Risk of Robbery Raising Stakes Of Poker Nights

Players around him laughed and started fingering their chips.

"Wait till I start losing. That's when I get funny," he continued.

But thinking about the robberies, Barger suddenly turned serious. If he had been at the Manassas heist, he said, he would have fought back against the two robbers, who took jewelry as well as money. "I would have caught a bullet for my grandfather's wedding ring," he said, touching the silver band on his right hand.

Goodwin, who has a gentle Kentucky flow in his voice, said he is torn about whether he should arm himself on poker nights. He usually keeps his gun locked upstairs, but he's not sure that's the right move anymore.

"Before, I didn't bat an eye about it. Now it makes you think," said Goodwin, 31, a print shop owner. "I've seriously begun to ponder whether I should have it down here with me. I haven't decided yet. I think it would add a new dimension, and I don't know if I want to go there yet."

As the risks increase, the friendly home game is changing. The list of Internet invitations, once sent to hundreds of strangers, has narrowed. Guns were once prohibited as an unspoken rule, but players might now be packing heat. And some hosts are willing to take in some profit -- and risk arrest -- so they can pay for security.

"These games aren't going to stop, no matter what," said Thomas, who is awaiting a March 30 court date. "We should do something to make it more secure."

"We're still playing now," he added. "Just because we got guns pointed at our heads, doesn't mean we stop."