17 Aug 2024 One of the perils of being a successful poker player is the unwanted attention of people wanting a share of the cash—and I'm not talking about winning it fairly. You can check out my previous video if you haven't already; the link is in the description. In this topic, we look at seven more instances when poker players were shockingly robbed. Number One — EPT Berlin Incident In 2010, the PokerStars EPT Berlin came to an abrupt halt around 2:30 p.m. when a group of armed men raided the Grand Hyatt hotel in Berlin, where the tournament was being held. The men were after the money, and no one was seriously injured in the incident. Tables were flipped as people took cover behind them, with chips flying all over the floor. Players, staff, and media in the ballroom took cover and then began frantically making their way to the back corner of the room to an exit. After about 15 minutes of mayhem in the tournament area, things began to settle down. The tournament room looked as though a tornado had whipped through it, with hundreds of players, staff, and media scattered in the lobby of the hotel and outside on the streets, awaiting confirmation that things were safe. A few people had some minor bumps and bruises from the stampede trying to exit the room, but no one was seriously injured. The thieves got away with 242,000 euros. It was an easy target for the bandits because the organizers did not adequately protect the money, which was on display in the lobby. No shots were fired, and the suspects quickly fled after a security guard intervened. After the terror on the scene settled, players were asked to continue play only a few hours later, including the 20 remaining players in the EPT Berlin Main Event. The tournament was eventually won by Kevin MacPhee. Shortly after the robbery, the German police released photos of the bandits obtained from the hotel's video footage. In the following days, one of the robbers gave himself up and named the others. After this, the other robbers eventually gave themselves up too. Upon being questioned about the robbery, the robbers named the mastermind behind the whole operation: Ibrahim al-Musa, who was arrested soon after. Ibrahim was sentenced to six years and four months for armed robbery. Ibrahim's lawyer stated that it was the biggest mistake of the defendant's life and that he regretted his actions since then, also repaying 22,000 euros since the robbery. The rest of the money has still not been found. Number Two — Eric Riley Incident Our next story is pretty insane because the odds of it happening are slim to none. On November 30, 2013, the New York Post reported that poker player Eric Riley was robbed not once but twice in what seemed like a routine trip to the airport. According to the report, Riley was being given a ride to JFK International Airport in New York by a friend named Junior. When the two arrived at the airport, Riley hopped out of the car to retrieve his bag from the trunk where it was being stored during the transport. However, Junior sped away with the trunk wide open after Riley got out of the car but before he was able to retrieve his bag. The bag contained $100,000 in cash. Riley quickly acted and hopped in the first cab he saw, instructing the driver to quickly follow Junior's vehicle. After catching up with the car at a red light, Riley hopped out of the cab, ran to Junior's car, and grabbed his bag from the wide-open trunk. It was then that things escalated even more. A black car reportedly pulled up to the scene, and two men inside claimed to be undercover cops, offering help to Riley in the form of a ride. Riley got into the car with the two men, only to have a gun pulled on him. The men demanded that Riley give them the bag of money, but Riley clung tightly to his belongings before leaping from the car. After gathering himself, Riley got into a second cab where he was taken to the police to report the incident. Number Three — Daniel Cates Vegas Incident Flying into Vegas for some high-stakes action at Bobby's Room with Gus Hansen, Daniel Cates, aka Jungleman, fancied a late-night snack and headed out into the Vegas streets. Jungleman recounted this incident on Joey Ingram's podcast. On his way back from eating, Daniel was smacked in the face by some guys who demanded his wallet. The thief stole his wallet and ran away. Cates said that he was in his senses and did not fight them because that would have been a really stupid idea. I didn't know how to deal with it," Cates said. "I mean, at the time, after, I kind of wish I yelled for help or whatever, but I just was like, 'Oh, here, take my wallet. Daniel seemed a bit shaken by the incident, unsure of what to do at the time, though he was fortunate things didn't turn out worse. He contacted the police afterward. Vegas is regularly in the top 20 American cities when it comes to crime stats, with violent crimes around 62 percent higher than the national average. Just a few days after this incident, Randy Lew, aka nanonoko, also had his car broken into. Randy Lew claimed he had little to lose and almost made a joke of it. Number Four — Bellagio Poker Incident On March 15, 2019, Michael Charles Cohen entered the Bellagio with a gun around 9:45 PM and demanded cash from the cashier's cage located by the poker room. After making off with a reported $35,000, Cohen made his way to the nearby valet exit, at which point he attempted to steal a couple of vehicles but was unsuccessful. In a stroke of good fortune, there was a heavy police presence in the area because a 12-year-old girl had been reported missing nearby. At the valet, officers caught up with Cohen, who then opened fire after the officers demanded he surrender. One officer was struck in the chest, but another officer returned fire, striking Cohen with what proved to be a fatal blow. However, in a bizarre twist to the tale, investigators later discovered that Cohen was the same man who had successfully robbed the Bellagio back in November 2017. The second heist would have also been a success had there not already been a heavy police presence at Bellagio at the time. The Bellagio's poker room has been a target of robberies in the past because of the potential for a quick getaway due to the location of a secondary valet stand right off the Flamingo. Number Five — Shaun Deeb Incident On October 10, 2021, Shaun Deeb took to Twitter to report a break-in at his hotel room in the early hours of the morning. An intruder broke into his room at the Rio around 6:30 AM and fled when Deeb woke up and tried to confront him. The intruder managed to disappear quickly. Deeb immediately reported the break-in to the Rio staff and requested to see if Rio security could find the intruder using CCTV footage. His post received a lot of attention on Twitter, with numerous poker players sharing their own experiences of feeling that security and service at the Rio All-Suite Hotel were below par. However, there was also some reporting bias at work. The reason so many players are aware of these occurrences at the Rio is that many players spend a lot of time on the property during the World Series of Poker (WSOP), creating a feedback loop that may amplify the situation specifically at the Rio. Until last year, the WSOP brought thousands of players to the Rio, all of whom come with money in some form or another. Criminals are well aware that poker players staying at the Rio and playing at the WSOP will have either cards or cash on them or in their rooms. This is one reason why the WSOP asks poker players to be vigilant at all times and why the Rio tends to increase security during the tournament. However, it appeared that these measures were not good enough based on the number of complaints that were coming in on Deeb's post over the security failures at the Rio. Number Six — Joe Salvaggi Incident On July 1, 2019, professional poker player Joe Salvaggi shared his tragic and terrifying experience on Twitter, claiming he was robbed at gunpoint outside the Rio. In an exclusive interview with 13 Action News, Salvaggi described how his attacker, dressed in camouflage, shoved a gun in his face and ordered him to turn over his backpack. Salvaggi’s backpack contained keys to his rental car and $8,000 in cash and chips he had won playing poker at the WSOP. Salvaggi believed the robbery was pre-planned and stated that police had the theft on surveillance video, though they might not be able to track the thief. The social media reaction to Salvaggi's misfortune was mixed. While many were sympathetic to his plight, others felt some blame lay with the poker player for carrying cash. Salvaggi defended himself, explaining that as a cash game grinder, he and others in the industry must have cash on hand at all times to play. Many also blamed the Rio and WSOP for not providing adequate security in the parking lots. Although terrifying, this tragedy should serve as a lesson for all players in the desert city, especially those competing in the WSOP. Security experts advise gambling with a friend, being wary of overly friendly people, and always being aware of one's surroundings. Number Seven — Hotel Arts Incident In May 2018, long-time poker pro Tapio Vihakas posted on the Two Plus Two forum about an incident at the PartyPoker LIVE Millions in Barcelona. Tapio was staying at Hotel Arts during the tournament and claimed that he had €4,700 in his laptop bag. While he was out with his wife, housekeeping cleaned their room. The next morning, as Tapio was about to transfer money from his laptop bag to his wallet, he noticed that €2,000 was missing. Tapio immediately contacted the reception and the manager about the incident. However, the manager responded with a generic reply, stating that they trusted their employees 100% and that the theft was not committed by their staff. Tapio then wrote a review on TripAdvisor, accusing the hotel staff of stealing from him. In response, the hotel provided an email address to contact, and Tapio was subsequently contacted by a lawyer who threatened to sue him if he continued to speak negatively about Hotel Arts. This wasn't the first time poker players had experienced shady activities at Hotel Arts in Barcelona. Back in 2013, high-stakes PLO pro Jens Kyllönen had his laptop hacked in the same hotel. While most forum members agreed with Tapio, some criticized him for staying in a hotel with such a bad reputation and for being irresponsible in keeping large sums of cash in a hotel room. These incidents underscore the importance of security and vigilance for poker players, especially when traveling and staying in hotels. Players should always be cautious about where they store their valuables and be aware of the potential risks involved.
