Bodog Beat

Poker pro Richard Lee finished sixth in the 2006 WSOP Main Event winning $2.8 million. (Bodog Beat Image)

Just two weeks after winning $2.8 million for finishing sixth in the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event, poker pro Richard Lee was arrested in his native San Antonio, Texas when his home was raided. He and three accomplices were arrested for operating a gambling and bookmaking operation from Lee's home and was facing jail time if convicted.

The raid on Lee's house was the result of a long investigation that claimed to have identified Lee's house as the "nerve center" of a bookmaking operation that was processing millions of dollars of wagers. Lee had also set up an online gaming site made to look like as if it was being operated offshore.

About two months later, the District Attorney eventually filed charges and on Tuesday, Lee entered a no-contest plea to charges of keeping a place for gambling, which is a misdemeanor under Texas law. Lee will give up the $2.5 million that was seized by San Antonio police during the raid on his home, but will do no jail time under the plea bargain. The judge fined each of them $2,000 each and ordered them to pay $94 each in court costs.

Once the plea had been accepted, Lee was asked what his plans for the future were. He responded, "I guess I just got to get out to Las Vegas and win a poker tournament." Wow, we wish we'd known it was just that easy.