Police Knocks Out Another Illegal Pub and a Gambling Room

Plainfield, New Jersey is known for years as a trouble spot. The neighborhood isn’t pretty, while deranged crack and heroine addicts freely roam the streets like the fictional characters in the Living Dead series. This kind of reminds us of Atlantic City, except there is no gambling taking place there. Or, is it?

In a recent, and one of many, police actions in this shattered township, an rowdy after-hours night club was busted, cheap hookers arrested, and large quantities of narcotics confiscated. The fact that alcohol was sold without a license is not new to most police officers, but having a separate enclosure for underground poker rooms was quite surprising.

Since American gambling laws are as tough on drugs as they are on illegal gambling, nine suspects were arrested and currently are awaiting a trial. At the time of the arrest, there were as many as 65 people at the club and some, as rumored, were sitting at a poker table.

Recent research suggests that while many play online poker, the need to get drugged, drunk, and be in the company of hookers, attracts many poker players to illegal outfits. The psychological profile of many successful poker and blackjack players reveals their need for controlled risk, but risk, nevertheless.

According to some sources many players love the joy of betting while smoking crack or sniffing coke, which is becoming a no-no at most traditional land-based casinos, although we know of VIP baccarat rooms where coke is served for free, just as the drinks are to the slot players. Some casinos, indeed, hope that drunk players can’t play as well and are more prone to irrational risk taking.

This is also attracting many casino hyenas seeking to rip off mindlessly intoxicated and naive gamblers. Card counting and crack don’t work well together.