No More Poker in Barcelona

September 29, 2008

It doesn’t matter if your poker game is private or public in Spain – if it is illegal, it is illegal. Some players found this out the hard way Friday night when their poker game was busted by local police.

Police raided the Hotel Princesa located in Barcelona, Spain, after a tip that there was an illegal poker game going on. The freeroll poker tournament was offered to the private members of a poker affiliate program that was being held in Spain.

When the police raided the establishment, they took poker tables and chips with them. The problem is that cash poker games are not allowed just anywhere in the country and in Barcelona specifically they can only take place in a casino. Once the affiliates found out that the poker tournament would be shut down and their supplies confiscated, they were shocked.

The police have not filed any actual charges yet, and with more than $10,000 in cash to be won at the event there are some disappointed players. The Affiliate Series of Poker, or ASOP as it is usually referred to, brought in 42 online poker affiliates this year.

These players win their seats through other private online poker events that several different poker rooms online sponsor. Those that are members of Poker Affiliate Programs are eligible to play in the qualifying tournaments.