Friday July 5,2013 : WAS BURGLAR PLAYING IN EVENT 1 AT THE WORLD SERIES OF POKER?
Investigators think Troy Wilcoxon obtained his buy-in from an unconventional source!
Piquing the interest of 2013 World Series of Poker observers this year was a report in the publication The Spokesman-Review that a player in event 1 of the Las Vegas tournament poker festival may have sourced his buy-in from an unconventional source – a $25,000 heist at the Lancer Lanes Casino in Clarkston, Washington.
The report names 27-year-old Troy Wilcoxon from Washington State, who finished 11th for $5,010 in an entry field of almost 900 players in event 1 of this years' WSOP – the $500 buy-in Casino Employees competition.
Wilcoxon and another defendant named James Nollette have been arrested and now face charges of burglary, theft and money laundering before the Asotin County Superior Court in Washington.
They stand accused of stealing over $25,000 in the Lancer Lanes Casino heist, which took place in the early hours of the morning on May 23. Wilkinson was an employee of the casino.
After the heist the duo drove south in a rented car to Las Vegas where they spent several days – possibly financed by their ill-gotten gains.
Investigators from the Clarkston Police Department and the Spokane office of the Washington state Gambling Commission are handling the case, and this week Detective Richard Muszynski said there was "a good chance" that Wilcoxon had financed his event 1 participation and his Las Vegas stay through the proceeds of crime.
Wilcoxon also has creditors to face; he reportedly has debts totalling about $15,000, investigators said.
In other news from Las Vegas and the World Series, poker legend Doyle Brunson failed to make the final table in the $50,000 buy-in Poker Players Championship, busting out at 53rd and failing to get anywhere near the main prize of $1,774,089.
With typical self-deprecating humour, Brunson tweeted: “Haven’t won a pot. I don’t need a doctor, I need an undertaker”.
By the end of Day 4 of the Championship event this week only eight players remained, led by Don Nguyen with 5,068,000 in chips, nearly twice as much as his closest rival.