The home in Onewa Rd, Northcote Pt in the days after the raid. Photo / George Block
A stand-over robbery by an armed trio targeting a North Shore poker game has brought the murky world of underground gambling into the spotlight. George Block investigates the high stakes world of illicit poker in Auckland.
It was a little past midnight when three gun-toting men burst into a Northcote Pt home and brought an abrupt halt to the high-stakes poker game inside.
About an hour later they escaped from the Onewa Rd property with tens of thousands of dollars taken at gunpoint from the poker players, along with their phones and other belongings.
The trio remain at large three weeks on from the January 7 robbery, evading officers during a manhunt and disappearing into West Auckland after abandoning their car.
Police say the investigation is ongoing and they’ve taken statements from those at the house at the time of the raid.
Internal Affairs, which regulates and prosecutes gambling offences, confirmed it has staff assisting police with the Onewa Rd inquiry.
Sources suspect the raid was either an amazing coincidence given it targeted a high-stakes game with an uncommonly large amount of cash on hand, or more likely an inside job by a tipster who stood to take a cut of the cash.
Either way, it brought down the curtain on a colourful two years for one of Auckland’s best-known gambling dens.
Over the past two years, the 1920s bungalow just north of Auckland’s Harbour Bridge had become a well-known gambling den, with sources claiming it was netting tens of thousands a week from illicit poker games.
In New Zealand, private poker games where players gamble for cash are legal.
But outside of casinos, the Gambling Act generally prohibits commercial organisers making a profit from running games by taking a stake of each hand.
But that is what the operators of Onewa Rd were alleged to be doing.
They were none too subtle about it.
The bungalow bristled with CCTV cameras, men and glamorously dressed young women came and went at all hours and large numbers of cars, including top European marques, were often parked outside.
Security was lax at best.
Neighbours knew all about the games and regarded them with amusement and curiosity.
It was one of a number of such games across Auckland to have sprung up since Covid-19 forced a temporary closure of Sky City’s poker rooms.
They became sophisticated operations, netting tens of thousands of dollars in profit per week and paying former Sky City staffers to act as professional dealers.
Also on staff were cleaners and fixers who acted as agents to recruit new players, often targeting gamblers at the downtown casino.
Clientele are often cashed-up young men of Chinese origin.
Since the Onewa Rd raid, the Weekend Herald has spoken to several sources who were involved in the underworld of illicit gambling in Auckland.
They include people employed by the operators, such as dealers and cleaners, along with players.
Some describe a darker side to the poker games, saying some ran alongside a trade in cocaine and methamphetamine and with regular visits by patched motorcycle gang members. Credit is readily given.
There have been regular games at properties across the city, including at homes in Karaka, Epsom, Newmarket, Takapuna, East Tamaki and West Auckland, the Weekend Herald has been told.
They range from smaller operations started by genuine poker enthusiasts to games run by and for figures linked to the Chinese organised crime scene.
While underground gambling in New Zealand is not new, the illicit Auckland poker scene began to grow after the first lockdown in 2020, according to one well-placed source.
Sky City closed its poker rooms and laid off specialist dealers.
“They closed the casino at Sky City and there was this big urge for people who wanted to play,” a source said.
That meant an unmet demand for high-stakes games was combined with a ready pool of skilled poker dealers in need of quick cash.
Combined with a few organisers keen to make a quick profit, there were all the ingredients for a flourishing underground scene.
People started to organise games and initially just took enough commission to cover costs - pay dealers and buy food and drink for guests during all-night sessions.
Key to for-profit poker games is the concept of the “rake”, meaning the scaled commission taken by organisers out of the pot in each poker hand.
Rakes started low, sometimes capped at about $5 per hand, but rose as games became more popular and expenses increased.
By 2021 Sky City had started to bring back poker games but a shortage of staff meant it was unable to meet demand, a source said.
“All their core poker people were gone,” they said.
During Auckland’s 107-day lockdown, the games, including those at Onewa Rd, moved online.
The dealer and players were still real people but they used a mobile app to facilitate games, leading to faster play and allowing several games to operate at once.
A source said even with a low rake this allowed organisers to make money at an even higher rate, albeit with a less convivial atmosphere.
The in-person games returned last year.
By this point Onewa Rd was making a minimum of $30,000 per week, every week, a source claimed. Earnings and debts were tallied up in spreadsheets.
It employed cleaners, sweepers and dealers, who were well compensated. Hosts also enlisted agents to head out and find new players, often at the downtown casino.
The agents reportedly did most of the work finding players but received only half the rake.
Sources said the atmosphere at Onewa Rd was relaxed and casual, with games generally not starting until 9pm and running all night.
“They really took the ball off any process or structure or security,” a source said.
“It was just so lax.”
New players were welcome but had to put down cash. Familiar faces got credit.
The Friday night Onewa Rd game that was robbed was different, sources said.
It was deliberately planned as a big game where players would bring cash so everyone could get paid their winnings on the night. Some attendees brought as much as $15,000.
As a result, those familiar with the scene believe the stand-over was either an incredible coincidence or an inside job.
Those inside the property, who have now given statements to police, endured a lengthy ordeal as the armed trio stripped them one by one of their cash and valuables.
“These guys were really shaken by it,” a source said.
Police said no arrests have been made.
“Our investigations continue, and we have spoken to those present at the time, and reviewed CCTV footage of the night.”
The Onewa Rd games came to an end after the robbery. Its organiser and main host has not responded to repeated requests for comment.
A Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) spokesperson confirmed its staff were helping police with the inquiry.
The spokesperson also said a case was before the courts involving a Lower Hutt man who allegedly ran an illegal gambling operation. He also faces money laundering charges.
“The department encourages people with information regarding illegal gambling to report this promptly to ensure that we can act where there is sufficient evidence.”
A Sky City spokesperson said the company would have zero tolerance for any staff working in illegal poker houses.
“All our card dealers undergo training that underlines the importance of working only in licensed casinos,” the company said.
“Sadly, illegal underground poker games have always been around in some shape or form, so we welcome any move to shut them down because they clearly put people at risk.
“We provide a safe and welcoming environment for people to enjoy themselves at our casinos, and we monitor our customers’ wellbeing in accordance with our host responsibility programme.”
Poker for cash stakes played outside New Zealand’s limited number of casinos can be classified as either private gambling, or class 1, 2 or 3 gambling, depending on circumstances and stakes.
(Under the Gambling Act 2003 no new casino venue licences are to be issued).
Private gambling covers a group of friends gathering at a private home for a poker night.
All stakes must be given to the winners, it must be primarily a social event and no one can earn a commission, reward or collect admission for conducting the gambling.
There can also be no deductions from a player’s winnings.
Class 1 gambling covers low-stakes poker (less than $500 prize money per event) and similarly, no one can profit or be paid for conducting the gambling.
If it is conducted by a society then proceeds must go to a charity or for “purposes beneficial to the community”, the DIA said.
Class 2 gambling covers games with a prize limit not exceeding $5000 and a turnover under $25,000 per event. Class 3 gambling covers games with prizes over $5000 per event.
Both Class 2 and 3 gambling must be to raise money for an “authorised purpose” (charities or other purposes beneficial to the community), the DIA said.
A society and not an individual must conduct the gambling and no one can receive commissions, rewards or wages.
Class 3 gambling requires a licence.
A DIA spokesperson said there was no record of the Onewa Rd home or the name used for the poker evenings being associated with a Class 3 licence.
“Any information on venues that may be operating illegal poker games is welcomed by Internal Affairs,” the spokesperson said.
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