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WILMINGTON NEWS-JOURNAL MIDDLETOWN, DELEWARE  This house on Little Circle in The Legends community in Middletown was the site of all-night poker games for pots of as much as $20,000, according to Middletown police. (Buy photo) The News Journal/RON SOLIMAN
The cars that clogged the Middletown cul-de-sac a few times a week and lingered until after dawn fit more with a city after-hours club than with a golf course community of $400,000 homes. Neighbors suspected the friendly basement poker games some had participated in had morphed into something else, but the truth was more than many could have imagined. Police say that in the basement of William and Laurie Anderson's 5,400-square-foot home at 11 Little Circle in The Legends, guests played high-stakes poker with $20,000 pots, bet on sports and were served alcoholic drinks by a topless Laurie Anderson and other women -- all as three school-age children slept upstairs. The Andersons, both 37, and their live-in bouncer, Matthew Balotin, 30, were charged with multiple gambling offenses and endangering the welfare of a child after a raid by Middletown police Monday morning. Most neighbors who were home Tuesday afternoon in The Legends, a neighborhood of mini-mansions in cul-de-sacs, refused to comment. But Kevin Gephart, who has been delivering the mail in the area for about a year, said it was clear that something was going on at 11 Little Circle. "There were always people there when I delivered mail," said Gephart, whose daily route takes him into the development between 11 a.m and 1 p.m. Police said neighbors told them the Andersons started hosting an occasional game of cards several years ago. Several said they joined in from time to time. They said they stopped attending when the once-friendly games escalated into a full-blown gambling enterprise, said Middletown Police Chief Henry Tobin. "It scared them," he said. "This was getting out of control and somebody reached out to us." By late 2006, Anderson, having lost his job and nearly his home, had turned to poker to maintain his lifestyle and feed his family, police said. The game, drawing off of a pool of Texas hold 'em fans who play legally in a network of bars in Delaware and neighboring states, grew to where 15 to 20 cars would cram local streets at night. Some residents couldn't even get into their driveways. "It became a quality-of-life issue for the neighborhood," Tobin said. "You want to be able to park in front of your own house. The poker players played all night and sometimes stayed there. The school buses had to navigate around the cars on the cul-de-sac to pick up the kids for school." Tobin had heard complaints since July, when he was hired as Middletown's chief. The town had just started its own force after ending its police contract with New Castle County. When the town hired its first detective, Thomas Finch, he was immediately assigned to the house on Little Circle. The investigation ultimately involved examination of trash from the home, observation of cars parked out front and review of Web sites Anderson established for Elite Poker Inc. As evidence mounted -- discarded card boxes, charge-card paperwork, chip receipts -- police said they recruited informants to play. The informants reported games with $20,000 pots, a full bar with taps for draft beer, a 9-foot table to accommodate up to 14 players, and a wall safe to stash cash that police say Anderson took from each pot. The Andersons and Balotin were charged with misdemeanor offenses of first-degree advanced gambling, providing a premise for gambling, possession of gambling devices, three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, and conspiracy. They were released on $7,000 unsecured bail pending a March 31 hearing. Tobin said the investigation is not over. Police are consulting with the state Attorney General's Office to see if charges will be brought against players. The informants who played the high-stakes games told investigators alcohol was provided free to players by topless cocktail waitresses, one of whom was Laurie Anderson. A resident told police Laurie Anderson worked as a dancer at the Gold Club, a gentlemen's club on South Market Street south of Wilmington, according to court records. Another couple -- a dancer and a bouncer from the club -- also lived in the Anderson house at one time, but moved out in the fall as the investigation got under way, Finch said. "We had reports that there were multiple women," Finch said of the topless barmaids. "It wasn't every single day, but on occasion to spice up the game and keep customers coming back." Anderson solicited patrons mostly by word of mouth or referrals and would text-message players the scheduled day, time and stakes. The betting during the games was typically minimum $2, maximum $5 with no-limit wagering. There was also a dealer's choice table. Finch said the advanced gambling charges apply to a game of chance or consideration when money is paid to play and someone wins and someone loses -- with the sponsor taking a cut of the proceeds. If convicted of the three gambling misdemeanor offenses, the suspects could face a total of three years in prison and up to a $6,300 fine, said Jason Miller, spokesman for the state Attorney General's Office. Anthony Ryan and his wife, Brenda, live near the home. "All I know is that every week, there's a bunch of cars parked across the street, mostly on weekends." Balotin answered the front door of the raided home, a cell phone glued to his ear. "No comment," he said as he closed the door. Jose Carmona, a Wilmington pastor who moved into the neighborhood in December with his wife, three children and mother, said he just found out about the raid that morning. "I never have had a problem with parking," said Carmona, who lives two houses from the raided home. "If that was going on, they did it well, because I knew nothing." Carmona said he bought the house because the price was right and has a great view of the nearby Frog Hollow Golf Course.
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