Costa Rica Police Make "Ayre," Raid Bodog-Boss Calvin's Place

Tired of reading those stories about Florida retirees who've had their dime-ante poker games raided by cops at the behest of lawmakers trying to make a point? Well, here's proof that it happens in places other than America. In fact, the gendarmes in Costa Rica have recently one-upped anything we've seen in our papers in quite some time. Last Saturday, a police force estimated at between 60 to 100 in strength conducted a mass raid at the Costa Rican estate of Bodog founder and CEO Calvin Ayre.

Early reports of the fiasco-in-progress soon surfaced in some of the major online poker media outlets --- such as this piece from Card Player --- and quickly shed some light on a situation gone awry.

According to a statement released by Ayre, the police had been tipped that illegal gambling --- in the form of home-style casino action --- was taking place that evening inside Ayre's "Bodog Compound" estate. And when the police arrived, sure enough, the place was a beehive of activity: there was a wrap-up party taking place for Ayre's show, which is filmed in San Jose (Costa Rica's capital, and also the locale of the Ayre estate). But no gambling. Just a normal batch of loud-'n'-crazy drunks.

Think it was a quality tip that led to the raid? Think again. Here's what the Ayre statement offered on the matter:

“It has now come to our attention that these suspicions were based solely on an inaccurate article published in a Costa Rican tabloid newspaper, which erroneously reported on aspects of the Forbes magazine article that features me as the subject of its cover story."

Alright, here's a quickie quiz: Excepting anything having to do with Michael Jackson, when's the last time a major raid --- 60 to 100 freakin' armed men --- conducted a raid based on a tip from a tabloid?

And for gambling? A raid that large ought to at least net a liuetenant from a Columbian cartel, shouldn't it? Was there nothing better for the Costa Rican version of S.W.A.T. teams to do on a Saturday night?

Oh, but we hadn't heard the whole story yet... in more ways than one. It turned out that there was a gambling connection with some validity: the wrap-up party was for the finishing of shooting for the “Calvin Ayre Wildcard Poker” series, a six-part program that also will focus much of its attention on Ayre's own lifestyle. Also, there was a poker tournament connected with the filming of the show, a $500,000 challenge that actually was a freeroll... there was no cost to enter for the high-roller players that participated. Apparantly, that's where some of the confusion began. According to the subsequent local reports:

"Ayre, a 44-year-old Canadian, denies he violated any Costa Rican gambling laws because there was no cost to the participants to enter the $500,000 poker challenge that was taped, he said. In addition, Bodog.com of which he is CEO and founder, had disclosed earlier Monday that the actual poker games that are part of the show were filmed at the Channel 7 television studio in Sabana Oeste." Ayre went on to say that at no time was he detained or arrested, and that the party was still a "success," although it was relocated to a nearby hotel, where, for the remainder of the evening, Ayre resumed "partying with models, celebrities, and poker pros,” poor guy that he is. Heh.

But he wasn't the only one doing the partying, meaning the lawyers for everyone will get a little bit richer later on. Seems that when the raid went for naught, many of the police helped themselves to a free meal from the party's buffet, and three of the cops even stripped and went for a dip in the pool.

I'm guessing this was one raid for which there was no shortage of volunteers; by all accounts, Compound Bodog sounds like the Playboy Mansion, removed to Costa Rica. And besides, the donut shops are seldom open on Saturday nights.

Despite the fact that six Ayre/Bodog "bodyguards" were detained by immigration authorities, the show must always go on. Ayre might even add the incident to the final episode of “Calvin Ayre Wildcard Poker." As he said in his subsequent statement: “It could make a nice and exciting ending to a show watched by millions of people around the world. After all, it is reality television.”