I was in Bally's Casino in Atlantic City back in January, 2009. I decided to sit in a 1/2 N/L/H game. The players at the table were mostly older men, they were playing family pots and I was playing fairly tight, I mean after all this is my bread and butter and I play to win. Anyway, I was on the button short stacked with Ten-Jack suited, I had limped in pre-flop as did everyone else, the flop comes 7h2s8d, the under the gun puts out a bet of $20.00 the gentlemen on his left calls and everyone else folds up to me, I have a inside straight draw I raise it up to $60.00 the under the gun pushes all-in and the other gentlemen folds, now being short stacked and just about pot committed I call, he turns over pocket eights showing a set, the turn comes 2d and the river 9c giving me a straight. The gentlemen takes his bad beat and doesn't say a word, another gentlemen across from me calls me a river rat, but I don't say a word to him. I couple of hands go by and I pick up JdAd in middle posistion and just limp in, the flop comes 9d3dkc giving me a back-door flush everyone checks as do I, the turn comes 5d giving me the ace high flush, again everyone checks as do I, the river comes 7s, again everyone checks in front of me so I put out a bet of $50.00 figuring I'll just take what's in the pot, at that point the man that called me a river rat yells, I want to see what you have and calls, everyone else folds, I turn over my ace high flush, the gentlemen to the right of me says wow he got the nuts, at that point the man that called me a river rat jumps up, his chair fly's back and he punches the table in rage and starts yelling at me, so now I'm thinking to myself things might get out of control with him if I continue playing. At that point I didn't want any problems so I got up and left the casino thinking about May, 29th 2008.

What happened on May, 29th 2008 is disturbing to poker players like myself. Perez, a self-employed long-distance truck driver, had a disagreement with Prince inside the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City over a seat at a poker table, When Perez left the poker room at about 2:45 p.m., Prince followed him into the valet parking area off Virginia Avenue, Perez told Superior Court Judge Bernard E. DeLury in Mays Landing that Prince hit him several times in the face with a cane and that in defense, he pulled out a pocketknife and stabbed Prince several times, the prosecutor said. An autopsy concluded Prince died from a wound to the left cheek that severed his carotid artery and caused him to bleed to death, Housel said. Prince also had stab wounds to the mid-back, left lower abdomen and to the left upper abdomen, the prosecutor said. Prince was pronounced dead at the AtlaniCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City.

Is this what poker players like myself have to worry about every time we enter a casino?

By Frank Saulle
Professional Poker Player