(NECN: Brad Puffer) - The games are illegal. The stakes can be high. But it's likely there are many poker games going on right now in Massachusetts for big money.
That subculture is underground poker. Not just the little neighborhood game for nickels and dimes but high stakes poker for big money.
Player: "I made 14-15 hundred dollars in one night before, risking 100-200 dollars. That's a lot better than the stock market."
This man has been playing in those games for years. He did not want his identity revealed. He knows the games are illegal even though they're happening every night in homes throughout Massachusetts.
Reporter: "So do you ever go to Foxwoods?"
Player: "I don't go to Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods.... Because there really is no reason to when there is a game so close."
We sent him in, undercover, to see what these games look like, finding anywhere from 10-50 people at a game that runs all night long.
Player: "They'll be going to four or five in the morning, six in the morning"
Local
And while there are no big lights and shows, no restaurants or hotel, once you're at the table it doesn't seem to matter.
Player: "Some of the tables I play it will be better than the tables than at the casinos, they will have dealers there, it will be free drinks, free food."
Because just like a casino, the host is not hosting for free.
Reporter: "Someone is making money?"
Player: "Yes, the house is taking a rake similar to a casino."
Reporter: "And the money you make and the money they make, the state, isn't seeing any of it?"
Player: "correct."
Just months after the legislature failed to reach an agreement for casino style gambling in Massachusetts, there is no shortage of evidence that gambling - well beyond scratch tickets and the lottery - is going on anyway.
Reporter: "What kind of people have you seen at these games?
Player: "It's all walks of life, Major League Baseball players."
Reporter: "So you are sitting next to someone from the Red Sox playing at these games?"
Player: "It's happened."
Reporter: "That's quite a scene?"
Player: "I have actually played at a couple games where there are cops actually playing."
The popularity of Texas Hold-em and the World Series of Poker on television has made these underground games soar in popularity.
Player: "If I wanted to, I could play every night."
Reporter: "Do you every worry about getting caught?"
Player: "Myself? Not really."
There are no plans to revisit the gambling bill in Massachusetts. But people who want to play poker for money will find a way, either at the casinos of Connecticut or in a Massachusetts basement around the corner.
