did anyone see this in the NY Post yesterday?

STAR'S A POKER STUD
By DAN MANGAN and GEORGE KING

Here's Yankee superstar Alex Rodriguez with a different kind of diamond — playing poker at an illegal Manhattan card room with pro player Phil Hellmuth.

A-Rod and poker legend Hellmuth stopped by the poker club near Union Square at around midnight Sept. 21, after the Bombers edged the Baltimore Orioles, 2-1, at the Stadium to take first place in the American League East Division, a source at the card room told The Post. Although it is illegal to operate a card club that charges admission or takes a cut of the pots, it's not against the law to wager in such an establishment.

The club source said both A-Rod and Hellmuth "signed autographs and they were nice to the other players."

Their arrival generated plenty of excitement — "people were calling their friends to come down and see them."


Asked about the night, A-Rod said, "I am not going to answer any questions about my personal life."

But he later called back to say, "Where my wife and I dine and entertain is a private matter, but I will tell you we were home and in bed by 1:30 a.m." Both Rodriguez and Hellmuth bought several thousand dollars worth of chips, and ended up in a private, high-rollers room playing no-limit Texas hold 'em.

In May, cops raided two well-known underground poker clubs, The PlayStation in Union Square and the New York Players Club on the Upper West Side, seizing $100,000 in cash, and charging 39 employees with illegal gambling.

Those and other illegal card clubs have opened and flourished in unassuming office suites and commercial spaces as poker's popularity has exploded.


Despite the fact that Rodriguez, whose salary tops $21 million annually, was not breaking the law by playing in the club, Major League Baseball has taken a dim view of players consorting with gamblers or bookies.

just another reason to hate ARod..........and Hellmuth

It actually makes me hate them less.

makes me hate arod less, since that's a lot of cash to be donating around. makes me respect hellmuth, having the smarts to court around such a big fish - kind of like how the game big players will drop everything to play with Larry Flynt. playing with bazillionaire fishes = +ev

BL would be ashamed of you

Billy Laverton?

doublecheck your avatar dawg

12/13/05

I wonder how long it took for ARod to clean out Phil

A-Rod is the best baseball player in the world, and Hellmuth could be the best poker player in the world. Makes sense that I like both of 'em. Good post OP, very interesting that A-Rod gambles big. I wonder if he is any good.

I know they are called "The Bronx Bombers" but why would you include that in the article when they won 2-1.

Lol...it's all coming together now.

in the original article, it mentioned they both went broke that night.

Awwwwwwwwwwwww Yeeeeeaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh

There are so many things about this post that are wrong.

A-Rod is the best baseball player in the world, and Hellmuth could be the best Hold 'Em Tournament player in the world. Makes sense that I like both of 'em. Good post OP, very interesting that A-Rod plays high stakes poker.

FYP

Hellmuth is NOT the best "poker player"

Poker is not gambling.

It's gonna take alot more than that to make A Rod go broke.

you think?

Someone should tell the NY Post that poker isn't gambling.

Someone should remind you that poker is gambling.

"Gambling" means risking any money, credit,
deposit or other thing of value for gain contingent in whole or in part upon lot, chance, the operation of a gambling device or the happening or outcome of an event, including a sporting event, the operation of casino gambling including, but not limited to, blackjack, craps, roulette, poker...


You are confusing "game of skill", which poker is acknowledged to be, with it not being gambling, which it certainly is in both the legal sense and the commonly used sense.

Arod probably got mashed in the poker room. Actually, I take that back. As long as the casino isnt named “the playoffs“ Im sure he performed extremely well.

You know that the club we are talking about got shut down not long after the Post did this article, right? In fact, at least three or four NYC poker clubs got raided in October alone; the raids usually happen no more than once or twice a month.

Associated Press


NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez was cautioned by the New York Yankees that playing poker in illegal clubs could be dangerous and harmful to his image, according to a newspaper report.

Early last month, the Daily News reported the star slugger had attended games at an underground club with professional card player Phil Hellmuth.

When contacted by ESPN.com on Wednesday, a Yankees official said the club has never brought up the topic of attending poker games with Rodriguez. Scott Boras, the third baseman's agent, also denied that the Yankees had warned his client.

"The Yankees have never addressed or spoken with me in regard to any off-field activities regarding Alex Rodriguez. And the Yankees have never spoken to Alex regarding any of his off-field activities," Boras was quoted as saying in a story published Wednesday.

Playing at such clubs is not illegal, though it can be against the law to operate them, the Daily News reported.

Rodriguez was not punished or ordered to stay out of the clubs, but commissioner Bud Selig was monitoring the situation and could intervene if necessary, the newspaper said, citing sources it did not identify.

MLB spokesman Rich Levin declined comment to the Daily News yesterday.

i don't get it. they charged employees, and they charged them with illegal gambling?
how are employees gambling? why were the employees charged? why were they charged with gambling? etc.

from NY Post:

ALEX Rodriguez isn't worried that his penchant for poker will hurt his image. Spotted yesterday on Madison Avenue with a friend, both in business suits, the Yankee slugger was asked by photographer Larry Schwartzwald about being caught frequenting the illegal games. "What the hell do I care? All I have to do is hit a baseball," said A-Rod. "It's not illegal for me to go there. It's illegal for them to operate it." Rodriguez and his pal then headed east to Trump Park Avenue, where he has an apartment.

He hit the Potowatomi $3-5 NL game in Milwaukee the last time the Yankees were in town, but didn't take any major swings nor have any amazing plays worth noting here. Was very polite to the staff and patrons.

I remember him playing in the pot limit game too. Exciting to talk about the next few days around there.