ETP Robbed

European Poker Tour Robbed for Almost 1 M EUR at Gunpoint

On March 6th, 2010, under the stunned gaze of the participants the European Poker Tour was robbed by six armed men at approximately 2 PM. There are contradictory reports regarding the weapons the men were carrying, whether they had guns or knives.

Footage from the robbery shows participants diving for cover and general chaos. The footage is available on youtube.com or below. However, the robbers cannot be seen clearly, thus the police and organizers of the EPT Berlin are requesting that anyone with information, footage or photographs step forward.







The thieves made off with approximately 800,000 EUR but luckily no one was injured. It appears that the money for the main event prize was secured in the casino safe, but all the money from the high roller event was on the casino floor. However, there are some reports that security guards managed to recover all or part of the money from the perpetrators yet this is still unconfirmed.

There have also been reports that the men threatened to let off a bomb or to launch hand grenades, but the information is still unclear regarding which of the two. There are photos showing a security guard holding one of the perpetrators in a choke-hold which seems to confirm reports that some of the money was recovered.

Organizers had hoped to resume at 4 PM but eventually the 1,000 EURO event was canceled while the main event began at 6 PM. Participants in the 1,000 Euro and ladies side events were given the option of a refund. The 1,000 Euro event will not be resumed while no announcements have been made regarding the ladies event.

PokerStars made an official statement regarding the occurrence stating that no one was seriously injured but that a police investigation was underway.