$75,000 Worth of Magic: The Gathering Cards Stolen in Austin
The Magic: The Gathering community has long been a wellspring of poker talent, with notable names such as bracelet winners David Williams, Brock Parker, and Eric Froehlich making the transition to poker and putting up successful results.
Poker may have a shadier reputation than its distant cousin, but an instance on Sunday revealed that Magic isn't immune to a bit of criminal mischief as well.
On Jan. 24, burglars stole about $75,000 worth of Magic cards from Pat's Games in Austin, Texas, Katie Urbaszewski of the Austin American-Statesman reported.
Magic cards are regularly bought and sold among private parties, at auctions, and over the internet. Rare cards like "Ancestral Recall" and "Black Lotus" can fetch thousands in such transactions, with one of the latter going for a record $27,302 in a 2013 auction. Most such highly valued cards are banned from competition and are sought after mostly for their rarity.
The thievery appears to have been perpetrated by two men captured on security camera footage, one whose face is obscured by a hooded sweatshirt and a cap and another whose face is partially visible under a cap. In the footage, which lasts about 45 seconds, the men appear to force the door open with a bar before rushing in and immediately making off with what store owner Pat Johnson said was three display cases that held about 300 cards total.
"They knew exactly what they were looking for," a store manager said.
*Image courtesy of Sebastian Rittau/Wikimedia Commons.
Want to stay atop all the latest in the poker world? If so, make sure to get PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+!
