I had band practice tonight, but I was feeling jazzed afterwards. So I texted Darko to see if he wanted to hit the Good Look or Salami clubs. He texted me back that he was already at Good Look with The Black Widow(BW) and Wendy! So I changed my travel plans and headed directly there, sitting down with $160 at about 9:40p. I played tight and uneventfully until about 10:45 pm. It was at that time that I noticed something was amiss...
The guy behind the counter was looking anxiously at the monitor with the security cameras. Some employees had also huddled by the door and they were whispering to each other anxiously. Actually, it looked like they were panicking. Darko and BW had gone outside for a cigarette break. When they left, two dealers sat in their seats to my left, and then undid their shirts. The pieces of the puzzle started clicking in my head. The dealers were trying to make themselves look non-conspicuous, like...players. And that could only mean one thing.
One by one, the players at the tables started whispering to each other. "Raid?" I immediately got up with my chips and headed to the desk, along with about a dozen other players. But the guy behind the desk, wishing to avoid a full blown stampede, told everyone he wasn't cashing anyone out just yet. We needed to wait, "a half hour or so". My eye strayed toward the monitor, and I could see that there was a cop holding the door open to the entrance of the building, obviously waiting for someone. I knew it would just be a matter of time.
The guy behind the desk told everyone to sit back down and keep playing quietly. I took my seat and mucked a few hands. Then the buzzer rang. It was happening. Darko and BW had already returned and we were all sitting together when the first two cops walked in. They told everyone to remain calm, put our ID's on the table, along with our hands. They did a full sweep of the place, looking for god knows what (probably money), but they didn't seem to find anything. The employees had all been frantically calling people on the phone to get instructions on what to do. I guess it paid off.
Meanwhile, I decided that the best thing for us to do was to make sure all of our chips were in perfect view for the cameras. So I stacked my $163 very neatly and made sure my green chips were visible.
More cops showed up and they started doing background checks. They were actually pretty quick about it. In the meantime, we started getting bored after 30 minutes of this, so Wendy and her seatmate next to her, starting playing War. They were in a very spirited game when the two people to their right started dealing Blackjack, for money!! All while 7 cops were in the room! Goddamn degenerates. :-) After another 30 minutes, we were told we could leave, one table at a time. I managed to convince one of the officers to let me get my guitar from the closet, which they did after I was able to perfectly describe the bag's contents. All of our chips were left on the table. I'm fairly sure we'll be made whole, just like the other times the club has been visited.
For the record, all of the dealers and employees were walked out, as well as the players. None of the chips were confiscated as of the time I left and there was no damage done to the place like the last raid. It seems to me that they must have gotten a call of some sort to preciptate this raid. When I left work this evening at 7:00, two cop cars actually closed down the west side highway, right in front of me, and started checking cars. In addition, there seemed to be a big police presence in every train station I was in. And on my way home from the Good Look club, my taxi was caught in traffic when the cops closed the entrance to the Holland Tunnel to do a vehicle check. Something must have been going on in the city today. And with all of that police presence, there must have been some big call made (Weapons?) to get the cops to move their actions to a damned poker club.
I guess this makes me a hardened New York Rounder now. I've popped my cherry and made my 'bones'. I am sooo Gangsta.
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11 comments:
+212 for KOM... that's all I need to say! That counts too, damnit!
In the meantime, we started getting bored after 30 minutes of this, so Wendy and her seatmate next to her, starting playing War. They were in a very spirited game when the two people to their right started dealing Blackjack, for money!! All while 7 cops were in the room! Goddamn degenerates. :-)
At the All-In raid we played 5 card with a short deck.
Didn't someone say they are always on Thursdays after 9:00 or 9:30? Was true at Straddle when I was busted and true of every bust tale I've heard so far.
Hope you get that dough back, Jamie.
It's called the Soxlover rule. Um..Jamie...where the hell is my link on the blogroll?
yo you popped your cherry! big fucking deal, you have no respect for how it is for us the people on the frontlines give us a break and don't publish the names and areas of these clubs just be happy you have a place to play in nyc
Chill out Limitking. I kinda think the cops already know where the club is. Unless you think...ohmigod. You're right. My post about the bust *told* them where the club was. That's how they busted it! Now I understand!
Jamie - you have nothing to lose. LimitKing does. Use your brain, as a player your risk is minor, as an owner/employee the risk is huge. There is a reason why they tell you not to discuss NYC poker with outsiders, this isn't a movie - this is real life.
if management figures out who you are - bye bye. you won't be allowed to play if your caught discussing their club without their permission.
Point taken by all the nice commenters. I really am not looking to ruin anyone's livelihood. Far from it. But I think my blog entry is completely benign. The NYPD obviously know where the club is. They've raided it multiple times before I ever blogged about it. I'm not publishing anything about it's location, the names of it's employees, etc...
But I recognize that I'm new to the blogosphere, so if you tell me what the etiquette is for blogging about my NY poker experiences, I'll happily oblige. I would hate for anyone to have any bad feelings about me.
My man! Never to late to get smart. RESPECT the game and RESPECT the club and all of it's employees. Dude just use your head OK? Thx and step up once in a while and play limit or omaha with me.
Wow and you guys never found out what was that the cops were looking for? I would at least have asked for a clue on that was that all about. I don't thinke they wanted to Buy Viagra that night.
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