NYC Poker is Dead, and So Is One of Our Players.

[shipitfish]

I have been talking about safety issues, busts and robberies for quite a while. I decided to quit playing at NYC clubs over a year ago due primarily to safety issues. It seems my read was right.

I've always felt that robberies were more dangerous than busts. I've also mentioned to many that fear of a young guy making a mistake or getting nervous with a gun would be the biggest threat.

Seems I was right about that too, after last night. There have been a number of stories, of which this seems the most accurate and detailed, and this one is not bad. (Update: This story is much better than the others.) There is also a long 2+2 thread now, that started just an hour and half after the incident.

For those who don't want to chase links: another robbery at a club on 28th street and 5th Avenue has occurred and resulted in our first NYC poker death, due to an apparently accidentally fired gun of a robber.

There is no game juicy enough to risk your life, even if it's a thousand to one shot that you'll get killed. I've played enough poker to find that thousand to ones come in every once in a while and you just have to avoid the situation when you are gambling with your life.

I hope this will help the effort to get legal poker at the Aqueduct race track. For the meantime, I'm glad I left the NYC poker scene when I did.

Update: Newer stories are saying this club was run by the Straddle Club team. Like almost everyone who has run a club in this city, they've always were pretty bad at their business; it's in some ways no surprise it was their club — again. But, frankly, any place that runs a game with less than a $10k buy-in probably simply isn't safe, no matter what.

Another Update: There is a New York Times story now.

Comments

Terrible...

[tmttr.livejournal.com]

I have not played in the city clubs since late July. I returned once after the robbery I had the pleasure of attending at 61st Street in June. It didn't feel right.

I was feeling the urge to return last week (to a different location that I have received text messages about) but now I have a very sad reason to keep myself away.

[samm-on.livejournal.com]

You're right about everything, you obviously live in New York for a long time. Still that won't stop people entering a free casino (http://www.bonusrating.com), games like poker or roulette or Blackjack will always be a temptation for the passionates, I doubt they even consider the safety issues before starting gambling.

poker

[misterloftcraft.livejournal.com]

I think that a lot of people today will switch to playing online. With all the great offers from no deposit casinos (http://www.casinonavigator.com/no-deposit-casinos/), well, it's not a surprise that online gambling sites are such a smashing success. There is no danger there and you do play from your home...