Seals With Clubs bitcoin poker site founder Micon to be sentenced_1

Professional poker player and bitcoin poker site owner, Bryan Micon is expected to be sentenced in Las Vegas today for operating an unlicensed poker site in the online regulated state of Nevada. After accepting a plea bargain in late June and entering a guilty plea in July, Micon should avoid prison time in what authorities there are calling a “first of its kind” case.

A $25,000 fine and surrender of items seized when his Las Vegas home was raided in February which include cash, BTC, and electronic equipment, along with probation are the expected sentence. For a felony charge of operating the bitcoin powered Seals With Clubs poker site without a license Micon could have been sentenced to as long as 10 years in prison and levied a $50,000 fine. According to reports in July, felony charges had been reduced to “gross misdemeanors”.

After the raid of Micon’s family home, where offices were located, he fled to Antigua. The prosecution was announced in April along with a warrant for his arrest. In June the warrant was tabled so that Micon could return to the U.S. and face charges.  Micon was represented by Las Vegas-based attorney David Chesnoff, who has defended high profile poker cases in the past.

Bitcoin gambling in itself is not illegal, however Micon ran into trouble for operating a poker room from Las Vegas without a license.