Seven Poker Players Arrested For Playing Poker in Hong Kong
Although Macau is considered to be the poker capital of Asia, its neighbor Hong Kong does not permit it. It is illegal for gamers to play poker games like Texas hold ‘Em and Omaha anywhere in Hong Kong, and anyone caught gambling will have to face serious fines, as was the case with a group of poker players who were caught playing an underground game of poker. The only forms of gambling allowed in Honk Kong are horse race betting, the lottery and football betting. The Hong Kong Jockey Club operates all three betting establishments.
Seven poker players including a banker from Merrill Lynch, were arrested by the Chinese police for playing Texas hold ‘Em poker in Hong Kong and over HKD $153,000 in cash and HKD $3.7 million in chips were also seized. All seven poker players were high profile businessmen and numbered two bankers in their group, along with two investment consultants, a businessman, a bank teller and two company directors. The whole group was arrested and required to pay a lofty fine; also taken into custody were four young women who ran the underground poker parlor, two of whom were locals and two other who were Nepalese.
Michael Tan Boon Suan, from the Merrill Lynch bank is also a New Zealand national and is 42 years old. All seven gamblers were arrested for illegal gaming in the country and now face a sentence of 3 months in jail and a fine of HKD $10,000. This condition is only if the players are first time offenders as the sentence may be stronger should they have previous arrests.
All seven players did not show up in court for their hearing but arranged to be granted bail for the sum of HK$1,000. Their cases are now scheduled to be heard next month and during September.
