Dallas Vice & SWAT Raid Illegal Poker Games

Dallas over the past weekend, Dallas Vice and SWAT officers were involved in one of the largest illegal gambling raids in North Texas. Three simultaneous raids are an indication of how popular illegal poker games are in Dallas, and how determined officers are to stop them.

Some see the games as "friendly," but police call it promotion of gambling, and conducted the weekend raids to flush out a growing underground industry.

To many the arrested poker players didn't look like criminals, but in a game where the house gets a percentage, they were committing a crime.

"It's not regulated, so the people that are running these poker houses charge a lot of money," said Lt. Christina Smith with the Dallas Police. "There's no way to check to see if what they are doing is proper."

Police had hidden camera video and floor plans for each location before the raids were executed.

A total of 100 players were dealt unlucky hands when authorities crashed the parties. Windows were broken at a northwest Dallas office complex. That raid, along with one on Forrest Lane and another on Swiss Avenue resulted in 20 arrests of operators and dealers, 79 citations for players and $43,000 in cash seized.

Most of the players caught on Friday night wanted nothing to do with the media, but those who did speak say that they got a raw deal. Player Michael McCoy said, "You got billions of dollars going through online all across the U.S. This is a family game. That's about it."

Cash and poker tables were removed and officers chased down those who tried to run. One policeman told CBS 11 News, "All of the players you see behind me will get citations, but the operators face more serious charges."

News Added: 21 November, 2006

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