Former World Series of Poker final table ace Chad Power had more than $1 million stolen from his Las Vegas home after being burgled by a gang member.
Power, who has raked in more than $600,000 in prize money through competitive poker play, was out playing a few hands at the Aria Hotel and Casino when the break-in occurred. Police believe the thieves, Brock Brewer and an unnamed accomplice, had previously followed Power home from a trip to another casino in order to find out where he lived.
Brewer and his co-conspirator broke into the property in the Henderson Township of Nevada on February 10, stealing a safe that contained $750,000 in cash and $250,000 in poker chips.
Power received an automated message on his mobile phone triggered by his security system, which showed Brewer in all his glory – he had lowered his mask and been caught on a security camera.
Called in by police, Power confirmed that he didn’t know who the burglars were, and surmised that they had followed him home from a casino visit a couple of days previously – he had been carrying a number of poker chips with him at the time.
Brewer, a known criminal who counts himself as a member of the New Born Crips gang, was placed at the scene by his own phone records. After investigation, he was found to have purchased three vehicles with his ill-gotten gains, including a brand new Dodge Charger Hellcat and a 2018 Maserati SUV. Brewer registered them both in his mother’s name to evade detection.
The criminal goes by the street name C-Rida, and he was arrested after a mugshot of him from a previous crime – when he followed another poker player home from the casino and stole $15,000 worth of cash and chips from him – was compared to the CCTV coverage picked up at Power’s home.
He had previous convictions for robbery, conspiracy, attempted battery and actual bodily harm. He has now been charged with eight counts of burglary while in possession of a firearm, home invasion, theft, conspiracy and possession of a gun as a prohibited person.
An Extortionate Mistake
Power, whose last major appearance on the poker circuit came at the 2019 WSOP, where he chased $82,000 in the No Limit Hold’em Main Event, became global news when he was accused by fellow pro Cate Hall of extortion.
Hall claimed that Power agreed to stump up her stake money for various cash games back in 2018, on the agreement that he would receive a cut of any winnings made.
Unfortunately, Hall went on to lose $60,000 and claimed that she wasn’t liable for the losses – demanding that Power pay up on her behalf.
When the Nevada native refused to pay up and began to publicly question Hall on Twitter, the latter accused the former of ‘extortion’ after claiming he has promised to ‘drag her name through the mud’ if Hall didn’t settle the bill.
The matter went all the way to private arbitration, where Power accused Hall of being on drugs and unable to play poker to the best of her abilities. However, the judge ruled in favour of Hall – largely as the pair did not have any written proof of their arrangement.