Poker participant and former PokerNews editor Mo Nuwwarah says he was one among two victims of a automotive break-in outdoors an Italian restaurant in Las Vegas. And it is a part of a string of comparable incidents within the neighboring Chinatown district.
The Nebraska native instructed PokerNews he’d simply arrived on the town and his buddy and fellow Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) champion, Josh Reichard, picked him up on the airport round 1:45 p.m. on the Fourth of July. Shortly after, the 2 headed to Roma Deli, a well-liked native restaurant owned by Poker Corridor of Famer Todd Brunson, on Spring Mountain.
Throughout lunch at Roma, the poker execs would have their meal interrupted by some unlucky information.
What Allegedly Occurred
Nuwwarah defined that, about an hour after arriving on the restaurant, he was instructed by an worker that somebody had damaged into Reichard’s automotive. The poker participant was particularly involved to be told of such as a result of he knew his bag that he’d left within the automotive had a considerable amount of money inside.
Each gamers then instantly ran outdoors to the close by lot the place they had been parked in hopes they had been simply being pranked. However they’d rapidly uncover a bashed-in window, after which upon investigating, they realized their possessions had been swiped.
That, as Nuwwarah stated, included a number of luggage, one among which had a five-figure quantity in money inside. Nuwwarah stated he wasn’t sure of the precise quantity, however he was on his approach to compete within the World Sequence of Poker (WSOP) Most important Occasion, which prices $10,000 to enter. Reichard’s bag was additionally stolen, however there was no money inside, solely private gadgets.
“Only a sick feeling to stroll on the market to a smashed automotive and know not solely your money however your private results are probably gone for good,” Nuwwarah stated. “Sadly if this was a focused assault because it appears I’ve to advise folks in opposition to parking their vehicles there or take something worthwhile inside with them in any case.”
“And if individuals are out on the prowl looking for unsuspecting poker gamers, then that goes for any institution. Hopefully, these scumbags can by no means steal one other pink cent, and in the event that they do, they get caught sooner or later.”
Nuwwarah stated he parked within the lot hooked up to Roma Deli. The lot has surveillance cameras, however it’s unclear if police have but accessed the video. Roma shares a car parking zone with a few different companies.
No police report was instantly filed, as Nuwwarah defined, as a result of police claimed they may not file against the law report till Reichard was out there because the proprietor of the automotive, and that did not happen till Friday morning.
Reichard, who just lately received the World Poker Tour (WPT) Seminole Laborious Rock Poker Showdown for $839,300, has over $4.1 million in lifetime stay event cashes, in line with The Hendon Mob. Nuwwarah, a Midwesterner like Reichard, has $600,000 in profession earnings.
Nuwwarah was in a position to shake off the unlucky incident on Day 1c of the 2024 WSOP Most important Occasion by bagging 273,000 chips, placing him close to the highest of the leaderboard.
Rising Downside in Las Vegas?
Earlier this yr, KTNV Las Vegas, the native ABC community, investigated a rising downside of automotive break-ins within the close by Chinatown district. Knowledge reveals that there have been 28 break-ins inside a two-week interval again in January, and that solely contains reported break-ins, not those who weren’t reported to police.
“I am shocked that it’s that low. When you simply drive round any random car parking zone in Chinatown, you’ll see tempered glass,” Colin Fukunaga, proprietor of Fukuburger situated in Chinatown instructed KTNV in January.
In response to all of the automotive break-ins, again in February, the Las Vegas Metro Police Division (LVMPD) launched a brand new anti-crime group dedicated to stopping automotive break-ins within the Chinatown district.
