Bitcoin bust: Poker site prompts raid, investigation by Nevada gaming authorities

Courtesy Bryan Micon via Twitter

Professional poker player Bryan Micon says he was victimized by authorities in a raid over his affiliation with the Seals with Clubs pokerwebsite.

By J.D. Morris (contact)

Friday, March 6, 2015 | 2 a.m.

On Feb. 11, Nevada gaming officials did something theyve apparently never done before.

The Gaming Control Board has investigated many unlicensed gambling operations in the past, but the poker website it targeted that day was different. For one thing, board officials believe its the first time theyve raided a potentially illegal website (as opposed to a bookmaking scheme, for example).

This particular site, Seals with Clubs, was also unusual because its players gambled with Bitcoin, an alternative currency. Bitcoin is an open-source, digital form of money not backed by any central government that rapidly changes value.

Though regulators are now investigating whether it was operating in Nevada illegally, Seals with Clubs wasnt some shady site hiding in a dark corner of the Internet. It was visible on social media, and professional poker player Bryan Micon was its public face, based in Las Vegas.

Micon maintains that he did nothing wrong. In fact, he says hes the one who was wronged by gun-wielding agents of the state who barged into his home and confiscated his personal property.

Im a victim of the unfortunate systemic police state that has taken over the United States, Micon said in a recent Skype interview from Antigua, where his family had already planned an extended vacation. I was charged with no crime, yet armed men broke down my door, pointed many guns at me of course, traumatized my family and then proceeded to steal all of my good electronics.

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Bitcoin bust: Poker site prompts raid, investigation by Nevada gaming authorities