Blf Social Club Poker Run
Ride motorcycles, play poker, eat, raise funds, help veterans and all while having a good time! They start the run by drawing a card for a 5 card poker hand then ride their motorcycle to the next. Run professionally, with a touch of class, Big Slick Inc. Offers poker in a safe and comfortable environment 6 days a week. To become a member, simply call the club during hours of operation at 845-496-0920 or 845-776-0294. What a Poker Club Needs. Let’s say you have a couple of dozens of friends who enjoy playing Texas Hold’em on weekends and the community is growing. Or you are running an offline private poker club with regular tournaments and cash games sessions. Now you want to give it a tech touch – to make an online poker room for these friends or club.
7 charged with illegal gambling say it's just fun.
By DAN HERBECK
Buffalo News Staff Reporter
3/28/00
| BILL WIPPERT/Buffalo News Federal authorities say the Donato Social Club, center, at 188 Grant St., is a “front for a casino-style gambling business.” |
middle-aged buddies kill time playing cards and swapping stories about the old days on Buffalo's West Side. The FBI and U.S. attorney's office call the club something else: a front for a 'casino-style gambling business.'
Ultimately, a jury may decide, as seven men from Buffalo and Tonawanda - including one who is 76 years old - face felony gambling charges in connection with the club at 188 Grant St.
A federal grand jury recently indicted the seven men after a lengthy investigation that included the installation of hidden recording devices and video cameras in the social club.
Charged with conspiracy to run an illegal gambling business are: John 'Johnny Catz' Catanzaro, 57, of Norwalk Avenue; Donald Panepinto, 58, of Brighton Road, Town of Tonawanda; Frank 'Babe' Mambrino, 64, and his son, Carmen Mambrino, 30, both of Lovering Avenue; Joseph 'Peppers' DiGioia, 76, of Claremont Avenue; Annuncio 'Rod' Cannizzaro, 66, of Cottage Street; and Robert Chimera, 63, of Linden Avenue.
Prosecutors also have filed court papers seeking forfeiture of the building, a former children's clothing store located near Grant and Lafayette avenues.
'The indictment charges the defendants with running poker, ziganette (an Italian card game) and dice games, both on the premises at 188 Grant St. . . . and at stags run at various locations in the area, from March to early September of 1999,' said Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony M. Bruce.
According to law enforcement officials, the amount of money gambled in the club was in the thousands of dollars, and some of the figures involved with the club have ties to organized crime.
Catanzaro is a former Laborers Local 210 official who served prison time after his 1990 conviction in a no-show job scheme. In December, the U.S. Justice Department called him a 'made member' in Buffalo's Mafia family.
Despite the criminal charges, the social club and its members have some supporters among business people and residents of the Grant Street area.
Some of the supporters claim the FBI is trying to turn a harmless series of dice and poker games into something out of 'The Godfather' or 'Good Fellas.'
'We have some serious crime problems in this neighborhood - including drugs, panhandlers and prostitution. But there's nothing that goes on in that club that spills out into the neighborhood,' said Dwayne Robinson, president of a neighborhood block club known as the Ferguson Street United Residents Group. 'From everything I can see, they're just some older gentlemen who like to play cards.'
Three neighborhood business people made similar comments on Monday.
'To me, that social club is an asset to the community, not a problem,' said James Lorigo, who runs the Meating Place, a butcher's shop across the street from the social club.
'They took over the property and completely renovated it. They keep up the property. At night, the lights are on. These men, they keep an eye on things in the community. We have gangs roaming the streets around here at night - that's what the authorities should be cracking down on.'
Similar comments came from Ronald Charlton, who is renovating a medical building in the neighborhood, and Nick LaFornara, who runs a barber shop two doors away from the social club.
'I see prostitution and drug dealers openly operating in this neighborhood, and you're telling me they're hustling these old guys for playing cards? What about the casino across the river, making millions?' Charlton said. 'They're harmless, in my eyes. I'm 55, and I don't think I've ever seen anyone in the place who wasn't older than me.'
All seven suspects pleaded innocent in the case before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie G. Foschio.
The government case is blown way out of proportion, according to defense lawyers Joel L. Daniels and John P. Pieri, who represents Carmen and Frank Mambrino. Carmen Mambrino owns the social club building.
Nobody was making big money on the gambling, said Pieri, who has known several of the suspects since he was a youngster growing up on the West Side.
'The government has told us they have 300 hours of audio and videotapes. It's very boring information about people doing nothing,' Pieri said. 'From what I understand, if there were a few hundred bucks on the table for the whole night, that would be a lot. A small part of that was put aside to pay for rent and food at the social club.
'The government's perception of 'Good Fellas' is something the government tries to enhance. I think you have too many FBI agents sitting around with nothing to do. They send them to go out and bust up a $2 card game.'
Not true, according to Bruce and Paul M. Moskal, spokesman for the Buffalo FBI office.
While declining to discuss specifics about the case, Moskal said illegal gambling operations have caused many problems in Western New York, going back decades.
'Much of the illegal gambling that goes on in Western New York does tie in to organized crime,' Moskal said. 'Illegal gambling, over the years, has cost society hundreds of millions of dollars. We're not trying to say every person who gambles is a criminal. At first blush, an operation like this might seem harmless, but we've seen operations like this lead to loansharking, extortion, gambling addictions. We've seen families ruined.'
Lorigo said some of the men associated with the social club told him that FBI agents are targeting the club in an effort to secure information about bigger organized crime operations in Buffalo.
'I can tell you exactly what happened,' Lorigo said. 'The FBI went to these guys and said, 'We want you to snitch on some other people.' I think they're disturbing the wrong people.'
Moskal declined to comment on Lorigo's remarks.
'The law is the law,' Moskal said. 'Congress makes the laws. Our job is enforcement.'
Table Of Contents
Another action-packed final table of the Super MILLION$ takes place tonight on GGPoker with two former winners and seven former final tablists.
However all eyes will be on chip leader Koray Aldemir who will be making his final table debut on his very first cash in the tournament, with Niklas Astedt breaking the record for most final tables with his sixth appearance.
Aldemir is in command of the final table, with almost double the chips of nearest competitor 'J Andersson', but everyone at the final table will be vying for more than $300,000 up top.
Watch This Star-Studded Final Table UnfoldWho will win this week's Super MILLION$? Find out right here
Super MILLION$ Final Table Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Koray Aldemir | Austria | 6,018,489 | 86 |
| 2 | J Andersson | Austria | 3,347,234 | 48 |
| 3 | CharlieD23 | Norway | 2,265,502 | 32 |
| 4 | Niklas Astedt | Canada | 1,778,490 | 25 |
| 5 | RUN_CMD | Austria | 1,363,194 | 19 |
| 6 | Artur Martirosian | Russia | 1,250,040 | 18 |
| 7 | Pascal Hartmann | Austria | 973,422 | 14 |
| 8 | Rui Ferreira | Croatia | 732,228 | 10 |
| 9 | Julian Stuer | Poland | 471,401 | 7 |
On only his fourth appearance in the tournament, Koray Aldemir will be looking to make an impression when play resumes later this evening. Having sold 9.7% of himself, both he and his 11 stakers will be looking for a deep run for the debutant at the final table.
Hot on his heels is Austria's 'J Andersson' who knows what it feels like to win this tournament, triumphing two months ago to win $324,053. That win accounts for almost half of his $635,394 winnings in this tournament, having made the Super MILLION$ in three of his five cashes.
Related: GGPoker Super MILLION$ 'Building a History' says Randy 'nanonoko' Lew
All but two of the players at this week's Super MILLION$ final table have tasted the final table before, including 'CharlieD23' who made their first final table back in September. He's cashed six times in this tournament, and recently finished eighth in the Battle of Malta High Roller Championship.
Former Super MILLION$ winner Niklast Astedt has joined an exclusive club. He joins Rui Ferreira and Stephen Chidwick in reaching double digit cashes in this tournament. However one record he holds alone, with the Swede reaching his sixth Super MILLION$ final table. Unfortunately, he's yet to record a win. Will this be his moment?
'RUN_CMD' won his entry with a $1,000 satellite and is one of only nine players to have cashed twice and made the final table on both occasions.
Artur Martirosian has played in every Super MILLION$ to date, and has an impressive record of three final tables and a win. Meanwhile, a third final table for Pascal Hartmann sees him try to better a second-place finish in July, with Rui Ferreira making his fourth final table in 11 cashes.
Bringing up the rear is Julian Stuer who is cashing in his very first Super MILLION$.
Remaining Payouts
The final nine players have all guaranteed themselves $61,838 for their efforts so far. The winner will walk away with $331,554.
| Place | Payout |
|---|---|
| 1 | $331,554 |
| 2 | $268,777 |
| 3 | $217,886 |
| 4 | $176,631 |
| 5 | $143,187 |
| 6 | $16,076 |
| 7 | $94,098 |
| 8 | $76,281 |
| 9 | $61,838 |
GGPoker & PokerShares
GGPoker's popular staking mechanism was already widely known, but players and fans alike can now have the added bonus of betting on players at the final table to win.
PokerShares has partnered with @GGPoker . We are providing the odds for their revolutionary in-client final table b… https://t.co/bdiWut9GLp
— PokerShares (@pokershares)Blf Social Club Poker Runner
In the client you can clearly see the odds for players at the final table, with chip leader Aldemir the clear favorite.
| Player | Odds to Win (Decimal) | Odds to Win (American) |
|---|---|---|
| Koray Aldemir | 3.06 | +206 |
| J Andersson | 5.35 | +435 |
| CharlieD23 | 8.2 | +720 |
| Niklas Astedt | 8.4 | +740 |
| RUN_CMD | 12.6 | +1,160 |
| Artur Martirosian | 15 | +1,400 |
| Pascal Hartmann | 16.2 | +1,520 |
| Rui Ferreira | 21 | +2,000 |
| Julian Stuer | 34 | +3,000 |
Win Your Way Into The Next $10,300 Super MILLION$ Tournament
Satellites for the next edition of the Super MILLION$ are running at GGPoker right now. Head there and see if you can follow in the footsteps of some of the greatest players in the world and become a GGPoker champion.
Blf Social Club Poker Runs
Tags
GGPokerSuper MILLION$Related Room
GGPoker