Live poker in Paris has been dying a slow death for years, and now French authorities appear to have driven the final nail into its coffin.
Police shut down the Cercle Clichy-Montmarte this week, the last of Paris’ so-called “gaming circles” where people could meet to play poker. The club had hosted a WSOP circuit event as recently as last winter, and had also been home to WPT National events in the past.
Parisian players showed up at the club this week ready to take part in a tournament that had been posted on its Facebook page. However, after authorities ordered the facility closed, club officials removed the tournament listing and replaced it with a somber announcement.
“Following the provisional suspension of approvals allowing the operation of the games as a circle,” reads the club’s Facebook post, “the Clichy Montmartre circle is closed this day and until further notice.”
The post goes on to say that management is working with police to exchange any remaining chips players may have.
More than a hundred comments flooded the post, with many pointing out that the club, with its gorgeous architecture, was a local institution.
“The Clichy Circle is part of the Parisian landscape since always,” wrote one patron. “The place, the frame, the atmosphere, the location of staff. For me, it is like playing at home.”
Suspected Money Laundering Front
Things started to go sideways for the establishment this summer, when authorities raided the homes of club director Luc Richard, as well as several of his employees.
Those sweeps led to five people being arrested and accused of “organized money laundering, concealed work, breach of trust, and concealment of break of trust.”
Police suspect that the “gaming circle,” which also offers table games like blackjack in addition to poker, embezzled at least €10 million (USD $11.7 million) in recent years.
According to France’s Le Parisien news site, several of the Clichy Montmartre’s bankers were found with in the neighborhood of $200,000 in cash: a suspicious sum to authorities, considering bankers typically make $580 per day.
Future Licensing Still Possible
The club was the last live poker venue in Paris, a precipitous fall from the 15 such settings the city used to host.
But one by one, they’ve all been shut down over the years, including the Aviation Club de France, one of the most famous poker venues in Europe. A month after that, authorities closed down the Cercle Cadet Poker Club, taking 14 people into custody.
While this latest raid leaves the city with no live poker options, the club is still expressing optimism about the future. Under French law, it will be able to apply for a new license at the beginning of 2019.
“We are already working on the renewal of the licence to move to club status so that we can resume an activity from January 2019,” officials stated in the Facebook post.
