My Poker Place Got Raided by the FBI

Actually the police raided my apartment in college during a party. This was a little bigger incident, although I didn’t go to jail this time.

At about 10:30 we hear pounding from the front first door. I look over my shoulder at the security screens and see flashing lights. The guys in the box/cage freak out but the next thing we know 30 - 40 FBI, SWAT, County Sherriffs, and HPD busted through all the doors and order everyone to the ground with guns drawn.

THey were mostly in camo and full kevlar, masks etc. This place had cameras all over the property bur never saw this army coming. Media says they were being investigated for ‘a while’.

There were over 120 people there and about 30K$ in play at the time… can’t cash out once they arrived.

wtf are you doing in this shady ass place. pretty alpha, but stupid.

Shady? Alpha?

I have been playing in rooms for 7 years about 20 hours a week. It is not a shady place. Of course it is shady to the gov’ment casue they aren’t getting their cut.

Other than that it is legit. Full kitchen and bar which is all free except tips.

This was by far the best place I have played other than casinos and it had as much action almost as the nearest casinos in LA.

The was an off duty sherriff who worked there as a security guard and last night there people there in age from 18 - 85. Grandmas with canes were playing in the tournament.

Turns out it was too big of a game, if you play poker within 100 miles of Houston, you probably knew of the place.

All the players will go to the other places around town.

That’s a crazy story man … How long did they keep y’all there for?

I was at the main cash table which is the front table. The FBI searched everyone, emptied their pockets, and put all their stuff in indivual plastic bags (like X and his steaks…). Then they took all our information from cars, cash amnounts, cell phone numbers, and the FBI photoed everyone. They checked us for warrants and if you weren’t an employee you were walked out by 2 Feds who said you must leave the parking lot. They arrested all the waitresses, dealers, managers, and owners.

I was there about 1.5 hr after it happened. Buddy at back table was ther another hour. I am sure they are still sorting out the numbers. Expect multi-millions!

The “alpha” in that scenario was the guy with the guns and kicking down the door. How old are you Federalist.

well I hope nothing comes of it for ya buddy…

^Gracias, I think the players in the clear. The worst part so far was losing gthe money left on the the table in chips.

I like how you used ‘ya’ll’ in one of your posts.

^I picked “y’all” up in the military … I find it rolls off the tongue and is smoother than a lot of the alternatives.

I used to play regularly but haven’t found a good game in a long time since moving back up north … it’s been years since I played consistently. Never been involved in a raid though … that’s a fuckin crazy story to tell your grandkids someday lol

[quote]JGerman wrote:
put all their stuff in indivual plastic bags (like X and his steaks…). [/quote]

LOL

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7564294

Is this it?

I dated a chick for awhile who cocktailed games out near Clear Lake. There was serious money going through there and she would come home with damn near a G [sometimes more] in tips every night. The place ended up getting raided though and shut down. I’m sure they re-opened somewhere else. You should be fine man, but good luck anyway.

[quote]BradTGIF wrote:
The “alpha” in that scenario was the guy with the guns and kicking down the door. How old are you Federalist.[/quote]

Nah, those guys are the mindless drones of the state. Fuck all of em.

And no, I’m not mad bro.

Yep. That is it.

Vidoeo shows dealers boarding bus…

[quote]JGerman wrote:
Shady? Alpha?

I have been playing in rooms for 7 years about 20 hours a week. It is not a shady place. Of course it is shady to the gov’ment casue they aren’t getting their cut.

Other than that it is legit. Full kitchen and bar which is all free except tips.

This was by far the best place I have played other than casinos and it had as much action almost as the nearest casinos in LA.

The was an off duty sherriff who worked there as a security guard and last night there people there in age from 18 - 85. Grandmas with canes were playing in the tournament.

Turns out it was too big of a game, if you play poker within 100 miles of Houston, you probably knew of the place.

All the players will go to the other places around town. [/quote]

implying that a full kitchen and bar makes it legit.

My face

[quote]ADvanced TS wrote:

[quote]JGerman wrote:
Shady? Alpha?

I have been playing in rooms for 7 years about 20 hours a week. It is not a shady place. Of course it is shady to the gov’ment casue they aren’t getting their cut.

Other than that it is legit. Full kitchen and bar which is all free except tips.

This was by far the best place I have played other than casinos and it had as much action almost as the nearest casinos in LA.

The was an off duty sherriff who worked there as a security guard and last night there people there in age from 18 - 85. Grandmas with canes were playing in the tournament.

Turns out it was too big of a game, if you play poker within 100 miles of Houston, you probably knew of the place.

All the players will go to the other places around town. [/quote]

implying that a full kitchen and bar makes it legit.

My face

[/quote]

Is that what makes it legit? I don’t know, but your effort is funny.

I was seated in between a guy that works in mission control and a doctor last night. That doesn’t make it legit either.

I was just describing the place. 10 flat screen TVs. Tons of autographed sports memorbilia. Security to walk people out etc.

So what exactly is the difference between an illegal and legal gambling establishment? Just the taxation?

[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
So what exactly is the difference between an illegal and legal gambling establishment? Just the taxation?[/quote]

That would be the only difference.

Gambling isn’t legal in TX. As long as the house is making money it is illegal. They ‘rake’ each pot 2 or 7$ per pot. On average you can expect to have 40 hands per hour per table. On average there will be 2 - 3 tables playing for 10+ hours per day. Last night there was more.

Bascially, the goverment isn’t getting tax dollars per a usual business.

I read that it costs about 50K to execute a raid like that. I think this one may run higher but the man will come out ahead.

[quote]JGerman wrote:

[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
So what exactly is the difference between an illegal and legal gambling establishment? Just the taxation?[/quote]

That would be the only difference.

Gambling isn’t legal in TX. As long as the house is making money it is illegal. They ‘rake’ each pot 2 or 7$ per pot. On average you can expect to have 40 hands per hour per table. On average there will be 2 - 3 tables playing for 10+ hours per day. Last night there was more.

Bascially, the goverment isn’t getting tax dollars per a usual business.

I read that it costs about 50K to execute a raid like that. I think this one may run higher but the man will come out ahead.

See Tate in your avatar…

[/quote]

[quote]JGerman wrote:

[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
So what exactly is the difference between an illegal and legal gambling establishment? Just the taxation?[/quote]

That would be the only difference.

Gambling isn’t legal in TX. As long as the house is making money it is illegal. They ‘rake’ each pot 2 or 7$ per pot. On average you can expect to have 40 hands per hour per table. On average there will be 2 - 3 tables playing for 10+ hours per day. Last night there was more.

Bascially, the goverment isn’t getting tax dollars per a usual business.

I read that it costs about 50K to execute a raid like that. I think this one may run higher but the man will come out ahead.

[/quote]

I doubt very seriously they were dealing 40 hands an hour…that is unheard of in a live game, no matter how competent the dealers, but I digress. A bunch of guys can get together and gamble…there is no law against a poker game. The minute someone starts taking a rake and you don’t have a casino license… :slight_smile: well, then it’s a different story. That is why the players were just photographed and released. There will be no charges against the players. Anyway, the whole affair is a monumental waste of tax payer money. Is there any legalized gambling in TX at all?