Re(1): Hall of Fame #134: Remembering Ocala absurdity Posted on April 6, 2024 at 05:52:19 PM by 40yrfan
Just a few comments. The whole thing stunk. The poker and jai alai operations were managed by Brian Matthews. Matthews paraded around the place in a suit that looked so out of place on him that I was reminded of an underworld character in a film noire movie. He hired two ex-Florida Gator football players, Chris Doering and Judd Davis to man the two-man farce. Before the curtains were closed and spectators were
banned, I got a chance to watch them “play.” It was an insult to the sport as neither had the needed preparation to play “professionally.” I thought that it was odd that Doering made references to Ocala Poker on the local sports radio program that he hosted, some of which were paid announcements and others that were free “plugs” for poker business. I am not inferring that there was anything illegal or unethical about that but it did not smell right. On the original thread a post titled “It Is Not Illegal” a comment was made that since partidos had been permitted then the two-man sham was legal. In my opinion that was flawed reasoning because, and if I am wrong please correct me, those partidos had been played after the mandated number of games had been performed. In any case, the partidos had been played with no black curtains to prevent fans from watching. One night I went into the spectator area after entering through a point where two curtains met and sat in a seat to watch. After several “volleys” one of the two noticed me and both players went into the locker room area. Several minutes later two poker security guards escorted me out of the building with a warning that if I ever did that again. I would go to jail. That was the last time I ever set foot in that building.
