Paul Phua and Darren Phua were arrested after being suspected of being involved in a betting scam involving the World Cup. With the case ongoing, the two men have asked the court to remove an order which prohibits the two from taking part in poker game play while in Las Vegas. The trial is set to take place in Sin City and the two men want to be able to play the game while there. Paul is of course a poker pro and could potentially make money while waiting for the trial to begin but a judge has denied his request.
Just yesterday, the request was denied by US Magistrate Judge Bill Hoffman. Kimberly Frayn is the Assistant US Attorney in the case and was vehemently opposed to the request. Frayn stated that the two men are not lawfully allowed in the US and they are only here until the criminal matter is completed.
Frayn continued to state that once the case is over, the two men will be removed from the country. As the two men are connected to gaming in the illegal sense at land based casinos, the attorney does not believe they should be allowed to participate in gaming and apparently the judge felt the same.
The judge felt as though the Phuas would be harmful to gaming facilities and were unable to present any evidence that could see the order being removed. The defense for the Phuas suggested that the allegations towards their clients did not involve illegal playing of poker and that casinos were not at risk. The defense pointed out that the casinos have cameras on the premises and are highly regulated to keep out illegal activity.
The judge is now working on his decision as to if the case involving the father and son should be tossed out or go to trial. The two men are arguing that the FBI was in violation of their 4th amendment rights by considering evidence they consider flimsy to gain a warrant in the case.
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