Belfast's Cavendish Club Raided by Police

[kirker]

The Cavendish Club, a private members club situated on Corporation Street in Belfast, Northern Ireland, was the subject of a police raid at the weekend. At the time, the Cavendish was running its £20,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool £200 + £20 Re-buy or Add-on Tournament, the highlight of the month's poker schedules.

According to eyewitnesses, including competing poker players, the police operation was heavy on manpower. One bemused and unhappy player said:

"Around 9.30 pm, we stopped for a short 10 minute break. We had had a few hours of play and the tournament was slowly getting towards peaking. Some people stayed upstairs to play blackjack and roulette whilst the majority were downstairs smoking and talking etc.

"I was right beside the door when it opened and I thought 'ohh hello, there's the police' then one by one they filed in - females and males - some in riot gear! It must have taken them one minute before they all got in. A total I'd say of 40. I followed them upstairs where they circled all of us. Everyone was silent, dumbfounded. One WPC spoke through a tannoy telling us we were partaking in illegal activities and that they had the right to search us and no-one must leave.

"All the players went downstairs while the staff stayed up. True enough, the police took all of our names and addresses one by one and then told us to leave. Generally, most went but a few stayed on to find out what was happening. They told us they were investigating the licence of the casino. They told us our money was going to be seized and we should seek advice from a solicitor."

The player told UK Poker News that the Cavendish is his preferred poker venue in Belfast as the club does not sell alcohol, which he said encouraged a good and happy atmosphere.

The £200 tournament is a regular monthly attraction of the club involving one £200 re-buy or add-on with the club guaranteeing a £20,000 prize pool. The tournament attracted around 80 players including some respected local players such as Paddy McCloskey, the recent winner of the Ladbrokes Poker Northern Ireland Open 2005, in which he defeated WSOP Finalist Andy Black.

With all the ongoing uncertainties at places like The Gutshot Club in London and now this in Belfast, it seems that the prospects of poker players enjoying a guaranteed uninterrupted evening of relaxing cards in a private members club are as far away as ever.
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Kirker

[The Reverend]

Police raid poker game in private members' club
Officers seize £20,000 cash

By Deborah McAleese

30 January 2006
A Belfast businessman last night protested his innocence after police raided his city centre gaming club and seized over £20,000 in cash.

Around 80 private members were at the Cavendish Club on Corporation Street for a big poker game on Saturday evening when a number of police officers raided the premises for breaches of Northern Ireland's Gaming Act.

The raid lasted for around five hours and all the money paid by the members to play poker - £220 each - was seized.

A police spokesman said the search was carried out under the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements Northern Ireland Order 1985.

Club owner Sean Murphy last night said he was furious at the way police dealt with the situation.

The club, whose members are predominantly from the legal and medical professions, first opened in Belfast two years ago. Mr Murphy said he notified police of his plans at the time because he was not entirely sure about Northern Ireland's gaming laws.

He claimed police told him at the time that if there were any legal problems they would contact him to discuss them.

"The legalities of the gaming laws here are still a very grey area, which is why I contacted police when I first opened the club to make sure everything was done properly. I was reassured they would contact me if there were any problems," said Mr Murphy.

He added: "If they had contacted me I would have happily addressed whatever concerns they had. I'm at a loss as to why the premises were raided like that. It is a civilised club. No alcohol is sold on the premises and police have never had to be called to the premises for anything."

Mr Murphy is to make a court application this week for the return of all monies and equipment seized.

Mr Murphy's solicitor Kevin Winters said he is also lodging a complaint with the Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan about the alleged heavy-handedness of police involved in the raid.

A high-profile case looking into the legality of poker being played in members' clubs is currently running in London.

A year-long investigation into Gutshot - a prominent London club - by the Gambling Commission and the Metropolitan Police's clubs and vice unit, has resulted in two charges being laid in relation to breaches of the 1968 Gaming Act, including taking a levy from the stakes or winnings of players.

A ruling against club owner David Kelly would enable the police to swiftly close down premises advertised as card clubs. If Mr Kelly wins, it would pave the way for properly-constituted poker rooms to open wherever suitable premises can be found.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/new....jsp?story=677523

[sonneti]

We have a petition running online for Poker players to show their support, you can check it out on the main page on our website: http://www.thecavendishclub.com/
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http://www.badugiplayer.com

[BobDaGod]

I think Lance's comments to Vincent Vega apply here, to whomever ordered this 'raid', on a completely above board card club.

They should be ****' killed. No trial, no jury, straight to execution.

How they can possibly confiscate money belonging to players there I do not know, whatever the vagueries of the old Gaming Act the players cannot be in breach of any law themselves.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/no...eland/4661958.stm

Police in riot gear... it would be funny if it wasn't so desperately wrong.

[Misneach]

..

[Jools]

This might be a stupid question but does Northern Ireland have the same laws as us, the same police, the same gaming board? If it does then why would they take the Gutshot to court and raid the Cavendish with 20 armed police? Why wouldn't they do the same thing?

[clamper]

misneash

while i dont disagree with u, lets try and keep a cool head here and stick to Poker

Poker is a sport, and should be international just like soccor or any other sport, without the politics

sport will be the 1 thing that joins the world together, if we can get kids playing together, they wont be able to fight each other when they are older

your mails have been reasonable to date, so i will overlook this outburst,
but hey, man, get a grip, be cool.

anyway, would u really want it back? all them bloody northerners, get real

i was due to go there for that game but got sidetracked, glad i didnt go, can u imagine how utterly pissed off you would be if you were near the end with a mountain of chips and this happens, and spare a thought for the owner, nobody needs that crappalito when you are genuinely trying to run a respectable club

do the authorities not like collecting revenue from these clubs? coz thats what will ahppen, they will either drive the clubs underground or close them down, and get nothing

it would never happen in Dublin

[pokerevents]

Good points clamper.
There is obviously something going on behind the scenes. Why would the police use that kind of manpower and go to that expense to bust a cardclub. Someone is winding them up.
One good thing that will come out of this they will have to clearly state their stance on the situation and maybe put the matter to rest.

[Misneach]

..

[Scott Jeggs]

Many Laws are different in Northern Ireland. They very often follow the mainland Laws, but usually come in months or years later, and can have appropriate Amendments attached.

All policemen carry revolvers at all times on duty, (and they can carry them off duty), and, while I am not referring to this particular incident, it is easy for the British press to add an emotional slant to any story by stating something along the lines of, "The nurse in uniform, pushing the child in its pram, told us she was stopped in the street by two armed policemen", which sounds awful to a mainland citizen, but is totally normal, usual, and accepted in Northern Ireland.

As it says in the Belfast Telegraph article, this search was carried out under the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements Northern Ireland Order 1985.

It is common knowledge that any casinos and poker clubs are not legal in Northern Ireland. Until recently, any poker tournaments, usually held in pubs' closed rooms, have pushed the law a little by giving some of the pot to a charity. Even this required the police to turn a blind eye.

It was only a matter of time before the new poker clubs, which have tried to jump on the bandwagon of public popularity as their raison d'etre, had to be challenged by law enforcement.

Talking to Police Inspectors before the act is a useless defence, except perhaps in having those people reprimanded for having pre-knowledge of an offence about to be committed.

The next development in this saga will be the introduction of the age-old argument that poker is a game of skill, and should not be included under the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements Northern Ireland Order 1985, but this won't wash with the Northern Irish judiciary until such a premise is wholly accepted in mainland written Law, and the undoubted advantages of a tax arrangement on the poker rooms' profits are recognised by the Government.

.

[zebediah]

Well I for one will sleep safely at night now....
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because you very very retardo i lose

[clamper]

I SUPPOSE THE COPS COULD ALSO HAVE RAIDED THE PLACE ON THE GROUNDS THAT IT WAS AN ILLEGAL GATHERING

FOR ALL THE COPS KNEW IT COULD HAVE BEEN A RELIGIOUS CEREMONY, LETS FACE IT THEY WOULDNT BE FAR WRONG THERE EITHER, I PLAY CARDS EVERY MONDAY AND FRIDAY RELIGIOUSLY

IT COULD HAVE BEEN A FRONT FOR SOME ILLEGAL PARAMILITARY ORGANISATION, MOVING CARDS AROUND BETWEEN EACH OTHER COULD HAVE BEEN A SPECIAL SIGNALLING CODE AND THE CHIPS COULD REPRESENT THEIR TARGETS, AFTER ALL THE TROUBLES THEY'VE HAD I DONT BLAME THEM RAIDING THE PLACE

AS FOR THE COMMENTS ABOUT THE "MAINLAND" THIS IS THE MAINLAND BUDDY
ENGLAND IS ONLY AN ISLAND OFF OUR COAST

[zebediah]

England isn't an island
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because you very very retardo i lose

[clamper]

i stand / sit corrected

you are of course correct, England is not an island, but there are people there who need to understand that

Zeb,

No man is an island, neither is England, but it aint mainland to anywhere except its islands like say Guernsey or the isle of man

who cares, coz this is a poker site and we should stick to the program

hope u win loads in vegas

have u a sponsor?

do u want 1?

let me have your shirt size and i'll send you 1 to wear while you are there

it has a large flag on the back, is that ok? :twisted:

[zebediah]

lol...to be fair England is an island from an american viewpoint.
As it then includes Scotlandshire and Walesville.
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because you very very retardo i lose