Police charge 26 in Texas Hold-Em game

Blacksburg police on Wednesday charged 26 people with gambling violations stemming from investigation into a Texas Hold-'Em ring broken up last week at Terrace View Apartments.

Edwin H. Park, 19, of Blacksburg was arrested and charged with operating an Illegal gambling operation, a felony. Police say Park ran a casino-style gambling house where players paid $40 to enter games and the house took 10 percent of pots bet on the popular card game Texas Hold-'Em. Park posted a $5,000 bond but faces up to a year in prison and up to a $2,500 fine if convicted, said Lt. Bruce Bradbery of the Blacksburg Police Department.

Hamze M. Farhat, 21, of Blacksburg, who lived in the basement apartment with Park, was charged with allowing an illegal gambling operation in his residence, a misdemeanor. He faces up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine, as do 10 other people police say worked as dealers, servers and other casino-type jobs who were charged with misdemeanor aiding and abetting an illegal gambling operation.

Fourteen others who police say were caught gambling at the house were charged with misdmeanors for participating in illegal gambling. They face fines of up to $500.

The arrests stem from a tip police received about the gambling house from a person who had played there. Last Thursday evening, a Virginia Tech police officer on loan to Blacksburg infiltrated the game and lost $120.

In the early hours of Friday morning, police smashed through the door, broke up the game, and carted away evidence that included $2,000 in cash, poker chips, two computers and other gambling supplies.

Bradbery said police believe neighbors may have been involved with the gambling operation, although he does not expect any charges to result.

"The neighbors were taken care of. Compensated one way or another for their inconvenience," Bradbery said. "We are still looking into that."

John Dillow and Sam Wright, two 20-year-olds from Bland, live next to the basement apartment where police say Park held high-stakes games. The two Tech students on Thursday afternoon said people started hanging around the entrance to the apartment soon after students returned after Christmas break.

But they said they did not know their neighbors were running a gambling house. Still, they were not surprised to hear about the investigation.

"Hold-'Em is huge," Wright. "Everybody talks about playing Hold-'Em now."

The game became popular in the college scene after ESPN broadcast the "World Series of Poker" and "Tilt," a series the deals with gambling culture, Wright said.

Dillow said that after an hour watching "World Series of Poker," anyone can learn to play Texas Hold-'Em, a seven-card poker game where each player receives two cards and five others are placed face-up on the table,

But the two friends say they never play for money, preferring to bet pretzel sticks.

Bradbery stressed that police consider the charges to be serious, even though many view gambling for money as slightly less than criminal.

"It depends on how you feel about your criminal record and how you want to answer potential employers questions if it is serious or not," Bradbery said. "Do you want to say 'I have been arrested for illegal gambling?'"

News Added: 03 April, 2005

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