Inside the Star-Studded, Mob-Run Poker Games That Allegedly Steal Millions From Players
The role of the host in these games can be quite busy.
“When you’re talking about home games, the phrase ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely’ kind of applies here,” Berkey says. “Because you are completely in the hands of whoever hosts the game… They control the dealers, they control the games, they control the tables, the shuffling machines.”
They’re also in charge of the books, and that’s often where the drama begins.
These are not casinos with cages, cameras, and fully monitored money deposit and withdrawal methods. Credit is used regularly, both to appease players and to avoid problems with traceable movements of large sums of money.
“People don’t always pay,” Berkey says. “And when that becomes an issue, it’s now the host’s job to follow through on their commitments to a certain extent, otherwise they’re going to lose their entire customer base.”
Enter the mafia, which, in addition to running some poker games, often fulfills a role for which it is well known in popular culture: settling debts.
“Let’s say you have someone who’s losing a lot of money,” says Zach Jensen, a content developer and mafia expert at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas. “By making them pay, the mob can step in and do that. Extortion, intimidation and violence too.”
As Jensen explains, the crowd may not be as big or powerful as it once was. Its operation is now more discreet. But he remains very active in many of his old tricks, and illegal gambling remains a big part of the picture.
In fact, at least one name that appears in Billups’ indictment has roots in the Mafia’s glory days.
“There’s an Angelo Ruggiero Jr. listed in there,” Jensen says. “His father, Angelo Ruggiero, also known as ‘Quack Quack,’ was close friends with John Gotti and was on his team.”
