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Deputies Bust Alleged Poker House
Message was posted: 08:10 Jun 27th, 2006

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Poker news from http://abclocal.go.com/ Deputies say they busted a group of 15 alleged gamblers at a poker house on Tarheel Club Road in Northeastern Wake County. The sign outside the poker house on Tarheel Club Road said "Private club, members only." But inside was a routine poker game with high stakes, investigators say. Authorities entered the house on Monday, seizing $40,000 cash, gambling equipment, and small amount of marijuana and cocaine. Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison said his office received several tips about the place. Partnering with the Alcohol Law Enforcement, they began two months of surveillance. Vergil Elliott of Raleigh, the alleged ringleader, was among those charged in the bust. "I think it's fairly unusual for a group of 15 people to have $40,000 on the table. That's a lot of money," said George Smart, who runs the Web site Triangle Poker Journal. Lately, poker's popularity has increased at great rates. "It's just enormous," said Smart said. "Everybody's wanting to play this." Since the game's popularity is rising, authorities are paying more attention to poker houses. "If we hear somebody's got a poker house we're going to look into it," Harrison said. But the sheriff admits that busting gamblers is not a top priority. "If you have a party and someone's playing poker, we're not going go out looking for that party to see who's playing poker," Harrison said. Smart said players will probably be more cautious, but only for a little while.