ATN NYC B&M Players IMPORTANT

[RustedCorpse]

Just to give everyone a heads up Brooklyn players club was raided last week. All the dealers and management present were arrested and charged with felonies. Furthermore, I have heard from one of the dealers that several players were arrested as well. The dealers were interrogated as to what other clubs are in the city, and what bookies they know. Just to give everyone the heads up it may behoove you as B&M players to let things cool off for a week or two before playing live in one of the clubs just in case.

I don't know concrete if any club in particular is going to be targeted, this club had been investigated before for having booze and such, so it may just have been a post slap on the wrist raid, however to be on the safe side I'd rather give everyone the heads up.

Please note this is partial hearsay, I'm a dealer at another club and have spoken to one of the arrested dealers, furthermore a good friend of mine involved with the police states that it's an actual operation to crack down on gambling called King Flush but doesn't know the exact extend. So again it's probably nothing but I'd rather not see any of your bankrolls confiscated.

[Voltron87]

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The dealers were interrogated as to what other clubs are in the city

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The police already know every club in the city...

[BottlesOf]

I was wondering whether or not this was part of King Flush. You can read about it in the New York Times Metro section today. There was also a story on the sting on Fox's local news. Poker was never mentioned on TV or in the paper, and it was described as a raid on illegal sports gambling operations.

[Luv2DriveTT]

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The dealers were interrogated as to what other clubs are in the city

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The police already know every club in the city...

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Almost every club. There are new ones that just opened, the don't work that fast.

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[RustedCorpse]

Certain precincts know about clubs, but the city taskforce doesn't know about all of them. The point being a raid has occurred and more are possible.

[Luv2DriveTT]

The NY Times report is a game of incomplete information, we can only speculate on the results based on what we have so far.

Lets evaluate the NY Times article. I will assume it is 100% correct in reguards to the facts presented.

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12 Are Arrested in Gambling Operation

Published: February 7, 2005


welve people were arrested Saturday in an investigation of illegal gambling operations, including Super Bowl wagering, that brought in more than $100 million a year, the authorities said yesterday.

The arrests, part of an investigation known as Kings Flush, were made in a series of raids of betting locations, including private homes and at least one social club - in Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island and Brooklyn.

The arrests were announced by the Brooklyn district attorney, Charles J. Hynes; the Staten Island district attorney, Daniel M. Donovan; and Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly.

Two of the defendants are charged with promoting gambling in the second degree, a misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to a year in prison, the authorities said.

The others were charged with promoting gambling in the first degree, a felony that is punishable by up to four years in prison.


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1) It was an investigation of illegal gambling operations including super bowl wagering - This means the yearly super bowl time crackdown on bookies has been extended to BPC. In recent history this was the only time of the year when bookies were investigated or busted.

2) The investigation was known as Kings Flush, and spearheaded by the Brooklyn DA. Brooklyn is also known as Kings County. There was at least one social club raided, it also mentiones "private clubs". Isn't a social club a private club, or are they legally considered different? I would assume BPC is the social club described). There were also raids in Manhattan, Queens & Statten Island. There was no representative from Queens present at the press conference.

3) Two defendants were charded with a Misdemeaner. The remaining defendants were charged with promoting gambling in the first degree, a felony that is punishable by up to four years in prison. Since there were only 12 defendants that were charged, and we know they busted at least 4 if not more locations in NYC, is it safe to assume that some of the employees and customers at the BPC may not have been charged after all? Unless BPC was the centerpiece of the investigation, this is a posibility. For the sake of the NYC poker community and the employees there, I sure do hope so.

4) From hearsay, I have been told that the dealers at the Diamond Club were charged with a misdemeanor when it was busted. This may therefore mean there might have been two dealers or staff members present at the time of the bust, unless of course the dealers were allowed to go or they only arested some of the dealers.

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[spadeclub99]

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The dealers were interrogated as to what other clubs are in the city, and what bookies they know.

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I think this is what the King Flush operation is interested in. It is being touted as going after sports betting. The news that BPC is reopening so soon, gives credence to this.

[Derek in NYC]

BPC is reopening tomorrow. This is just stupid of them.

[spadeclub99]

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BPC is reopening tomorrow. This is just stupid of them.


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Why? Maybe they were not charged. I am sure they would not be opening in the same location unless they were told it was ok to do so or that the worst that can happen is a raid once or twice a year and some minor fines.

[Derek in NYC]

In order to have raided BPC, the cops needed a search warrant. In order to get a search warrant, the cops needed a CI (confidential informant), who went undercover to the BPC, then swore out an affidavit laying out probable cause. The CI may have worn a wire or taken hidden video. This affidavit and evidence was presented by the DA's office to a judge, who had to grant the warrant. The cops then executed the warrant. It is possible that no arrest occurred, on the other hand, it is possible that the DA's office is preparing a felony complaint or some similar charging instrument. If charges are ultimately brought, the fact that the BPC management made the decision to re-open 3 days after the raid will be admissible. More significantly, stuff like this pisses off DAs. By reopening, the BPC management is saying "screw you and your stupid laws, I'm reopening." If they want to take that chance and assume this was a one-time bust, fine. However if the assistant DA gets pissed about it, it will make settlement more difficult. This is why it is stupid.