Police raided an illegal
poker game in a private house on Pratamnak Road in South Pattaya.
Boonlua Chatree
Pattaya police raided a high-stakes poker game, arresting seven
Americans and Europeans and seizing the equivalent of about 177,000
baht.
Two Cambodian dealers were also apprehended in the raid on the private
home on Pratamnak Road around 1 a.m. July 28. Taken into custody were
homeowner and alleged game-runner Matthew Gregory Mortensen, 34, of the
United States; fellow Americans Brian Thomas Presson, 45; and Mark
Needleman, 67; Briton Craig Daniel Jones, 25; Frank Jean P. De Busscher,
73, of Belgium; Martin Baumgartner Pichelsberger, 40, of Austria; and
Monica Lee Zbrodoff Lee, 47, of Canada. Cambodians Theara Meas, 24, and
“Mala” were also apprehended.
Police confiscated 107,000 baht, $1,771 and 380
euros; along with 30 decks of cards, poker chips, notebook computer, and
account records. The game, police said, apparently had been operating
regularly for some time.
