Poker Wannabe Turned Robber Gets 8 Years in Jail

A poker wannabe who turned to crime in order to fund his poker playing lifestyle has just been sentenced to eight years and eight months behind bars. In 2015, Dominick Blair Roberson, 27, committed a series of robberies in California, mostly against women, that netted him around $15,000, which he then allegedly spent gambling at casinos.
The prosecutor during the trial described Roberson as an up-and-coming poker player who had aspirations of turning professional. Roberson’s live tournament results, however, would seem to tell a different story, and one has to wonder why if he did in fact possess any poker skill he would have needed to turn to crime in the first place. Afer all, according to Roberson’s Hendon Mob statistics, he has earned just $17,580 from seven events with buy-ins ranging from $120 to $570, and it is unlikely that he enjoyed any more success at the cash tables.
Dominick Blair Roberson’s modus operandi involved following various LA casinos customers back to their homes before robbing them, perhaps using the “replica” weapon police later recovered. The crimes occurred during a spree that took place between October and November of 2015, with his victims including four women aged 41, 50, 51 and 59. One man was also targeted, but the 42-year-old managed to fend off Roberson’s attempt, and in November he was then arrested while gambling at a casino in Gardena, California.
Roberson’s story brings to mind a number of other bizarre tales involving wannabe poker players turned bad, such as Christian Lusardi who in January of 2015 smuggled fake chips into a poker tournament to pad his stack, but after getting caught was sentenced to five-years in jail. A year earlier, Ali Tekintamgac made the final table of the €8,500 Partouche Poker Tour Cannes, but was found to be cheating and was later handed a three years and five months prison sentence
Professional poker players who have also been on the receiving end of robberies over the years includes WSOP Main Event champions Gregory Raymer (2004), and Jonathan Duhamel (2010).