This gambling addict needed to clear his online poker debts so he knocked off a bank, got caught and spent 22 months waiting to get back in the game.
Hogan told the police that he needed the money to pay off gambling debts and to finance his growing online poker addiction.
Hogan was released from a Pennsylvania state prison last week after serving 22 months for armed robbery. He is a former brother of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and would have graduated last May.
He was also a talented musician who played at Carnegie Hall as a teenager. On his release he said: "My sick mind led me to believe that robbing the bank would solve my problems. I apologise to the bank teller I robbed, to the school and to my family and friends."
He will now be on probation until the year 2016 and until then has no chance of entering a casino. Online gambling websites have also been warned to keep an eye open for Hogan and not allow him to open an account. Hogan probably was probably cured of his poker habit while he was behind bars but online poker sites have been warned about him as well.
Hogan's father is the Rev. Gregory Hogan Sr. who spoke passionately about the dangers of internet gambling to the Financial Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives last summer. He delivered his speech after his son had already been convicted and labeled it "I am just a Dad, but I want to tell you ..."
Hogan Sr.'s comments, however, have enraged the poker community. The general feeling is that the Reverend should refrain from placing the blame on a recreational activity that millions of Americans, as well as players all over the world, enjoy without breaking the law or causing harm to others.
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