No CommentsIt was just a few short weeks ago that Seals with Clubs went offline with little notice to the community.
Bryan Micon, one of the rumored owners of Seals with Clubs and public Chairmen of Seals with Clubs, was served with a warrant from The Nevada Gaming Commission and the State Gaming Control Board on February 11th. Mr. Micon was awoken at approximately 8am by police acting on a court order.
Coin Fire has been in contact with The Nevada Gaming Commission and the State Gaming Control Board who gave the following statement,
Due to the ongoing nature of our enforcement investigation, we are unable to comment publicly regarding the seizure and warrants served to Mr. Micon on behalf of Seals With Clubs. The Nevada Gaming Commission takes unregulated and unlicensed gaming very seriously to protect the people of Nevada. The Nevada Gaming Commission was involved in an enforcement action against Seals with Clubs on February 11th.
The computer seizure comes as part of an enforcement action with the commission who have now begun combing through electronic evidence stored on Mr. Micon’s computers for evidence and proof of wrongdoing for potential criminal charges.
Past attorneys for the commission cited a lack of license, failure to pay gaming taxes including monthly taxes, and violations of Chapter 463 of Nevada law that regulates gaming as likely trouble spots. While Mr. Micon has yet to be charged criminally, the enforcement action is pending until the appropriate evidence of wrongdoing has been gathered from Mr. Micon’s personal computers.
Mr. Micon has left the United States for the country Antigua where he has since posted a YouTube video confirming that the commission had stormed his house, “stolen his electronics”, and held him for over eight hours. Mr. Micon also stated that the Seals with Clubs management team has quit, but he will continue on with online poker via a new domain. Mr. Micon plans to launch a new site with a new team will be launched in the near future at swcpoker.eu.
As a member of the Organization of American States, Antigua will comply with some extradition orders from the United States Government. Extraditions from Antigua are not easy to come by as seen in cases such as United States versus Calvin Ayre. Antigua has been viewed as far friendlier to online gaming than the United States and has rejected any extradition orders regarding operators of online gaming sites in the past.
Antigua has even opened a dispute against the United States with the World Trade Organization for practices that Antigua felt violated several outstanding trade agreements between the countries–making it even more likely the country would not comply with an extradition request for Mr. Micon in the event one is sent.
Mr. Ayre, founder of Bodog Entertainment, was so emboldened by his living in Antigua that he was featured in a Forbes publication with the title Catch Me If You Can. Mr. Ayre has evaded capture and return to the United States for several years now.
The warrant for the seizure of Mr. Micon’s equipment remains under a court seal and is not available to the general public at this time.
