Poker pro wins $30k, gets mugged
21st January, 2008
In one of the cruellest twists of fate ever to befall a poker professional, a 22-year-old Oklahoma player has been mugged for AUD$30,000 (£13,000) within hours of cashing in.
Jason Potter was walking home from the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Melbourne after coming 31st in the 2008 Aussie Millions Texas Hold'Em Championship when he was attacked by an unknown assailant.
The attacker reportedly produced a large knife before grabbing the poker game winnings - in American and Australian notes - and threatening Potter with dire consequences if he were to report the incident.
"I definitely believe that he saw me at some point in the casino," the Age reported the shaken pro as saying. "The cashier's cages are in plain sight and it's really easy to tell when someone is cashing a large amount."
Despite the trauma and injustice of the mugging, however, Potter remained stoic about the whole affair, insisting no amount of money is worth losing one's life over and chiding himself for not taking a cheque.
"It definitely hurts really bad, but nothing in my life will change because of it," he insisted. Though he also had a personal message for the thief: "I hope they find you. You don't deserve the money."
