One of the four suspects who robbed the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Berlin tournament 10 days ago has surrendered to police, according to the Associated Press. He also named his three accomplices, who remain at large.
The case was recently featured on the German equivalent of “America’s Most Wanted” and the rare casino robbery has garnered headlines around the world. After several days of coming up empty-handed, German police received a breakthrough on Wednesday, as the 21 year-old surrendered to police and promptly dished out the names of the other three robbers. The Associated Press broke down those still on the loose: “Ahmad el-Awayti, 20, of undetermined nationality; Jihad Chetwie, a 19-year-old German; and Mustafa Ucarkus, a 20-year-old Turkish citizen.”
On Saturday, March 6th around 2:15pm local time, four armed gunmen stormed the EPT Berlin registration area at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. The robbers allegedly made off with €242,000, although tallies have varied widely. In addition to one of the four suspects now being held in police custody, the getaway car – a posh Mercedes – has been seized. Frank Heller, a German prosecutor, told the Associated Press that the loot was divided equally among the four bandits following their daring casino heist.
Reports around the Web circled as to whether an “inside job” was to blame for the disruptive armed robbery. The suspects did not enter the tournament area during the incident, but rather attacked a hotel intern and several unarmed guards at the registration desk. The Associated Press article notes that Heller told authorities that the gunmen “took a look at where the money is, how the money is secured, are there guards, and are the guards armed… When he saw that the guards didn’t have guns, they decided that they had a chance.” PokerStars blamed Spielbank Berlin, the tournament’s organizers, for the decision to employ unarmed guards. Over the weekend, a person of interest held in connection with the case was released due to a lack of evidence.
When the smoke cleared in the EPT Berlin Main Event, American Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee banked a €1 million top prize. MacPhee outlasted Ilari Tahkokallio heads-up and the runner-up earned a €600,000 consolation prize. The tournament was paused for several hours following the robbery while floor staff cleaned up from the melee. EPTLive, which was focused on the feature table at the time, was suspended for the remainder of the day.
Following his win, MacPhee appeared on CBS’ “Early Show” and CNN reliving the terror of the real-life “Oceans Eleven.” Mainstream news outlets like Time Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Sydney Morning Herald, and Chicago Tribune ran articles about the heist, which also took center stage in a segment of ESPN’s sports news show “Around the Horn.” Bluff Magazine, which is among the many poker news outlets that have reported on the tournament, reported that the suspect arrested was of Turkish origin. The Associated Press article noted that he is a German citizen.
It’s been a rough month of March for PokerStars live tours. Prior to the brazen heist in Berlin, the world’s largest online poker site was forced to cancel the Chile stop on its Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) after a massive earthquake struck the South American nation. The LAPT Vina del Mar was scrubbed for 2010; the tournament was scheduled to play out this weekend and the earthquake struck 175 miles from Vina del Mar. LAPT staff will head to Argentina for the Grand Final, although a date for the event has not been announced.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest on the EPT Berlin robbery.
