Home tourney - Cash stolen

[mrpotto]

I originally posted this in BBV but thought I'd throw it in here to see if others have experienced this sort of thing and the impact it had on their games afterwards.

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I hosted a home poker tourney last Friday night. There were 18 players buying in for $25 each (I know we're ballas!) for a total of $450. The players were mostly "league" members. We formed a low-key league around 6 months ago as a way to get in some poker once or twice a month. Top 4 were to be paid. When it gets down to the top 4, the league manager goes over to his league folder to get the cash for the money presentation. It's at this point that he discovered it was missing. A side game had broken out and allegedly some of these players needed to make change and went into the folder to do that. My neighbor a reputable guy was the last to see it about 30-45 minutes before it was discovered missing. We turn my basement upside down and can't find it any where. It's at this point the amateur detectives begin throwing out theories. Here's what we came up with.

1- A friend of one of my friend's sisters has been playing with us for over a year. What I'm about to say next is major stereo typing but..... she's younger (25ish) and is probably the only one that $450 would make a difference to. She has a diamond nose chip and a bunch of ink. She's also hot but that's irrelevant. Sorry no pics! She has allegedly a shady past. Kelly was seen hovering near where the folder was placed. She also left about 10 minutes before the money was first discovered missing. The rest of the crew including myself are in our early 40s with above average paying jobs so the money isn't overly important to us. With the exception of....

2- My friend Dave who I've began to hang out with about a year ago. He has 2 kids that play with my kids (ages 8-10) and he's not much of a poker player. He made a big stink about needing to play really low stakes. He is also about to lose his job and his future is up in the air as he hasn't locked down another job yet. He also seemed to be the most vocal about blaming Kelly (#1 above). This may be a case of he who smelt it, dealt it. He who supplied it, denied it, etc. etc.

#3) Accidentally thrown out. Unlikely as one of my neighbors was one of the last to see the money as he made change from the cash during the side game about 30-45 minutes before we discovered it missing.

#4) The field. The final 4-5 from the main game have iron clad alibis (includes myself as I finished 4th - and as it turns out I'm glad I didn't go further!). There was only one other guy I didn't know and he seemed to be in the same demographic as the rest of us (has enough $$$ to not need to worry about vicking $450). My reputable neighbor who was the last to see the money, was seen making a clear announcement when he went into the folder to get change. “I’m taking out a ten, a five and 5 ones. I’m putting a twenty back in the folder. I’m putting the folder back.”

#5) Some kids including my own were down in the basement. This isn't very plausable since the oldest, my son is only 11 and knows better. Dave (#2) above made mention of the fact that there were kids in the vicinity. The next morning I half kiddingly mention the missing money to my son. Using my adept poker skills to see into his soul, I conclude rather quickly he had nothing to do with it. Now if I see $450 worth of candy bar wrappers in the den.................

So it was a major bummer and thankfully the winner was very good natured about being ripped out of ~ $200. It has thrown a shadow of doubt over the league and we now feel compelled to take safeguards in protecting the cash which is unfortunate. So to recap:

Brag: I finished ITM at a home tourney
Beat: No money presentation
Variance: Main suspect is hot

[Taso]

Next time have one person handle the tournament money, period. One person handle the cash game money, period.

[mrpotto]

Next time have one person handle the tournament money, period. One person handle the cash game money, period.
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Yep, will definitely have to do something different going forward. Up until this point, it never crossed anyones mind that something like this could happen. Bummer that we have to worry about stuff like this but such is life.......

[kayaker]

With 18 people playing in the tourney and several others, including kids, in the room throughout the evening, I'm not really surprised the money went missing. Even for those who don't really "need" it, $450 can seem very tempting.

While I would suggest that prime suspect is probably the most likely (not because of the studs or ink, but because she had just left), it's going to be pretty much impossible to prove.

My suggestions would be two-fold.
1. Ban the hot girl from the game. Yes, this will suck because she's hot, but then again, she's probably distracting you from playing your best poker anyway.
2. Have someone that everyone trusts hold the money. This is not that big of a deal, as it'll just be in someone's pocket instead of sitting in a folder somewhere.

[Lottery Larry]

[ QUOTE ]
1. Ban the hot girl from the game. Yes, this will suck

[/ QUOTE ]

Disagree strongly, without more proof. The host probably should pony up, unless everyone lets him off the hook.

KITN for several people

[mrpotto]

Disagree that the host should pony up (not just because I was the host). I had an iron clad alibi as I was playing during the interval of time between when the last person saw the money (reputable neighbor) and when it first discovered missing. If anything, and I would never even suggest this, the league manager who collected the money, set it aside in his league manager folder might feel obligated to pony up. Not one of the top 4 finishers (including myself) made any kind of stink about not getting paid.

[Zetack]

[ QUOTE ]
Disagree that the host should pony up (not just because I was the host). I had an iron clad alibi as I was playing during the interval of time between when the last person saw the money (reputable neighbor) and when it first discovered missing. If anything, and I would never even suggest this, the league manager who collected the money, set it aside in his league manager folder might feel obligated to pony up. Not one of the top 4 finishers (including myself) made any kind of stink about not getting paid.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agree about the host not being on the hook since he wasn't acting as the bank.

Lesson learned: somebody has to be the money man, and, unless you have a lock box, the money stays in his pocket. Money man takes a hit if money goes missing.

Quite frankly, even in a friendly, low stakes game, I'm surprised you were this lax about the money, particularly with 18 plus people milling around.



--Zetack

[Lottery Larry]

[ QUOTE ]
Disagree that the host should pony up (not just because I was the host).

If anything, and I would never even suggest this, the league manager who collected the money, set it aside in his league manager folder might feel obligated to pony up. Not one of the top 4 finishers (including myself) made any kind of stink about not getting paid.

[/ QUOTE ]

Then you cut him a nice break. You still share minor responsibility as the host, if for nothing else than making sure the tourney host (league mgr) had proper safety procedures in place.

"Never suggest this" ?? Why the hell not?

[yeotaJMU]

we usually put the money in an empty card box and keep it on the table at all times. i usually host and just designate someone as the card box keeper and the box just sits next to them. if anyone needs change they tell the box keeper and he gets it out. also since the box is on the table its always in plain view.

[JacksonMassey]

I agree with yeota. We keep ours in one of the card boxes that we break open for the nights game. As one of the hosts of our game, and since my roomate is generally piss drunk by the end of the night, I designate myself as banker. All money and chips must pass through me. I would never put the cash in my pocket, however, as it just seems more transparent to keep it in everyone's sight.

It can be a bit of a pain in the ass (especially when someone wants to cash out or chip up while you're in a hand) but everyone is happy at the end of the night when the chips match the bank and the bank is all there.

Chalk it up to a lesson learned for everyone.