EPT Berlin Armed Robbery
This news absolutely shocked me when I heard it, so I will just post the facts as released by various sources:
Pokerstars Press Release:
“Yesterday at approximately 2.15pm, an armed robbery took place at the European Poker Tour (EPT) event in Berlin. Nobody was seriously injured. Four armed men were involved in the robbery which targeted the tournament registration desk outside the tournament area.
No shots were fired and the suspects quickly fled after a security guard intervened. The police investigation so far has shown that the suspects had a handgun and a machete. Contrary to tabloid reports, no Kalashnikov assault rifles or hand grenades were used. The suspects did not enter the tournament area and the money taken was substantially less than what has been reported.
The tournament resumed after a few hours and a police investigation is now under way. The tournament is taking place on the first floor of the Grand Hyatt Hotel at Marlene-Dietrich-Platz and is being held by SPIELBANK Berlin Casino.
The police are working closely with the EPT and SPIELBANK Berlin. Police are asking anyone who has information, video footage or photographs that might aid the investigation to contact them.”
Here is video of the robbery as it happened:
Their is an extended video which features the heroic security guard which can be seen here:
Pictures of the fleeing robbers can be seen here.
Collection of several photos of the robbery can be seen on this German site.
Here is an interview with the heroic security guard (as translated by 2+2 member xor) seen in the videos above with a picture of him holding down one of the robbers:
Reporter: Where were you when the robbery began?
Guard: I was standing in the foyer when four men came up the stairs screaming
loud. Two of my four colleagues were out for a break. This indicates
planning on the part of the robbers.
R: Were they armed?
G: Yes, one had a machete, another one a black revolver.
R: You have a little wound above your eye. How come?
G: One of the villains attacked me with a machete, he hit me near the eye.
R: Why were you attacked?
G: Right in the beginning I hit one of the robbers as he ran by me, so
he lost his revolver. Then the one with the machete came and hit me.
Luckily I could turn my head sideways, so he didn’t hit me too badly.
After that two of the four villains fled, and my two colleagues chased
them. I remained behind with the two other villains. They were behind
the counter, filling money into their big leather bag. I then threw a
money cassette and a metal rack at them.
R: How did the villains react?
G: The one with the pistol jumped up and aimed at me. Obviously, I
jumped to the side at first. After that, they happily continued
collecting money. Then as they were trying to flee, I went after the
one with the weapon, and got a hold of him. Luckily a hotel guy came
to my assistance. Unfortunately, the guy with the machete came back,
and I wasn’t in the mood to handle him as well, so I let them go. I
was unarmed, after all. The bag with the money remained in the hotel.
R: How did you get the courage for your intervention?
G: You don’t think of anything in particular at that moment, you’re just
doing your job. And my job was to protect the money. So that’s what I
did. I’ll probably start shivering tonight, when I realize what has
happened. I used to work for the Berlin Police and I learned to
fight there. But nothing like this has ever happened to me.
R: How long did the robbery take?
G: You lose your sense of time in such a situation. It felt like
eternity. Even now in the evening, I’m still pumped up with adrenaline.
It is believed that around 800,000 euros were taken from the event, but these numbers have not been confirmed. As more information comes out we will be sure to keep you updated.
