The Indian poker community was left shocked on August 6th as a gang of over a dozen men burst into Poker Galactica Live Tour, relieving players of all their money and holding them hostage for 3 hours. Event occurred at Rockets Poker Room in Bangalore.
PokerGuru was the first to report on the incident that caused some players to lose their entire bankroll. The plain clothes worn by the gang, along with their actions gave the impression of an organised gang of thieves at work. But apparently, they were the local police in disguise. This was not the first time that the police attempted to disrupt a poker event in India. On this day, however, the target was Rockets Poker Room’s event with 100 players, out of the total field of 178, being victims of the raid. Although this poker event was entirely legal, the fact that players had to surrender their cash to the officers made the matter particularly alarming. This behaviour bordered criminality and was a sad reflection of the Indian police force and its treatment of poker players.
Speculations about the cause of the raid revolve around the violation of the 11pm curfew and the presence of drugs on some of the players. Nonetheless, the ramifications of this episode on the Indian poker community are significant, with the main concern being that players may stay away from live events in future.
Louis Hartwell
Graduated in Media Communication at the University of Lausanne, Louis Hartman is a co-founder of somuchpoker.com. He began his career in Cambodia as freelance journalist. In same time he was making his living by playing poker every night at that time. Intense learner, he read dozens of poker strategy books to improve his skills during many years. With a strong interest about poker "behind the scene" in Asia and his communication skills, Louis launched Somuchpoker in 2014.
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