Greg Raymer Arrested in Prostitution Bust
Noted professional poker player and 2004 World Series of Poker bracelet winner Greg “The Fossilman” Raymer has been busted in a North Carolina prositution sting, after responding to an Internet advertisement posted to a widely-used prostitution website by undercover police officers, it has been reported.
Raymer along with five other would-be customers were arrested for soliciting prostitution at a hotel located in Wake Forest. Each has been released from police custody after posting $1000 bail.
Despite early reports that the sting involved male prostitutes, later reports confirmed that the case involves phony female hookers.
“The locations prostitutes choose for this type of criminal activity vary and seldom remain the same for more than a couple of days at a time which makes enforcement difficult,” said Jeff Leonard, Chief of Police in Wake Forest.
“In this instance, we conducted the operation at a local hotel with its full cooperation. We are not aware of this type of criminal activity ever occurring at the hotel. Our officers selected the hotel for the undercover operation at random, ” Leonard told reporters.
The other men arrested in the bust are Barrett Lee Bennett of Durham, Robert Hancock of Wake Forest, Christopher Burell Shella of Durham, Kevin Scott Konarzewski of Wake Forest, and Gerald Barham of Wake Forest. Raymer is listed as being a resident of Raleigh.
It isn’t too often that stars of the poker world find themselves being featured on websites mostly devoted to celebrity gossip, but a salacious story is a salacious story, and unfortunately for Raymer this one was even posted on the website TMZ.com.
Raymer, who is married, has been actively and very visibly involved in lobbying on behalf of poker and online poker related issues. He has worked closely with poker lobbying group the PPA to have the game of poker classified as a skill game. He also serves as a member of the organization’s board.
The arrest, which police confirmed took place this past Wednesday, has many in the poker community scratching their heads. While it is always disappointing to see a well-respected figure become mired in scandal, this case carries extra weight due to Raymer’s long-standing prominence in the poker world.
With his high visibility and his status as an ambassador of poker, many fans of the game undoubtedly wonder why Raymer would have made such a poor and risky choice.
This news is especially surprising given the fact that as a poker player, he travels frequently to Nevada where prostitution is legal in areas outside of Clark County. Without condoning prostitution, many have asked the simple question of “why didn’t he just go to a Nevada brothel?”
Certainly the news has come as a shock and disappointment to many, and has raised a few more questions than it has answered. Raymer faces a court date on April 18.
