Home / Poker News September 2013 / The Poker Grapevine – Archie Karas in Hot Water
The Poker Grapevine – Archie Karas in Hot Water
Posted by: James Carter. - Mon, 2013-09-30 11:04
Archie Karas (whose real name is Anargyros Karabourniotis) is a renowned poker professional, best known in poker and
online poker circles for his 1992-1995 “The Run”, which saw him pull off an unprecedented feat in the history of gambling: he turned $50 into $40 million. Reportedly, he only lost one game during that period. A recent development may shed some light on how he managed to stitch together that incredible winning streak though: a few days ago, he was arrested at a Lakeside casino in California, for marking the cards.
The way the 62-year old pulled off the trick was a rather ingenious one: he used a hollow chip which contained some dye to mark the cards. This way, he managed to cheat the casino out of about $8k at the blackjack table.
The authorities took him into custody at his Las Vegas home and he has reportedly already been extradited to San Diego to face charges of cheating and defrauding a casino operation, winning by fraudulent means and burglary, according to a criminal complaint which has already been filed against him.
Karas faces a minimum penalty of 3 years in a federal prison. His crooked ways were unmasked by the security cameras, as well as the unprecedented cooperation between various law enforcement agencies.
In other news: the online poker industry has indeed been through quite a bit lately, and besides the tedious fragmentation of various regulated markets, it has had to struggle with issues of not being able to believably present its star cast to the public. Needless to say, the Black Friday revelations and indictments have had a lot to do with that.
According to some, the opportunity to put together a “legit” “main event” featuring poker’s greats that would capture the adulation and attention of the public may have forever slipped by.
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