Armed men heist EPT jackpot

03/07/2010

The 400 entrants and numerous railbirds attending the PokerStars European Poker Tour at the Grand Hyatt Berlin over the weekend copped a little more excitment than they had bargained for as six armed robbers stormed the place and made off with an amount of around Euro 1 million.

The raid, which took place 2:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, had scared spectators diving for cover before the crooks lifted the cash and took off across the Marlene-Dietrich-Platz in front of the hotel, blending into the crowd at the nearby Potsdamer Platz Arcades.

PokerStars released the following statement.

"An armed robbery by 5-6 men took place today at EPT Berlin.

" Nobody was seriously injured. We hope to restart all events at 4 p.m. local time.

" A police investigation is underway. If you have video footage or photographs that could help the police, please contact the EPT organizers as soon as possible."

Some of the unexpected action was captured on EPT live broadcast television, which revealed the pandmonium that broke out.

Apparently the field of 400 had been winnowed down to 22 players when the raid took place. Play was eventually resumed that evening, and a final table was decided that comprised:

Marko Neumann (Germany) - 2,185,000
Marc Inizan (France) - 3,655,000
Kevin MacPhee (United States) - 6,070,000 - chip leader
Artur Wasek (Poland) -3,530,000
Marcel Koller (Switzerland) - 3,590,000
Nico Behling (Germany) - 960,000
Ketul Nathwani (United Kingdom) - 4,685,000
Ilari Tahkokallio (Finland) - 3,940,000