Forty-Two Elderly Women Arrested for Playing Illegal Poker in Cyrpus
November 27, 2009 by Igor
Filed under All Casino news
It might have been a very innocent game of gin rummy and a round of poker for these forty-two elderly ladies, but it became a big nightmare for the ladies when police raided the house they were playing in and stated that they were under arrest for having participated in illegal poker.
Sunday, 6 PM, Ayios Ioannis, Limassol
Neighbors called up the police station and complained that they were becoming bothered by the noises and activities coming from one house in their street. When the police got to the private home, they were astounded to find several felt tables, and playing at the poker tables were 42 elderly ladies, whose ages ranged between 75 and 95.
Naturally, the ladies were taken to jail and booked for having played illegal poker, since Cyprus has passed a law that states that playing cards for money is prohibited in Cyprus. After they were booked, the ladies were released. They will then meet again at a later date in court, and if found guilty, they could go to jail. But given their ages, they would most probably have to pay a small fine instead.
The Arguments
Most of the ladies complained that it was just a very innocent game, that the bets they were playing were very small. One lady even stated that if police were to go house to house and raid all private homes where people are playing gin rummy or an innocent game of poker, then there would be a lot of the elderly population going to jail because, she says, there is not much to do and playing cards has always been a hobby of the elderly. Furthermore, these games are only small stakes games with pots that do not go higher than $5, and these are being played in private homes as well as retirement homes, not gambling houses.
One lady even commented, too, that she and a group of friends always meet for afternoon teas, and playing gin rummy when they get together has became a hobby for them. They play their low-stakes cash games for fun, never for big money gambles. In fact, she says that the pot money is rarely more than €5.
With this incident, the police will definitely have a hard time if they want to totally eradicate poker games and gin rummy games. If they want to stop people from playing these games, then they have to raid private residences and retirement homes and book the elderly in jail for having played illegal gambling.