A raid of an illegal poker den early Friday resulted in the arrest of four people for gambling and drug offenses, authorities said.

The 12:15 a.m. raid at 18 Berkshire Place came after neighbors complained to the Englewood Cliffs police about suspicious activity at that address, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said.

Undercover detectives from Molinelli’s office infiltrated the gambling den and observed that high-stakes games of Texas hold ‘em were being played there from 10 p.m. until dawn six nights a week, the prosecutor said. The organizers were taking a cut from each game played — a practice that distinguishes illegal poker from a cordial game of cards among friends.

The raid came nearly a month after Frank DeSena, 55, of Wayne, was shot to death in an armed robbery at a high-stakes underground poker club in a Manhattan office building. A Bronx man was charged with the crime, but he was released after prosecutors in Manhattan declined to present the case to a grand jury.

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Recovered from the Poker Players Alliance archive index. This is the archived item as preserved.