Poker Pro Charged With Money Laundering, Ran High Stakes Games Out of Tampa Area
A Lakeland, Florida man faces money laundering charges after deputies said he was the ring leader behind an illegal gambling house that ran high stakes poker games.
Undercover detectives infiltrated the high-stakes poker games and later discovered James Kerr, 39, would make multiple transactions among various bank accounts.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said odds are there may be more charges to come.
"Now keep in mind he's also a professional gambler," said Judd. "If you search him up online, you'll see he's won a lot of money legally gambling, but guess what, he became greedy and decided to set up his own illegal game. That's when he got arrested."
Kerr appears on the renowned Hendon Mob database as having cashed out $685,000 in live tournaments. His biggest win to date occurred in 2021 at the $ 1,700 No Limit Hold'em (Event #7) in the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Poker Classic, Tampa where he walked away with $228,038.
Last year, he won the $ 2,500 No Limit Hold'em - Championship (Event #19) at the SHR Tampa Signature Poker Series, Tampa.
Kerr's attorney argues that the state does not have probable cause.
"He got the legal gambling debts, and he put it inside his own bank accounts," the attorney said. "It's no different than putting your legal gambling debts in a sock. That's not the laundering, that's not the washing."
