New York poker duo to plead guilty

Zemanta Related Posts ThumbnailNew York Daily News – You got to know when to fold’em.

Two gamblers charged in connection with an illegal, high-stakes poker and sports betting ring for high-rollers, hedge funders and Hollywood A-Listers plan to enter guilty pleas next month.

Justin Smith, 25, and Edwin Ting, 41, are scheduled to cop pleas Sept. 4, according to court papers filed Thursday by Manhattan federal prosecutors.

Smith, of Los Angeles, will plead guilty to accepting payment for unlawful Internet gambling, the papers said.

He is also charged with operation an illegal gambling business and would face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of at least $500,000 fine if convicted on both counts.

Ting will plead guilty to operating an illegal gambling business. He is also charged with money laundering conspiracy and would face up to 30 years in prison and a fine of at least $1 million if convicted on both counts.

Smith and Ting will be the third and fourth defendants to enter pleas.

Poker princess Molly Bloom has pleaded not guilty. Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, who lives in Russia, is in the wind.