In what’s believed to be an unprecedented move for Nevada, state Attorney General Adam Laxalt announced today that his office is prosecuting an individual tied to a poker website targeted by gaming officials in February.
Laxalt is charging poker player Bryan Micon with running an online gaming site, Seals with Clubs, without obtaining a license from state regulators. The website, which accepted the alternative currency bitcoin, closed after gaming officials reportedly confiscated equipment from Micon’s Las Vegas home Feb. 11.
Laxalt filed a criminal complaint in Las Vegas Justice Court on Monday. If found guilty, Micon faces up to 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.
Gaming officials said when the Las Vegas Sun reported the story in early March that they couldn’t recall any other instance where they had gone after an allegedly illegal website.
Similarly, Laxalt said at a press conference today that he believes the charges against Micon are the first of their kind in Nevada.
Flanked by the state’s top gaming regulators in the foyer of the Grant Sawyer State Office Building, Laxalt evoked Nevada’s history of robust gaming regulation and promised to continue that tradition.
“Operating or otherwise conducting gaming in this state without a license is illegal, and the Attorney General’s Office will aggressively pursue individuals and companies who aim to evade our laws for illicit profit,” Laxalt said. “During my time as A.G., illegal gaming operations will be pursued with every available and appropriate legal remedy.”
Tony Alamo, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, and A.G. Burnett, chairman of the state Gaming Control Board, also spoke of the need for tough regulation against unlicensed gaming operators.
Reached via Skype on Monday, Micon referred all questions about the charges to his legal representatives. They couldn’t be reached for comment this morning.
But Micon told the Sun in March that he didn’t believe he did anything wrong.
Micon was public about his affiliation with Seals with Clubs, and even though he was referred to as the site’s chairman, he described his role as more of a “marketing guy.” He said he didn’t control the site’s operations.
After the Feb. 11 raid described by Micon, he traveled with his family to Antigua, where he said they’d already planned an extended vacation. He spoke in the March interview of being deeply shaken by the raid on his home.
“I’m a victim of the unfortunate systemic police state that has taken over the United States,” Micon said.
According to court documents, the Gaming Control Board began looking into Seals with Clubs after receiving an email from someone reportedly living in Belgium alleging that Micon was operating an unlicensed poker website. A board agent later investigated the website by creating an account using an undercover identity, the documents show.
At today’s press conference, Chief Deputy Attorney General Jeff Segal said a warrant for Micon’s arrest is active across the country. But he said that Micon’s last known whereabouts was Antigua, a Caribbean island with a reputation for friendliness toward online gaming.
Segal said the state Attorney General’s Office will work with law enforcement to apprehend Micon and “bring him to justice.”
“In the meantime, my message to Mr. Micon is that he should immediately return to Clark County to face these charges,” Segal said.
Micon’s whereabouts today remained unclear, but he did create a GoFundMe page asking for donations to help pay for his legal defense. He raised more than $1,000 in an hour.