Two professional poker players, including a World Poker Tour champion, were among 71 people charged with misdemeanor gambling during a poker tournament on Saturday night while they were playing in what police described as a miniaturized Las Vegas casino.
Michael Gracz, a 2005 WPT champion, and tournament poker mainstay Chris Bell ($1.4 in tournament winnings) were among those playing in a poker tournament when about 20 officers from North Carolina's Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) agency walked in and told the players to place their hands flat on the tables.
All of the players, including Gracz, were written tickets for misdemeanor gambling charges, but Bell is facing several additional charges including engaging in a game of chance, operating a game of chance, and possession of gaming tables.
"In a way, it's kind of like how Doyle had it bad in his day, when the cops would come in and take all of their money," Gracz said. "But the players, they're going to end up playing somewhere."
Police seized $70,196.75, along with dice, cards, chips, TVs, a craps table, a roulette table and wheel, and more than a dozen poker tables. Gracz wouldn't say how much the tournament's buy-in was, but he did point out that the cops were cordial and pleasant, and the whole operation was peaceful, unlike the first time Gracz was busted for playing poker in North Carolina.
Two year ago, he was playing a cash game with some players in a business complex in Raleigh when the game was busted by about a dozen rifle-wielding agents. All of the money was seized and the players were put into cuffs and charged with gambling. Eventually, the charges were dropped.
Gracz described the tournament that was being held Saturday as one made up of local friends and held in a building in a rural area about 50 miles south of Raleigh. Also found in the building was a fully operational kitchen to feed the players.
"We're out in the middle of nowhere for a reason," Gracz said. "I just feel as though (the police) could find something better to do with 20 hours of their time."
Bell couldn't be reached for a comment.
The misdemeanor gambling charge is akin to a speeding ticket, which Gracz said we would probably just pay. All of those charged were free to go home and the whole process took about four hours.
