A Calgary man is furious after police descended on a small poker party at a downtown bar – and allegedly told people who the informant was; someone in his social circle..Now the man is receiving threatening phone calls from fellow poker players threatening “retribution” and to disrupt his upcoming wedding..The man, who the Western Standard is not identifying, said he received an invitation to a monthly poker party for oilfield workers, this time being held at a downtown watering hole called Common Bond..The man thought having 90 people invited to the game was “an iffy judgement call” and didn’t go to the event. But a member of his circle of friends spotted the invitation and called the police..“When the police came there were only about eight players left in the game,” the man said in an interview with the Western Standard..“One hundred per cent, they told everyone it was a female with the last name of [undisclosed] who was the informant, so it was pretty easy to figure out where the tip came from..“Now there are a number of people very upset with my family. Rightfully so. My mom was in tears this morning when I showed her the message saying there were going to be ‘repercussions’.”.The man has also received threats that police will bust up his upcoming wedding. The Western Standard has viewed copies of the threat.. POLL: Many Albertans say they will ignore Christmas COVID lockdown .“When you are getting married the police will be called to check on your gathering,” the threat said..The owner of the Common Bond said his restaurant did nothing wrong and his restaurant is legally allowed to have 175 customers..Omar Polyniak said the restaurant had set aside three tables for six people each for the game. All the chairs and tables were socially distanced correctly..He said only eight people showed up for the game and he disputes the claim the police told players who had called them..He said staff knew who the caller apparently was..“I’m a family restaurant struggling to survive. We did absolutely nothing wrong but people have already called to cancel reservations,” Polyniak said..The poker group is made up of oilfield engineers in their 30s and have been holding monthly games for about five years..The family has filed an official complaint to Calgary Police Service..“For the cops to say who the person was that ratted them out is very concerning,” the man said..“It can be dangerous to do that in some situations.”.CPS has been contacted for comment and the Western Standard will update the story when they do..The organizer of the game has also been contacted but hasn’t commented yet..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694
A Calgary man is furious after police descended on a small poker party at a downtown bar – and allegedly told people who the informant was; someone in his social circle..Now the man is receiving threatening phone calls from fellow poker players threatening “retribution” and to disrupt his upcoming wedding..The man, who the Western Standard is not identifying, said he received an invitation to a monthly poker party for oilfield workers, this time being held at a downtown watering hole called Common Bond..The man thought having 90 people invited to the game was “an iffy judgement call” and didn’t go to the event. But a member of his circle of friends spotted the invitation and called the police..“When the police came there were only about eight players left in the game,” the man said in an interview with the Western Standard..“One hundred per cent, they told everyone it was a female with the last name of [undisclosed] who was the informant, so it was pretty easy to figure out where the tip came from..“Now there are a number of people very upset with my family. Rightfully so. My mom was in tears this morning when I showed her the message saying there were going to be ‘repercussions’.”.The man has also received threats that police will bust up his upcoming wedding. The Western Standard has viewed copies of the threat.. POLL: Many Albertans say they will ignore Christmas COVID lockdown .“When you are getting married the police will be called to check on your gathering,” the threat said..The owner of the Common Bond said his restaurant did nothing wrong and his restaurant is legally allowed to have 175 customers..Omar Polyniak said the restaurant had set aside three tables for six people each for the game. All the chairs and tables were socially distanced correctly..He said only eight people showed up for the game and he disputes the claim the police told players who had called them..He said staff knew who the caller apparently was..“I’m a family restaurant struggling to survive. We did absolutely nothing wrong but people have already called to cancel reservations,” Polyniak said..The poker group is made up of oilfield engineers in their 30s and have been holding monthly games for about five years..The family has filed an official complaint to Calgary Police Service..“For the cops to say who the person was that ratted them out is very concerning,” the man said..“It can be dangerous to do that in some situations.”.CPS has been contacted for comment and the Western Standard will update the story when they do..The organizer of the game has also been contacted but hasn’t commented yet..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694
