it is, as it will be a dead giveaway, but I will say that it's nothing illegal.

Like I said, the size of the city is a little over 50k people.
Actually, I meant to talk to the guy that runs the game about your suggestion. For now, we have solved the problem another way.
Disclaimer- all game operations have been suspended pending adjudication of this matter.