InterPoker Pro Juha Helppi discusses EPT Robbery

InterPoker Pro and EPT maestro Juha Helppi was participating in the High Roller event at the EPT Berlin when events took a dramatic turn. Below is Juha's firsthand account of the infamous robbery in Berlin:

"The first time that I walked in to poker area in Berlin Hyatt and paid my buy-in, I noticed the poor security they had. A few unarmed men in suits guarding probably a million Euros in cash. The cash desk was maybe 20 second walk away from the front door of the Hyatt so they could have done better work there. The Casino was 50 meters away so I think we should have paid the buy-ins there and played in the hotel, just like how the EPT London was organised. In London the casino was about 500 meters away, but it is much harder to rob a casino than a cashier at a hotel lobby.

I was playing the €10,000 high roller tournament when the robbery happened. I was at a same table with a Finnish friend of mine Jyri Merivirta, when we heard some loud noises from the lobby that was behind us about 40 meters away behind a door. Jyri asked me if I knew what was happening and I told him that it had to be a robbery. I wasn`t worried about my safety, but on second thoughts I probably should have checked where the fire exit doors were before starting play. The chance of robbery was much higher here than anywhere else, because it was so easy to rob the place. Sometimes when a robbery goes wrong there are shots fired and I would prefer to be outside the building if that happens. I sat in my seat for a while and watched some players filming the robbery. I don’t think that it was wise to open the doors and start filming, but I guess many of them thought that there is a normal fight going on.

Then suddenly we heard loud shouting "BOMB, BOMB, BOMB!" I dived under my table, because if something explodes it is better to be as low as possible rather than running around. The women’s tournament was held closer to the doors and next to us. They totally panicked and started running. Suddenly something like 10 women literally ran over me. They didn’t really know where they were going just further away from the doors. I got some small bruises but nothing major. I looked around and I saw women crying and panicking. I was still pretty sure that we were safe, but decided to stay under my table. After a while we were directed out through the fire exit doors. I was one of the last players to leave the room, which was a total mess. Outside I met other Finnish players and we went to bar nearby to wait for further info.

I think this will affect future tournaments in a positive way. Security measures will be taken more seriously so that this won’t happen again. Buy-ins will probably have to be wired or paid inside a casino which has good security."

Best regards,

Juha Helppi

Here you can see the video of events from the robbery: