The state police pulled the English Poker pro-Ashley Locker’s when his license plate activated the warning system on a local police car’s radar in November 2019. According to a later search, Locker possessed total cash of £1,500 ($2,100) and £923 ($1,300) in the vehicle.

On enquiring, Locker said he was on his way for a game as a professional poker player. However, he couldn’t explain the six packets of cocaine discovered in his Audi Q7, though.

Locker’s automobile was confiscated and was detained on the side of the road. Additional 55g of cocaine worth over £2,200 ($3,000) was found during a search of his residence. Hundreds of empty snap bags (transparent bags for holding narcotics) were also discovered, as well as a list of drug sales and connections.

Prosecutor Matthew Collins described Locker as a “one-man enterprise.”Even though the entire quantity confiscated exceeded $10,000, the judge decided that Locker was a low-level dealer. As a result, he was charged with cocaine possession, to which he pled guilty.

According to Locker’s lawyer, Anna Bond, his downward spiral was caused by growing gambling debts.

Different Packets with a Different Kind

At the age of 18, Locker began playing poker also worked in McCain’s food factory in Scarborough. Locker’s Hendon Mob website lists a slew of low-stakes tournament wins from throughout the UK and Europe.

In 2013, Locker finished third at the UKIPT Cork event, which was his first significant performance. By the summer of 2014, Locker had amassed a fortune of more than $40,000 thanks to his $1,986 payout. In 2018, the Englishman broke through after positing in 195 at the main event of WSOP. Locker quit his job to focus only on poker after winning $49,335 in the tournament.

Unfortunately for Locker, that was the high point of his professional life. During 2018 and 2020, Locker earned few five-figure scores on his resume but was making nothing since then. Bond characterized Locker as a player who faced success in the early years of poker games before going through a period of decline from which he was unable to recover.

Drugs entered Locker’s life after begging and borrowing. Locker started distributing cocaine to preserve his poker player’s image and lifestyle. He will have to serve at least 13 months in prison before being eligible for parole.