TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Police raided a high-stakes Texas Hold'em game at a private residence in New Taipei City that had been converted into a casino, early Wednesday (Sept. 20) morning.
Police began monitoring online information about the daily poker game for three days, eventually gaining enough information for a search warrant. A man surnamed Chang (張) was said to have used a Facebook group to recruit people for the game.
Police seized gambling equipment, money, chips, and other evidence. Eleven people were apprehended and taken to the precinct for further interrogation.
Chang and an accomplice who served duty as the dealer of the poker game stand are charged with leading the gambling. The other nine individuals will only be punished for gambling according to Article 84 of the Social Order Maintenance Act.
The 24-year-old Chang is thought to be employed full-time in the service industry, but opened a casino to earn more money. Two months ago, he rented a residence on New Taipei City’s Fuqian Street for NT$30,000 (US$1,000) a month.
He later created a Facebook community for a Texas Hold'em Club with daily games beginning at 8 p.m. He also advertised a “beautiful dealer” to lure gamblers to the nightly activity.
Police reported that NT$311,985 was seized in cash and equivalent poker chips. The ages of the gamblers ranged from 22 to 38.
