Greg Raymer first hit headlines when he took out the 2004 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, winning his first (and currently only) WSOP gold bracelet and a whopping $5 million in the process.
That victory helped cement Raymer’s status as one of the top poker players on the planet and he has gone on to claim 19 WSOP in-the-money finishes, along with two WPT and NAPT cashes. All of those achievements have contributed to well over $7 million in live tournament poker winnings for the American.
However, Raymer made headlines for the wrong reasons back in March when he was charged along with five other people with soliciting a female prostitute and attempted crimes against nature. The incident occurred as part of an undercover police operation in the US city of Wake Forest, which is located in the state of North Carolina.
Raymer was released on bond soon after being charged and has remained active on the felt, and even finished in 11th place in the $2,500 10 Game Mix event at this year's WSOP.
Now it has been reported by the tabloid news website TMZ that those charges against Raymer have been dismissed after he completed 75 hours of community service at a non-profit organisation and underwent a mental health assessment.
The dismissal of the charges is likely to come as good news to the player known as the ‘Fossilman.’ It means that he is able to avoid any potential embarrassment brought about by further legal proceedings and can continue to be better known for his high level poker play and nothing else.
Raymer has so far remained tight-lipped about the latest news and appears to be more focused on winning the Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) Florida Main Event in which he is currently playing. The 48-year-old has made it to Day 2 of the three-day event, although he will start the day as a short stack with just 30,900 chips to his name.
The end of the embarrassing incident is highly likely to be a sigh of relief for Raymer, as it would be for the overwhelming majority of people. However, it was a bit different for the Fossilman given his relative fame in the poker world, which led to increased focus and scrutiny with regard to his legal infractions.
However, that mini-chapter now appears to be officially over and hopefully we can get back to reporting about Raymer’s stellar performances at the poker table.
