NYPD Raid Underground Poker Club

After work this evening, I stopped by my apartment to grab my umbrella, and walked 11 streets up 6th Ave. and turned the corner at 27th St. I had a few hours to play a little $1/$2 No Limit, and FVE was quite nearby. I rode the elevator to the third floor, passed through security, and laid 3 hundred dollar bills on the counter - in exchange, I got a rack of 8 $25 purple chips, 20 $5 reds, and a seat facing the back wall. Somewhere between 10pm and 10:30pm I had just lost a few hands, but I was still sitting with about $450 in chips when the dealer stopped and stared over my shoulder. Somewhat annoyed that he was not dealing out the next hand, I asked him what was going on. No response.

I turned around, and about 15 NYPD detectives were walking in the front door. The constant din of chip shuffling and table talk ceased. "Continue what you were doing," said one officer to the room full of people seated at 12 poker tables. So in an awkward silence, I posted my big blind, and we played another hand. After observing about one hand at each table, the police announced that they had a warrant to search the premises. As requested, we took out our IDs and placed our hands flat on the table. The police collected all the IDs and began to search everyone one by one. They emptied the players' and dealers' pockets - chips, cash, wallets, and phones. I am almost certain that they found no drugs, no alcohol, and no Cuban cigars. After the searches were completed, they asked everyone to stand up, in groups of 4 at a time, for photographs. Then they called everyone by name, again one by one, to exit the club as they returned our IDs. All in all, I waited about 2.5 hours before I was allowed to leave.

While some officers were conducting the individual searches, others appeared to be confiscating all the cash behind the counter. Aside from the state-sponsored armed robbery and the violation of our rights to enter a voluntary agreement with other willing participants to play a game that involves skill, chance, and monetary wagers, the NYPD were very professional. While they did put handcuffs on at least three people for various reasons, they also allowed everyone to use the restroom - one by one. It was as if some of the officers were reluctantly carrying out their duty to enforce unjust laws.

One of the more memorable moments was when one officer tried to confirm the identity of one player who did not have his ID with him. The detective called the man's sister, identified himself, but could not get any information from her for about 5 minutes because she was fully convinced that her brother and a his friends were prank calling her. After asking her to cooperate multiple times, the police officer convinced her to listen to her brother and confirm his address and birth date.

It is also worthy to note here that last Friday, June 15, a different poker club in New York City was robbed at gunpoint by two men. The police arrived on the scene soon after, arrested the owner of the establishment, and shut down the club. Apparently, the robbery and police investigation of the first joint is going to cascade into a crackdown on the major clubs in the city. I imagine that the newly renovated East Side poker club will be the NYPD's next target.