Snake Eyes in Gambling Can Be Good But It May Mean Murder When Gambling Debts Are Involved! Steelman and Beck Face Charges

Last night HBO "Big Love" ended with rattle snakes having been put in the bed of a Polygamist who had bought a gambling business. Off the t.v. screen, Christopher Steelman, 34, and Herbert Beck, 56, are charged with scheming to collect on a gambling debt by using rattle snakes. Colorado investigators said Matthew Sowash (the alleged victim) is the owner of Amateur Poker Tour in WheatRidge. The accused are allegedly involved in an illegal poker operation. Sowish apparently did not pay the money he owed them, so Steelman and Beck apparently planned on dropping the victim into a container with rattlesnakes. After the victim was bit, then they could dump the body on a trail and make it look like an accident. Matthew Sowash is the owner of Amateur Poker Tour in Wheat Ridge. Apparently Sowash owed the accused men $60,000 according to Jim Shires of the Jefferson County Sheriff's office. Sowash's company apparently staged Texas Hold'em-style poker games in Denver area bars.

"You can get together with your friends and bet on your poker hands, that's ok. But if somebody charges you to play in that game, that's an illegal operation," said CBI spokesperson Lance Clem who is quoted on CNN.Com. The alleged victim apparently received threatening e-mails. Steelman's and Beck's bail is each $500,000. They are charged with conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and extortion. Beck and Stelman are innocent until proven otherwise.