In November last year the Baltimore police raided a local card club called the Owl's Nest, which resulted in the arrest of 95 people for "illegal gambling". Soon after that all charges were dropped against the participating players, but this week the event's 65 year-old organizer was fined $500 and put on probation before judgment for two years.
Back in November, a police spokesman advertised the arrests as "the biggest gambling raid in the city since the Prohibition", which caused a bit of hilarity when all 80 players present at the club were free to go soon after, because the police quoted the wrong statute when charging them.
Assistant State Attorney Patricia Deros commented at the time: "Had these 80 players been charged appropriately, we might have taken a different route and prosecuted them." The charges against the remaining 15 people, including the organizer, the dealers etc, were not dropped however.
This week the Baltimore District Court ruled in the case. The event's organizer was fined $500 and put on probation before judgment for two years. The 65 year-old organizer also agreed to forfeit all the money seized by the police during the raid.
Six dealers were fined $250 plus six months' probation. One waitress was fined $250 plus six months' probation, and another was sentenced to five hours of community service.
In other news, the Nassau County police arrested six people after raiding a warehouse in Farmingdale, New York. All six were arrested for running an illegal Texas Holdem club. Under New York law, Texas Holdem is a game of chance, and therefore it's illegal to host a Texas Holdem game on a for-profit basis.