Poker Tournament robbed in Berlin

German police say that four men armed with machine guns, grenades and machetes stormed a poker tournament and made off with an estimated €250,000.

Berlin police are investigating the surveillance video footage and speaking with eye witnesses about the Saturday afternoon robbery at the Berlin Grand Hyatt Hotel. The money stolen was part of the €4.6 Million prize pool for players in a European Poker Tour event that had 945 players including tennis champ Boris Becker.

The gunman escaped on foot. A hotel bellboy was credited for helping to foil the thieves attempt to take more money as he grabbed a bad that had more than €500,000 in it.

CCTV cameras at the hotel and its adjoining shopping centre have provided clear images of the balaclava-clad gang. A security guard wrestled one of the men to the ground but another of the gang hit his eye with a machete.

Two of the thieves stood guard outside the hotel and the sixth was the driver of a black getaway car. Police arrived too late to catch them and the robbery lasted only a few minutes.

The final gambling sessions of the tournament were back on yesterday — but this time under armed police guard.

News Added: 08 March, 2010

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