Police Arrests Texas Hold 'em Players

Fifteen friends got together for an evening of Texas Hold 'em poker last week. Sometime during the game, they were visited by another, uncalled for group - the police.

Police! Police!
A game of Texas Hold 'em, which took place at Delfin R. Rabara's residence in Kaunakakai, Hawaii, on February 10, was interrupted by the police, who arrested the players involved.

All 15 were taken into custody. A local Molokai, Hawaii newspaper reported that the arresting policeman, Sgt. Oran Satterfield, said that the players have had no previous charges against them, for similar offenses, to his knowledge.

The game's pot, a total of $9,950, was confiscated by the police and each player was released on $200 bail.

The persons involved were charged with gambling, and three were charged with possession of gambling devices

A Poker Player's Profile
The arrests are especially upsetting to the poker community, for more than one reason.

The game - Texas Hold 'em - was the classiest card game and is played by millions of players, online, as well as at home among friends; the group that got together around the table, and was later arrested, was a diverse group, with players ranging in age from 21 to 58; as mentioned above, none have similar criminal records in their histories.

In other words, they are like any other Texas hold ‘em player.