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It was news that became the talk of the poker community on the first day of the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. While 64 players were on the NBC set in Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, poker media was abuzz with reports that well-known poker pro Layne Flack was in a Vegas jail on DUI and other charges. Ultimately, within 24 hours, there was another side to the ever-developing story in the words of Flack himself, but that did not stop the interest in the saga.The media first noticed that something was awry when David Oppenheim was in Layne Flack’s seat at the NHUPC. When the show’s producer Mori Eskandani was asked about Flack’s disappearance from the line-up, he said that Flack was in an auto accident the night before after leaving the draw party. That attracted concern until some of the reporters on scene began their investigative reporting, at which point it was discovered that Flack was being detained at the City of Las Vegas Detention Center. He had been arrested in the late night hours of Thursday, March 5 and charged with driving under the influence, driving more than 21 miles per hour over the speed limit, and failing to yield to an emergency vehicle.
Later on the afternoon of Friday, March 6, he was released on bail. Soon after, he released a statement to the media that read as follows:
“I attended the Draw Party at Pure on Friday night and then met with my brother, who had flown into Vegas for Heads Up. I was under the impression that I was to play in the last bracket the next evening at around 8pm. I was pulled over for speeding and refused a breathalyzer test as I have been instructed to do. I have no idea why I was written a ticket for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle. There were no emergency vehicles around, besides the police car. A test, given by the Las Vegas PD, later revealed that I had a blood alcohol content of zero. I also took a blood test, as I have nothing to hide. I was held for the mandatory six hours and released. I always go out of my way to not drink and drive. I regret that I was not able to play in NBC Heads Up and hope to be invited next year to play in this prestigious event.”
The brief statement denied two of the three charges, though the City of Las Vegas continued to list those as the misdemeanors with which he was charged. In addition, the statement read that he attended the draw party on Friday night, but the party was in fact on Thursday night.
While Flack denies that he drank prior to driving away from the party and claims his alcohol level was tested at zero, it was noted by several draw party attendees that he was spotted drinking alcohol at the party only hours before the police incident. Online poker player Andrew Robl was one of those who had blogged about doing shots of tequila with Flack at the party and that Flack “ended up getting quite drunk.” However, only a short time after Flack’s statement was released, Robl edited his blog post to delete those statements, and he did so with no explanation of the edit.
Flack is quite known around the tournament poker circuit as one who indulges in libations on a regular basis, though his assertion that he does not drink and drive could very well be an honest one. Most of the observations from the draw party are speculation or, in the case of Robl, a statement that may or may not have been true.
For now, Flack will have to sort out the details with the Las Vegas police department and court system, and little may be known to the poker media until records become public.
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