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It was a brazen daylight robbery at approximately 2 pm local time Saturday and it was all caught on tape. The heist took place at the EPT Berlin Poker Tournament, sponsored by PokerStars.com. In the end, the gang of gun slinging bandits got away with €240,000, having lost a rather larger portion of it while making their escape.
The suspects remain on the run heading into Monday.
PokerStars released this statement immediately following the shocking raid at a posh Berlin hotel:
"Yesterday at approximately 2:15pm (local time), an armed robbery took place at the European Poker Tour (EPT) event in Berlin. Nobody was seriously injured. Four armed men were involved in the robbery, which targeted the tournament registration desk outside the tournament area."
The poker site added, "No shots were fired and the suspects quickly fled after a security guard intervened. The police investigation so far has shown that the suspects had a handgun and a machete. Contrary to tabloid reports, no Kalashnikov assault rifles or hand grenades were used. The suspects did not enter the tournament area and the money taken was substantially less than what has been reported."
Kevin MacPhee, who ultimately went on to win the EPT Berlin Poker Tournament commented on the event in an interview with PoketFives.com.
"I honestly thought we should have stopped play. It was a pretty freaky thing to have happen, especially considering the poor planning of the tournament area... no exits, lots of panic, stampeding, screaming, crying.
"The EPTLive.com people shut down because of it, but we somehow were expected to play on," MacPhee continued. "I thought it was a little unfair to put that upon the players after something like that happens, especially without any player input on how to handle the situation."
It was not immediately clear what type of security was in place at
Kirsty Thompson, a London-based tour spokeswoman, said the European Poker Tour works closely with all its venues to ensure that appropriate security is in place at all the events.
"We will continue to do so going forward, and step up efforts even further after this incident," Ms. Thompson said.
Videos were being reviewed by law enforcement, who determined that one of the masked gunmen was not wearing gloves.
Alejandro Botticelli, Gambling911.com
