17 Tech students guilty in poker ring

17 Tech students guilty in poker ring A raid netted more than $2,000 in cash and poker-playing equipment from an apartment officers said was a regular poker den. By Kevin Miller and Joe Eaton For New River Current Another wave of Virginia Tech students was convicted and fined Thursday for involvement in an illegal poker ring that university officials hope was an isolated incident rather than a sign that the college gambling explosion has come to Blacksburg. Montgomery County General District Judge Gino Williams sentenced a dozen Tech students to probation and ordered them to complete 50 hours' community service for being caught playing in an illegal poker operation. Five additional Advertisement students who worked the Texas Hold-'Em poker games were fined $400. All 17 of the students pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charges. On Wednesday, four card dealers and the roommate of the alleged poker game organizer received fines ranging from $400 to $1,000 for their involvement. The case of the man charged as the ringleader, 19-year-old Edwin Park, is headed to a grand jury. An undercover police officer infiltrated a game in Park's Terrace View apartment March 24. A subsequent police raid netted more than $2,000 in cash and poker-playing equipment from the apartment, which officers said had become a regular poker den with paid employees and Park at the helm. While playing poker for money in private is not necessarily illegal in Virginia, anyone who runs a regular poker "operation" and collects a share of the pot is violating state law. Lt. Joe Davis with Blacksburg police said the department was merely acting on a tip and that the sting was not part of a larger crackdown on illegal gambling in Blacksburg. "We take all crimes seriously," Davis said. "If we get a complaint, we are going to work it." The popularity of poker - and particularly the seven-card version known as Texas Hold-'Em - has increased nationwide in recent years thanks in part to televised big-money tournaments and the availability of online poker match-ups. But the game has exploded on some college campuses. Gambler's Anonymous in Virginia has reported a significant increase in college-age players seeking assistance. But Edward Spencer, Tech's associate vice president for student affairs, said the problem of illegal gambling does not seem to be as prevalent at Tech as it is elsewhere. "We are not hearing much of that here," Spencer said. "We are hearing that from colleagues around the country." Similarly, Virginia Tech Police Chief Debra Duncan said her officers have not made any big on-campus busts for illegal gambling. "If it's going on, we'd probably hear about it because I have officers assigned to the dorms," Duncan said. "It can't be very large-scale, is what I'm saying." Clyde Cristman, director of the Virginia Department of Charitable Gaming, said poker fever has spread to charities who view it as a large potential moneymaker. The problem, Cristman said, is that some charities and organizations do not follow the letter of the law. Virginia code allows for-money poker games in private residences as long as no one is running the show in exchange for a share of the game pot. Charities and businesses, including bars and restaurants, can also hold poker tournaments as long as there is no entry fee or prize. For instance, a charity can charge admission to the game and remain on legal grounds if no prize is awarded to the winner. The situation got so bad, Cristman said, that the department had to send out a memo to charities explaining the rules. "After we sent that out to the folks, the number of complaints dropped off dramatically," he said. During Thursday's court hearings, an attorney for two of the students argued that the gambling culture is a part of college life and that students have "a different thinking mentality than everybody else." The attorney, Stephen Haga, asked the judge for a lesser punishment of probation and community service for his clients, Jung Hoon Chang and In Ho Choi. Both men were card dealers. "These Asian young men, they are hardworking," he said. "They tend to keep the laws. I don't think you will find a problem with them ever again." The students convicted in the Blacksburg ring could also face disciplinary action from Virginia Tech's Office of Judicial Affairs. Spencer said the university reserves the right to take action in response to any incidents that "are of concern to the university." "Gambling is not necessarily one that we would take action on, but it depends on the case," Spencer said. "Is this a matter the university should be concerned with, or not? I would think that someone running an operation is probably of more concern to the university than someone who was there [playing] that night." The following students were given a year's probation and 50 hours' community service for participating in an illegal gambling operation: Randy Tran Chu, Jea Hyon Kim, Heather Lee, Quang Minh Nguyen, Joseph James Osborne, Brian Scott Powell, Matthew W. Roberts, Andrew John Smith, Brent Richard Sullivan, Kyle Stephen Urda, Johathan Hayes Wills and Kevin Y. Woo. The following students were fined $400 for working the games: Jung Hoon Chang, In Ho Choi, Charles M. Kim, Young Min Kim and Hieu T. Pham.