Armed robbery of poker players may not be exactly new, but when the home of 4-time WPT champion Darren Elias was targeted last week it was ‘one of our own’ who was the villain – fellow poker player Shannon Soroka.
A 24-year-old North Philadelphia man held a 19-year-old babysitter at gunpoint while attempting to rob the Medford, New Jersey, home of professional poker player Darren Elias Thursday afternoon, police said. https://t.co/v4RWkEgasW pic.twitter.com/RJeM8coX4l
— NBC10 Philadelphia (@NBCPhiladelphia) 22 March 2019
Soroka allegedly forced his way into Elias’ home in Medford, South Jersey, holding the family’s 19-year old babysitter hostage and demanding to know where Elias kept his money.
Elias’ 2-year old daughter was in the house at the time of the incident.
Elias, who was out with his wife at the time of the attack, told NBC10 news: “It’s incredibly scary for me and my family. It was an awful feeling. I would say he was familiar with what I do for a living and thought that I might have things of value in the house.”
Elias has amassed $7,101,927 in tournament earnings, recently missing out on a 5th WPT title at the LA Poker Classic, in which he finished 3rd.
Police believe the robbery was a targeted attack rather than random, explaining that Soroka walked into the house and held a gun to the babysitter’s back before leaving her in a bathroom.
What he did not expect was that his escape was caught on CCTV.
According to the Hendon Mob database, the 24-year old North Philadelphia man, a part-time poker pro with $37,745 in tournament earnings has been charged with ‘robbery, aggravated assault, making terroristic threats, unlawful possession of a weapon, criminal mischief and related offenses’ following the incident.
Darren Elias expresses his grattitude
Thankfully neither the babysitter nor the Elias’ small child were hurt during the robbery and Darren took to Twitter to express his gratitude for the support he has received following the harrowing experience…
Appreciate all the support and everyone who has reached out during this nightmare. No worse feeling than having your family in danger.
— Darren Elias (@DarrenElias) 23 March 2019
Doyle Brunson knows how it feels to be robbed at home
Support for Elias in the wake of the terrifying incident has come from all quarters.
Doyle Brunson chief among them, the granddaddy of poker having been the target of numerous robberies himself…
It is a scary thing to have a gun pointed at your wife’s head. I was the target of a home invasion in 1998. While I have been robbed at gunpoint 5 times it didn’t effect me too much but it traumatized my wife. Took her years to get over it.
— Doyle Brunson (@TexDolly) 23 March 2019
One of those, back in 1998, saw Brunson handcuffed to his wife as two masked gunmen attacked his Las Vegas Country Club home – Brunson faking a heart attack to get his assailants to leave.
The pair hovewer escaped with $4000 in cash and $80,000 in Binion’s Horseshoe Club Casino chips.
“I was really mad that I had gotten knocked out of the tournament, and maybe I wasn’t as careful on the way home,” Brunson later explained, claiming that he believed someone had tipped off the robbers that he was heading home, having won $93,000 in the WSOP a couple of nights earlier.
David Sklansky ‘prepared himself’ for robbery attempts
Noted poker theoretician and author David Sklansky has also been targeted by thieves several times, but beleives his preparations for just such an awful event served him well.
Claiming it as his 5th such scenario – “a cop, a thief, a gambler, and an ex-wife” all robbing him previously – Sklansky built a rapport with the armed robbers, telling them “This will be the easiest robbery you ever do.”
With his girlfriend asleep in the next room, Sklansky defused any possible deadly consequences, explaining: “The thief told me that if the cops come, he and I will both be dead.”
He added: “Just as I do in poker, I put myself in the other person’s shoes. I realized he was concerned about getting caught, so I put him at ease. I said, “If the cops come, you’re my cousin George.”
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