Poker Players Alliance

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TIPTON — Officials have shut down a central Indiana business where they suspect patrons were illegally playing poker for money.

The Indiana Gaming Control Division served a search warrant Wednesday night at the Hold ’Em House in Tipton about 30 miles north of Indianapolis.

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If you ever find yourself in a friendly game of poker that involves betting at any type of bar or other establishment in Indiana, it might be time to fold. That’s because the Indiana Gaming Commission is taking a tough stance against illegal gambling. And one bar owner in Scott County, Indiana has already been busted. WAVE 3 Investigator Lindsay English has the details.

Outside Boomer’s Bar and Grill, a banner hangs announcing a Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament twice a week. The problem is the tournament is illegal. Wednesday night Indiana State Police, along with Excise Officers and the Indiana Gaming Commission, busted into the bar and broke up the game.

About 60 players inside were stunned. “We came in, just got everybody’s IDs, took everybody’s information and stopped an allegedly illegal card game that was going on,” said Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Jerry Goodin.

Goodin said the raid was prompted after the Indiana Gaming Commission received a complaint against the bar.

Troopers surrounded the building and kept everyone inside until they were cleared — something the owner, Wes Thompson, was not happy about.

“We are playing a Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament — nothing any different than what any other bar around here,” Thompson said. “For whatever reason, I was singled out….”

Before Thompson could finish his thought, he was led away by State Troopers, right in the middle of our interview. We later learned he was arrested and taken to the Scott County Jail for promoting professional gambling.

Other players inside couldn’t believe the game was busted. “It’s good the law enforcement is enforcing the law and things, but nobody’s making any money. We’re just having fun,” said one player.

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Specific guidelines for charities trade one set of problems for another.   

Officers with the state’s newly created Gaming Control Division swooped into Kendallville this week, arresting people and confiscating cash and equipment allegedly connected to illegal gambling.

But if LaShonda Wilcox’s Para- dise Billiards had simply been a bit more “charitable,” she might be counting her share of the take today – not facing up to three years in prison.

The rise, fall and rising again of Fort Wayne’s Hold ‘em Palace – and its imminent marriage to the Jaycees – proves it.

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