In breaking news from the Bellagio in Las Vegas, original World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine member Scott Montgomery was robbed in the casino’s bathroom. He recounted his story via Twitter on Monday morning around 9:00am local time.
At the Bellagio for preliminary events during the annual Festa al Lago, Montgomery relayed via Twitter, “Got mugged today at Bellagio. Black guy pulled a knife on me in the restroom. I gave him the $2k in my wallet and he left.” Montgomery added, “I called security, but they took like 15 mins so they didn’t catch him. They are useless twits. Didn’t even ask me to look at camera footage.”
Out $2,000, Montgomery commented via his Twitter account that he was less-than-impressed with the player precautions at the Las Vegas Strip casino: “Security pretty much just said oh well, life sucks, have a nice day. I’m pretty annoyed.” On TwoPlusTwo, one poster questioned, “Getting robbed during a tournament break seems odd though. So he wasn’t marked before he went in? Why would someone randomly rob a full grown man in a casino when there are so many other easier marks?”
Fellow November Nine member Craig Marquis was among those who weighed in on the robbery on TwoPlusTwo. Marquis posted, “Sucks dude, but it’s only $2k and you didn’t get shivved. I’d strike one down in the W column.” Marquis and Montgomery made the Main Event final table together two years ago.
Another poster opined that the Bellagio should take some responsibility for the incident: “It seems like Bellagio should reimburse him for the $2k or some amount considering that it took security a full 15 minutes to even show up at the bathroom area after being summoned. I’ve never been robbed, but I had always just kind of assumed that a luxurious casino would protect its guests and take responsibility for losses.”
Montgomery’s mugging brought back memories of the attempted robbery of former WSOP Main Event champion Greg Raymer by two men at the Bellagio in 2004. Raymer “fought off the duo” outside of his hotel room, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal newspaper. They were later apprehended.
Montgomery finished fifth in the 2008 Main Event for $3.1 million. He won a bracelet this year in a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament for another $481,000, defeating a final table that included 2010 WSOP November Nine member John Dolan. All told, the Canadian has over $3.6 million in lifetime WSOP earnings to his name, making him a potential target for crime. He has also been rumored to be romantically involved with Full Tilt Poker pro Annette Obrestad.
Meanwhile, a variety of poker pros were planning to descend on the Bellagio for the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Festa al Lago Main Event, which begins on Friday. Among them was UB.com poker pro Joe Sebok, who inquired via Twitter, “I’m lazy. anyone know if bellagio has 1 or 2 day 1’s? anyone? anyone? bueller? bueller?”
The $10,300 WPT Festa al Lago begins on Friday and will crown a champion five days later. Only one starting day will be held and players can pony up their buy-in through the end of Level 8. The final table of the 2010 Festa al Lago will be part of Season 9 of the WPT, which airs on Fox Sports Net.
Last year, Tommy Vedes trumped a 275-player field in the Festa al Lago Main Event and banked $1.2 million. His competition at the talented final table included Jason “StatusUp” Lavallee (second place for $795,150), Craig Crivello (third place for $477,090), Freddy Deeb (fourth place for $278,300), Jason Burt (fifth place for $208,725), and Shawn Cunix (sixth place for $168,970).
