Underground poker

Underground poker rooms were most famously depicted in the 1998 movie Rounders, but existed long before and after the filmFact|date=August 2007.

Historical New York Clubs

Some of the longest operating underground clubs have been in New York City. Two of these, the Diamond Club and the Mayfair Club, were famous proving grounds for such now well-known poker players as Howard Lederer, Erik Seidel and Dan Harrington. The New York Police Department, however, closed these clubs in the summer of 2000 during the Rudolph Giuliani administration’s law and order campaignFact|date=August 2007.

Recent Years

Underground poker nevertheless flourished in New York City after the Giuliani busts. In Manhattan, circa 2004, the most well-known clubs included Playstation near Union Square and New York Players’ Club (NYPC) (sometimes referred to as "72nd Street") on the Upper West Side.

On May 26, 2005 New York City police raided and shut down numerous rooms, including Playstation and NYPC [cite news
last = Hays
first = Tom
coauthors =
title = Police Crackdown Ups the Ante for Poker Clubs in New York
publisher = Syndicated to "The Washington Post" and "The Chicago-Sun Times"
date = 2005-11-27
url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20051122/ai_n15909066
accessdate = 2007-08-14 ] [cite news
coauthors = Associated Press
title = Authorities crack down on NYC poker clubs
publisher = USA Today
date = 2005-11-21
url = http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-11-21-poker-crackdown_x.htm
accessdate = 2007-08-14] [cite news
last = Lee
first = Jennifer
authorlink=Jennifer 8. Lee
title = 2 Manhattan Poker Parlors Raided by Police
publisher = The New York Times
date = 2005-05-28
url = http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/28/nyregion/28poker.html
accessdate = 2008-03-26] . Clubs that were not targeted then voluntarily closed their doors for some time in spring 2005, but were mostly reopened by that summer.

The reopened clubs began to draw some celebrity clientele, including Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees [cite news
coauthors = Associated Press
title = Yankees tell A-Rod to avoid illegal poker clubs
publisher = Syndicated to "ESPN.com"
date = 2005-11-02
url = http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=2211201&type=story
accessdate = 2007-08-14] (who was officially reprimanded for playing in such clubs), and Robert Iler (who was actually present for the October 23, 2005 bust of the club "Ace Point" at 328 E. 61st Street) [cite news
last = Friedman
first = Michael
title = Anthony Soprano Jr. Caught in Poker Raid
publisher = Pokernews.com
date = 2005-10-23
url = http://www.pokernews.com/news/2005/10/anthony-soprano-poker-raid.htm
accessdate = 2007-08-14] . Raids continued regularly throughout 2005, closing club such as "Rounders" on West 25th Street in the Flatiron District of Manhattan [cite news
last = Fahim
first = Kareem
title = 13 Arrested In Police Raid On Poker Club
publisher = The New York Times
date = 2005-10-16
url = http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/16/nyregion/16gambling.html
accessdate = 2008-03-26] , and, after a series of busts and re-opens, the Brooklyn Players' Club in Park Slope area of Brooklyn [The Brooklyn Players Club moved but did not close. [http://jauntyjoker.blogspot.com/2007/04/end-of-poker-in-nyc-part-one.html] ] .

Clubs generally continued throughout New York City during 2006 and into2007, but seemed to the clientele to keep their size smaller to avoid theattention that the larger clubs such as NYPC and Playstation brought.

However, robberies still remained common throughout 2007. This issue reached a crescendo when the Straddle Club, at 251 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, was robbed on 2007-11-02. Frank DeSena of Wayne, NJ was killed in an accidental weapons fire during the armed robbery. [cite news
last = Wilson
first = Michael
coauthors = Annie Correal
title = New Jersey Man Is Killed in Midtown Poker Game
publisher = The New York Times
date = 2007-11-04
url = http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/nyregion/04poker.html
accessdate = 2008-06-29 ]

Playstation

Playstation, known to many as "the Station" or simply "PS", was considered to be one of the finest card rooms in New York City history. Fact|date=May 2007 At its peak, the Playstation hosted ten tables in two rooms and spread several games including Texas Hold'em, Omaha, and HORSE. It was not uncommon for Playstation to have 100 or more players in the room at once. A long waiting list was typical for Friday and Saturday nights. The club served complimentary snacks and beverages (non-alcoholic). Every Sunday, pizza or Quizno's was ordered free for all players and spectators in the room.

References

External links

* [http://ca.askmen.com/poker/poker_lifestyle/1_poker_lifestyle.html/ AskMen.com article about Underground Poker]