A man who seemingly has difficulty keeping a poker face was arrested Sunday evening after allegedly spitting in a dealer’s face at the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens.
Mesbah Khaffaji, 52, was gambling Sunday night at a no-limit hold’em poker table when he became upset and spit food on the dealer’s glasses, police said.
“We can only assume because he lost a hand,” said Sgt. Brendan Kirkpatrick of the Bell Gardens Police Department.
Khaffaji was detained by casino security until police arrived around 7 p.m. and arrested him on suspicion of misdemeanor battery.
Kirkpatrick said it wasn’t the first time a disgruntled gambler had taken out frustrations on a dealer.
“Is it often? No. Does it happen? Yes,” Kirkpatrick said. “People get heated. Large sums of money lost; people can’t control their emotions.”
-- Robert Faturechi
