Germany’s largest poker tournament, EPT, hosted by Grand Hyatt Hotel and visited by international guests, was robbed by unknown suspects. The perpetrators were reportedly heavily armed with machine guns, machetes and hand grenades. They were going after the jackpot.

Several masked attackers armed with guns stormed Grand Hyatt Hotel on Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz. The armed perpetrators seized prize moneys and made an escape, said a police spokesman. €240 000 were taken according to recent reports.

The citizens of Berlin and tourists alike were shocked that such an incident could take place in the middle of Berlin in an international 5-star hotel, and on the bustling Potsdamer Platz.

At least four armed and masked men robbed the organizers of an international poker tournament late in the evening today (Saturday). The armed men stormed the building on Marlene-Dietrich-Platz around 2:15 p.m., making their way to the first floor and forcing the staff to hand over the money. According to current knowledge, the perpetrators carried sidearms and a machete. A security guard was able to temporarily pin down one of the perpetrators before he was attacked and lightly injured by his accomplices. The culprits lost one bag with a substantial part of their loot in the melee and fled on foot toward the Potsdamer Platz shopping mall.

Attendants of the tournament were startled by the attack and panicked, resulting in a jostle that left seven lightly injured.

The attack took place on one of Berlins most vibrant plazas, practically in the face of hundreds of visitors and shoppers, and only four days before ITB, which is expected to attract some 20,000 visitors from all over the world to the city.

Where was the police?

Immediately after the attack was reported, insiders and experts raised the question, “where was the police?”.

Germany’s largest poker tournament was not a secret, but widely covered by the media, with several reports mentioning specifically the amount of money involved. Furthermore, the Grand Hyatt Hotel and all of Potsdamer Platz are a popular venue for people moving wares and cash.

More than €1 million were allegedly stored within the tournament rooms on the first floor of the hotel. The police must have been aware of this fact – or do they not read newspapers?

Some witnesses were reminded of the horrible scenes of other hotel robberies – but for reasons not yet established, nobody was seriously injured this time.

This attack – in the light of day – and the absence of the police are anything but good publicity for Berlin tourism!