Big home game robbed, player dead.

[*TT*]

A high-stakes home game in New Smyrna Beach Florida was robbed at gunpoint, one of the players is dead. From the sound of it this might have been more than just the average home game of course... take a look at the guys driveway below for a chuckle (not that there is anything funy about someone being shot of course).


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NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- New Smyrna Beach police are desperately trying to find two masked men responsible for a fatal home invasion at a house known for gambling. Police said 62-year-old David Michael Turner was killed overnight when two masked men stormed into the house on Mill Run Drive and demanded money during a poker game.

Investigators are still trying to figure out if the man killed inside the home was targeted or if it was random. He doesn't live there; he's from Port Orange.

Some in this neighborhood don't think it was random. They say everyone knows the homeowner hosts card games several nights a week and the players bring a lot of cash.

Residents in a New Smyrna Beach neighborhood woke up Tuesday morning concerned about what happened inside a home in the 500-block of Mill Run Drive.

"This is a quiet neighborhood. Nothing ever happens around here. Just a tragedy," said neighbor John Kates.

Police said, around 9:30 Monday night, about eight people were playing poker at the home when two masked men stormed in and demanded their money. An argument started and the suspects fired several shots. One of them hit 62-year-old Dennis Michael Turner, who drove over from Port Orange to play poker.

Investigators don't know if the masked men were after Turner or the homeowner.

"I knew something was going to happen over there eventually," an unidentified neighbor said.

Neighbors said the homeowner is a frequent gambler and card player. He even has cards painted on his driveway. Neighbors said he normally had people over throughout the week for games and a few months ago he told them someone broke in and got away with a lot of money and valuables.

"They got him for $30,000, some guns and gold he had in the house, but he wasn't home at the time," Kates said.

Investigators said it's possible the homeowner could face charges, depending on how high the stakes were during Monday night's poker game.

"In Florida, you can have penny ante game up to $10 per hand and it's perfectly legal, so we're not sure how much they were gambling dollar-wise, but we're looking into that also," said Sgt. Michael Brouillette, New Smyrna Beach Police.

While investigators are looking into the gambling, they said their top priority is tracking down the two masked men.

Copyright 2007 by wftv.com.