NYC: Celeb poker den robbed, owner is busted

[clevfan]

Celeb poker den robbed, owner is busted


BY MIKE JACCARINO and ALISON GENDAR

NY DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Saturday, June 16th 2007

An illegal Manhattan poker den - once frequented by Alex Rodriguez, "Sopranos" star Robert Iler and several NBA players - was robbed by gun-totting bandits early yesterday, police and patrons said.

The brazen gunmen weren't bluffing when they burst into the upper East Side parlor about 12:30 a.m. and ordered the club's "bank" and roughly 70 patrons to hand over their cash, police said.

The gunmen fled The National CardRoom with about $50,000 - much of it money that had been wagered at the E. 61st St. club's popular Texas Hold 'Em tables, police sources said.

"These guys meant ... business," a police source said. "They came in and ordered everybody to get down on the ground."

One of the victims chased after the pair as they ran out of the club and jumped into a getaway car, police sources said.

Cops responding to the robbery could not track down the gunmen. But they arrested the club manager, Edgar Concepcion, 29. Concepcion was charged with promoting gambling and possessing book-making supplies. He was waiting to be arraigned last night.

On The National CardRoom's Web site, Concepcion wasn't shy about soliciting business. "I am looking for individuals who not only love the game of poker but represent it with diginity [sic] and respect," he wrote.

While poker players can legally wager at clubs, the outfits cannot legally take a cut of the bets, authorities said. Many poker dens attempt to get around the law by charging players about $10 an hour to play, sources said.

The National CardRoom was an open secret in the posh neighborhood.

Yankee superstar Alex Rodriguez got into trouble with Major League Baseball for gambling at the high-stakes poker den when it opened about three years ago under the name "Ace Point Backgammon Club and Chess Studio."

"He came in wearing sneakers," said Troy Stallings, a security guard. "Someone had to tell me who he was. I patted him down."

In 2005, cops raided the club, just as Iler, who played Tony Soprano's son A.J. on the hit HBO series, strolled inside, sources said.

The club reopened about six months ago on the third floor under its new name, sources said. The building is owned by the real estate company once controlled by the late mogul Abe Hirschfeld, according to business records.

NBA players Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Troy Murphy also have been spotted in the club, which features flat-screen TVs and felt-covered tables, patrons said.

Neighbors said the club's customers routinely gambled into the early morning.

"When we come in during the morning you can hear them moving chairs," said Ben Joseph, 36, a teacher at The Shouva Israel Yeshiva, which rents the building's first and second floor. "You'll hear someone go, 'Wow!' when they win."

Last night, the club's Web site was still advertising a tournament scheduled for 4 p.m. tomorrow. But cops said they hoped Concepcion's arrest - and the fear it sent through the poker-playing community - would ruin business.

"Hopefully this will be the last hurrah," a police source said.

[dckhead]

New York Poker Experience

[clevfan]

How A.J. went bust before big club bust


BY KATHLEEN LUCADAMO
NY DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Posted Sunday, June 17th 2007


Exclusive photo: Robert Iler's all-in - and soon went bust at National CardRoom on E. 61st St. last week.

"Sopranos" star Robert Iler was no stranger to the illegal Manhattan poker den that was robbed last week by brazen gunmen, this exclusive Daily News photo reveals.

Sporting a knit cap, Iler bought in for $1,000 worth of chips just nights before the robbery, a witness told The News.

Iler lost the last of his chips moments after this photo was snapped, when he went all-in with a king and queen of spades while playing Texas Hold 'Em at the National CardRoom on E. 61st St., the witness said.

He paired the king, but was beat out by a rival with two pairs, a witness said.

The popular upper East Side parlor lost big on Friday when two bandits burst through the door about 12:30 a.m. and robbed the "bank" and several patrons, police and witnesses said.

Cops responding to the robbery couldn't find the gunmen, but they arrested club manager Edgar Concepcion, 29, and charged him with promoting gambling and possessing bookmaking supplies.

Poker players can legally wager at clubs, but the outfits can't take a cut of the bets, according to authorities. Many clubs get around this by charging players about $10 an hour to play. When cops raided the gambling pad in 2005, which then operated under another name, Iler, who played Tony Soprano's troubled son A.J. on the HBO series, had just strolled inside, sources said. The club reopened as the National CardRoom about six months ago, sources said.

Iler wasn't the only big-name player who frequented the posh hideaway, which featured flat-screen TVs and felt-covered tables. Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez and several NBA players also have been spotted at National CardRoom, sources said.

[clevfan]

Vilma playing risky hand

LB frequents Big Apple poker parlors

BY RICH CIMINI
NY DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Posted Sunday, June 17th 2007

Echoing the hard-line stance of new NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Eric Mangini has lectured the Jets on the importance of staying on the right side of the law. The coach is trying to build a team of wholesome players, and one player near the top of his list is Jonathan Vilma.

Except for one slip of the tongue - he compared illegal dogfighting to horse racing last week in a radio interview - Vilma has forged a solid reputation on and off the field. The talented linebacker is the latest to shoot a soup commercial with his mother, and what could be more anti-Pacman than that?

"We have a bunch of kids looking up to us," Vilma says. "I remember when I was a kid, looking up to Jerry Rice."

To maintain his image, Vilma says he tries to stay away from potentially troublesome situations. One of his favorite retreats? Poker in Manhattan.

Every week or so, Vilma ventures into the city to play cards in a poker den, a members-only club that attracts celebrities and serious gamblers looking to avoid crowded casinos. More than a year ago, Alex Rodriguez made headlines for frequenting these establishments, where it is legal to play poker but against the law for the house to profit.

Playing poker legally isn't a violation of league policy, according to NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. But some might question Vilma's association with the clubs, considering the perception it might create because of the raids and robberies the clubs occasionally face, although he says he doesn't see any downside. He views it as a winning situation - even when he loses.

"They told us to stay out of trouble and that's the best way to stay out of trouble," he says. "I'm inside, I can't get into trouble, I can't get hurt, I'm just playing cards."

Unlike A-Rod, who initially refused to comment on his involvement, Vilma openly discussed his jaunts to poker dens. He says he isn't worried that it will raise questions.

"I would hope not," he says. "Anybody who likes to play poker, if you want to find a good poker game, you're going to go play. It's not anything where I'm betting the house, like $100,000. You go, kick back, have fun, talk to some of the fans, enjoy it. I like playing poker. It's like playing basketball, but you can't do that (because of potential injuries)."

Vilma says he plays when he's bored, heading into Manhattan "maybe once a week, once every two weeks." To him, it's akin to shooting baskets or playing video games at the ESPN Zone.

The Jets weren't particularly expansive when asked to comment on Vilma's poker playing, releasing a statement that said, "We were unaware of this situation. The New York Jets support the league's stance on gambling."

Vilma said the team has addressed the matter with him, but declined to reveal what was said.

Many of the city's poker dens are sleek and inviting, although they're vulnerable to holdups because of the amount of cash on the premises. Thursday night a slick high-end parlor on E. 61st called National CardRoom was knocked off to the tune of $50,000. Making it even more enticing is the fact would-be robbers know the owners of these halls aren't going to call the police because their poker dens are illegal.

And there are the occasional raids - National was busted as recently as 2005 - which would be embarrassing for a professional athlete.

"There's never been an incident when I've been there," says Vilma, who, according to poker sources, is a terrific card player.

To the Jets, Vilma is an ace in the middle of their defensive deck. He's the brains of the outfit, a film-room fanatic known for spending hours in front of the DVR. But for all his smarts, his reputation took a hit last season with a sub-par performance.

Undersized for Mangini's 3-4 defense, Vilma made few impact plays, finishing with no sacks, no forced fumbles and one interception. He produced only 68 solo tackles, down from 143.

After an offseason of rampant trade speculation, none of it confirmed, the former AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year (2004) is eager to return to his old form. If he has another mediocre year, the Jets could put him on the trading block for real. This could be a crossroads season for the former first-round pick, but he says he's ready to tackle the pressure.

"It's good to know what people expect of me and how people perceive me," he says. "They expect the big plays and they expect the big hits and 200 tackles. Whether it be in a 4-3 or 3-4, those expectations aren't going to change for me. For me, it's good to hear that, and it's a little bit of a motivating factor."

Before the draft, Vilma was rumored to be on his way to the Redskins in exchange for running back Clinton Portis, a close friend and former college teammate at Miami. They shared a good laugh over the trade talk. Vilma says he never believed the rumors and never felt compelled to ask management if he was being shopped.

"Jon works the same way regardless of what system he's in, where he is, what happened in the past or what's going to happen in the future," says Mangini, who cancelled yesterday's practice to take the team on a field trip to an undisclosed location with soldiers from Fort Bragg (N.C.) who are guests of the team. "He's a very consistent guy and he's got a lot of pride in what he does at work and his craft, and you see that."

Vilma is determined to succeed in the 3-4 scheme. And that is no poker bluff.