Illegal poker dens are easy pickings for stickup artists

Illegal gambling dens run by organized crime families were once a staple in North Jersey and New York City. But the recent shooting death of a Wayne man in an underground Manhattan poker club underscored a massive shift, those who play the game say.

Over the past several years, computers and cellphones have spawned a growing network of underground poker dens outside organized crime, where the stakes can be high and the action dangerous.

Because in many cases the organizers take a cut of the action, the clubs are operating outside the law. It also makes them easy targets for robberies.

"I won't play in an underground club. It's too dangerous," said Jeff Walsh, 36, of Clifton, who plays in a legitimate weekly Texas Hold 'Em tournament at the Whiskey Cafe in Lyndhurst. "I could win $1,200 and a guy could be waiting for me in the parking lot."

Several other players insist underground poker clubs aren't as risky – or as profitable – as some might think. Most are operated by old-boy networks of card enthusiasts who meet up regularly in unremarkable places – after-hours office buildings, for instance. They don't make much money, and alcoholic beverages – much less guns or drugs – are strictly forbidden.

Strong-arm security guards make a point to look tough without carrying weapons. A dozen or so fold-up tables are usually set up for action, with a room set aside for smoking. Every half hour, players are charged a $5 to $8 "rake" for a seat.

"Mostly, it's a lot of very successful people, hard-working guys, accountants, lawyers," said Dave, a 32-year-old consultant from New York.

For that very reason, bad things are bound to happen, authorities say.

"All that cash on the table and those Rolex watches add up," said Clifton Police Detective Sgt. Harold Van Winkle. "Things can get dangerous when the guys with the guns show up."

Ten days ago, 55-year-old mathematics whiz Frank DeSena of Wayne was shot to death when a holdup went awry at The Straddle, an illegal gambling den on the seventh floor of a nondescript office building at Fifth Avenue and 28th Street in Manhattan. As much as $100,000 may have been taken, police said.

Closer to home, four people were shot dead during a robbery two years ago at an after-hours gambling club in Paterson. Four people have been charged with murder and are awaiting trial.

Last December, masked gunmen burst into the Greek-American Social Club in Clifton during a high-stakes card game and made off with $250,000 or so in cash and jewelry after pistol-whipping a patron.

"These [rooms] are criminal enterprises behind closed doors, so bad guys get the idea that they're pretty good spots to hit," said Eugene O'Donnell, a professor of police studies at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Some players say the illegal games are so prevalent that the reported incidents of violence are actually rarities.

"These rooms are open day-in, day-out. They're like going to your neighborhood bar," said Steven McLoughlin, who moderates an Internet poker forum called Two Plus Two. "They're probably safer."

The DeSena shooting, McLoughlin said, is "a blip on the radar."

O'Donnell had a different take: There are probably more holdups, he said, than police know about.

"There may be some level of embarrassment in coming forward. As in any vice, victims aren't in the best position to come forward," the professor said.

Night on the town

Dave, the New York consultant, said The Straddle boasted a clientele that ran the gamut from elderly women to movie stars. He said he saw the actor Matt Damon there one night.

"Ninety percent of the guys who went in there had jobs," said Dave, a Straddle regular. "A lot of them, like Frank, were married with kids. They're just looking for a night on the town."

The club occupied the entire seventh floor of a Fifth Avenue office building, with nine tables, a snack room and a smoking room, he said.

"They didn't want alcohol because it causes trouble," Dave said. "And if you showed up drunk, they wouldn't let you in."

McLoughlin compared the clubs to Prohibition-era speakeasies.

"It's 100 percent word of mouth," said McLoughlin, who noted that he frequented New York rooms before recently moving to Las Vegas. "You cannot go unless referred to by another friend or member."

Word gets out, though.

Two years ago, cops busted a so-called Big Game in the basement of Styretowne Shopping Center in Clifton, rounding up 70 people and confiscating $60,000 from the tables.

Paterson killings

But cracking down can be dangerous, as well.

In 2005, two men burst into an after-hours club set up in a Paterson warehouse as part of a sting operation and shot several people execution-style. The victims included a 29-year-old West Paterson mother.

The alleged triggerman – David "Blackface" Baylor, 28, of Passaic – is being held at the Passaic County Jail pending trial on four counts of murder. Three of his alleged accomplices are awaiting trial on similar charges.

The growth of the drug trade, and the resulting violence, has made underground poker dens a low priority for law enforcement across the region.

"It used to be guys running illegal numbers and bookmakers," said Passaic County Prosecutor James F. Avigliano. "Now 90 percent of the cases that we prosecute are drug cases. It's all drugs, gangs, guns -- that and the responsibilities of Homeland Security."

Then there are the cops who dabble in gambling themselves.

Earlier this fall, two former Roxbury police officers agreed to probation in return for pleading guilty to running a high-stakes poker casino in a Dover warehouse, which operated for five months until it was raided in April 2005 by the Morris County Prosecutor's Office and New Jersey State Police. As part of their plea deal, the officers are barred from seeking public employment.

"It's no secret. Sometimes you're sitting right next to cops off duty," one player privately confided. "No one's surprised by that."

Before DeSena's death, avid New York players said there were three or four "major" Manhattan poker rooms that ran round-the-clock, catering to clientele who were frisked and had their IDs checked – not unlike entering a legitimate club or lounge.

"After the shooting, to my knowledge, everybody's closed now," McLoughlin said. "But they'll be back. It'll be a few weeks, but they'll be back."

News Added: 12 November, 2007

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