European Poker Tournament Robbed Live on Air
European Poker Tour
Viewers who tuned into the European poker tournament television coverage got more than they bargained for on Saturday, when they witnessed armed robbers raiding the poker tourney. Six men who were reportedly armed with guns and a machete entered the Grand Hyatt hotel in Berlin, Germany, stealing an estimated €200,000 from the European Poker Tour prize fund. It’s believed that the gang entered the hotel at around 2pm and proceeded to steal part of the tournament’s €1 million jackpot.
Fortunately, no one sustained serious injuries during the incident, although the Belfast Telegraph has reported that an “unnamed security guard” was attacked with a machete after he attempted to confront one of the heist members. The European poker tournament attracted over 500 poker players this year and was in its final stages on Saturday.
While both players and spectators were shook up by the incident, the tournament resumed just four hours after the heist, with the addition of armed police guards. Guest initially believed that the raid was actually a “terrorist massacre in the making”, with one witness suggesting to The Scotsman that “One of the men screamed: 'Don't move – we have bombs’.” There has been some confusion about how much the gang actually stole, with local news reports suggesting they managed to grab just over €200,000. Police spokesperson Guido Busch confirmed that the gang had made away with a “low six-digit figure”.
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