Celeb poker den robbed, owner is busted (A-Rod & AJ from Sopranos)

[StarnetGypsy]

(I guess they're practicing for WSOP? and the owner shouldn't have called the cops it seems? lol)

Saturday, June 16th 2007, 2:10 PM

The card club has hosted many stars from actors to athletes.



Yankee super star Alex Rodriguez, above, and Robert Iler of 'The Sopranos', below, were some of the customers that frequented the poker den.

An illegal Manhattan poker den - once frequented by Alex Rodriguez, "Sopranos" star Robert Iler and several NBA players - was robbed by gun-toting 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.

[stevo]

LOL, Man, I had expected some posh club with the names they were throwing around who were players.

The fukin chairs dont even match.

[StarnetGypsy]

Originally Posted by stevo

LOL ... The fukin chairs dont even match.

probably for that boney-ass AJ, brought his own overstuffed chair?

good eye btw, Stevo

[Total Square]

a friend of mine was there the night before the robbery, and AJ was in the house.

bought in for a dime

[dckhead]

hilario-

NATIONAL cardroom on 61st St. ROBBED BY GUNMEN

[Minnow]

That's like a $2.00 buy-in for me. :) Could be doing a lot worse stuff!

[Uncle B]

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."

I betcha that was the highlight of the night...for A-Rod..

[Minnow]

What a stupid quote.. lol - What should he have been wearing, poker cleats?

[StarnetGypsy]

Originally Posted by Minnow

What a stupid quote.. lol - What should he have been wearing, poker cleats?

LMFAO!!

"click-clack"

[Uncle B]

Originally Posted by Minnow

What a stupid quote.. lol - What should he have been wearing, poker cleats?

good point...just because it's ARod, he's supposed to be wearing special shoes?


and, it kinda sounds like he patted him down, AFTER he learned it was A-Rod...