09:30
20 Jan
Earlier this week, a Legends Poker Room security guard put his life on the line to stop an armed assailant from holding up the poker game. The security guard was grazed by a bullet, but he suffered no life-threatening injuries. Here’s what happened.
A man armed with an AR-15 entered the Legends Poker Room, which is located on Richmond Avenue in Houston, Texas, and announced he was sticking up the poker game. The security guard on duty, Trelynn “Tek” Robinson came up behind the assailant before getting into an altercation over the weapon.
The gun went off approximately 10 to 15 times during the struggle to gain control over the weapon. During these discharges of the weapon, Tek was grazed with a bullet. Miraculously, Tek was able to subdue the assailant, whose name has yet to be released, and handcuff him before police arrived.
“And he was asking me to give him the money,” Tek said in an interview shortly after the incident. “But instead, I lunged towards him, fought him, wrestled him with the gun, it started to go off. A couple things happened. I was able to tackle him down and put the handcuffs on him, arrest him.” Tek sustained a dislocated shoulder as well as the minor bullet wound he received from the bullet grazing him, but ultimately was able to keep the close to 50 people inside the poker room safe. Robinson was even available for an interview after the incident, in which you can see blood on his person and his arm in a sling.
“At about 1 a.m. this morning, our midwest patrol officers were dispatched to 9200 Richmond on report of a robbery with shots fired,” said Houston Police Department Lieutenant Larry Crowson. “Initial indications were that several people had been shot, however, we did find out nobody had been shot.” Crowson goes on to talk about the struggle between Tek and the unnamed assailant and was grateful nobody else in the poker room was injured. “Fortunately, no one was hit,” Crowson said. “There were about 45 to 50 people inside the business when this happened. We’re very lucky no one was shot.”
Everything’s… Crazier In Texas?
Given that traditional casinos are illegal in Texas, the state’s poker rooms have been operating ambiguously. Poker rooms like Legends operate by charging players an entrance fee instead of rake. As such, these poker rooms basically go without regulation.
Owners of these public games must be responsible for matching the value their chips have. Johnny Chan’s 88 Social poker room was shut down after players were convinced the chips in their stacks had no real-money value.
Furthermore, 2003 WSOP Main Event runner-up and overall poker legend Sammy Farha was involved in a physical altercation with a dealer in the same room where the robbery took place. What’s going on with Texas poker rooms?
Giving Back
A dealer at Legends Poker Room has started a GoFundMe campaign for Tek to pay him for his heroic service. The description reads: “What Tek did was the bravest thing I have ever seen in my life,” said Sam Benefiel, the organizer of the page. “Without a doubt; this man saved my life, and the lives of every person who was in the room at the time. If it weren’t for him, you might not be reading this right now. I know I wouldn’t be writing it. This man is a hero, he is going to have some medical bills from injuries sustained during this incident, as well as living with the aftermath of what happened tonight.” We all strive to achieve the courage Tek had that night in Houston. Get well soon.
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