It is not uncommon for a grudge to linger for many years or lead to escalated behavior. In New York recently, a decades long-grudge led to a 72-year-old professional poker player to send several suspicious pieces of mail containing a white powdery substance to the state’s Gaming Commission.

Brent Carter, of Las Vegas, is known for being a poker player, having won WSOP gold in 1991 and 1994. Now, it seems he will be known as a federal criminal after he started this hoax against the gaming regulator. The white power ended up being drywall, sugar, talcum powder, and birdseed, instead of something more dangerous.

Details of the Grudge

A criminal complaint filed against Carter showed just how far his ill feelings towards the New York State Gaming Commission go. Back in 1976, he was working in the horse racing industry. His racing license was temporarily suspended by the commission due to suspected cheating. After a bit of time, Carter’s name was cleared, and the commission provided his license once again.

However, this must not have been enough for Carter. Over the years, his bitterness for the commission stewed and by 2018, he acted out. Just a short time after the first year anniversary of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, Carter, left a voice message with an employee that said:

“Well, it looks like the shooter in Las Vegas missed you guys. As long as you’re not available, you should be made permanently not available.”

Yet another voice mail was left the next month and then the episodes escalated from April 2019 to January of this year. It was during this time that the mail was sent to the commission’s headquarters in Schenectady with the white powder inside.

Each time the letters were sent, they were tested by authorities and found to be something non-threatening, like sugar or drywall.

Stop Now

In October, Carter was approached by investigators in Las Vegas. He was asked about the voice mails and letters. He said that he wanted to clear up the horse racing suspension issue. He said that he was unable to locate his horses and the commission had not responded to him. However, the commission sent several letters to Carter stating he was no longer under suspension.

Authorities warned Carter not to send any more letters. But he did not listen. He sent another letter in late January and action was taken against him. He was arrested and has now pled not guilty during a recent arraignment hearing.

If he is convicted of the charges, Carter could face as much as five years in prison.