Pennsylvania game robbed
 

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WILKINS TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- About 50 people competing in a poker tournament in Wilkins Township were ordered to the floor by robbers, police said.

Three or four armed men fired shots into the walls and ceiling at the Italian American Club and took money from the tables and the patrons, police said.

The robbery happened Dec. 21, and the culprits are still at large, police said.


Police said they will release a composite drawing of one of the robbers.

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Re: Pennsylvania game robbed
 

jeez, this really bolsters my confidence when looking for home games...

Re: Pennsylvania game robbed
 

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jeez, this really bolsters my confidence when looking for home games...

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That wasn't a home game. I'm sure the club was advertising and such and the thieves picked up on it.

Re: Pennsylvania game robbed
 

Yeah these clubs gotta seem like easy targets to someone that is considering doing something so lame... mostly retired people and vets, etc.

Re: Pennsylvania game robbed
 

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That wasn't a home game.

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Precisely.

Re: Pennsylvania game robbed
 

None of the players had guns?

Weak.

Re: Pennsylvania game robbed
 

if doyle was in the game he would have had a gun.

Re: Pennsylvania game robbed
 

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None of the players had guns?

Weak.

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You don't get into a gunfight 1 against 3 or 4 with 50 innocent bystanders if you can avoid it by giving up your money. Make the EV play here.

Oh, and to the other poster, no Doyle wouldn't have had a gun...not having a gun is one of the ways you get to be the grandfather of poker...

--Zetack

Re: Pennsylvania game robbed
 

My first thought is inside job.

This is one of the reasons why I generally pass on invites to underground games. Another is how easy it would be to have 4-5 guys collude with the host (chip dumping, mark cards, going North with additional chips, etc...) and agree to split any "winnings" at the end of the night. Big turnouts and/or big buyins can lead to big fraud/scam.

And even if the host/game is on the up and up, if too many people know about the game then it's still too much of a risk.

Re: Pennsylvania game robbed
 

Sorry to bump an old thread but I just saw this and thought I'd shed a little light.

The game was hosted by a group that runs local games in a different area of town pretty much every day of the week. The Wednesday game at the Italian Club was one of the newer spots. The Italian Club is some kind of private club but mainly just used as a banquet hall. I had played the game once only because my parents live minutes away and I just happened to be visiting my parents that day.

The group started out mainly as a main tournament ($50+$10) with single tables before and after and some cash games after but has since moved to where cash games are dominant. They now start before the tournmant and more games with higher stakes are spread.

I used to frequent a game they had on Saturday nights when I wouldn't be out boozing, which was located in a restaurant that would close early and transform into a poker room. I stopped going because the lack of security. I started looking around and counting how much was "live" and I came up with ~ $50,000. I'm sure with some of the states spread, people were carrying a total of a lot more. Not only were these games highly advertised, there was ZERO security. They counted the money and kept the chips behind a little closet door, but other than that, nothing.

I decided to quit playing because I figured it was only time before someone took up the oppertunity. This was the Wednesday spot that got hit, a game that ends up a lot smaller than the Saturday spot I frequent (and the Friday spot was the crowdest of them all).

A work buddy still goes and plays. He told me they now have security present but I think I'll continue to pass.