Sunday's early morning shooting in Smith's following one of the Island's hugely popular home poker games might have been a tragedy waiting to happen.

Thousands of dollars are exchanged almost every night at various locations, most behind closed doors and perfectly legal.

And with armed robbery becoming terrifyingly more frequent, poker games might have become an obvious target.

A former Premier is one of those who is known to have hosted such gambling and the card game attracts all sections of the community, among them MPs, international businessmen, union leaders, Police officers, restaurant owners, taxi drivers and journalists.

Richard Gaglio, who now lies critically ill in hospital after being shot when two men burst into his house in the early hours of Sunday, just minutes after one such poker session had finished, is well known among the poker community as both a player and a host.

A colourful character, he invited all-comers to his twice-weekly game, held in a garage that had been converted to entertain as many as 30 players.

It grew in popularity after Government and Police clamped down on licensed premises who wanted to host poker games.

Establishments such as Spanish Point Boat Club, BAA, Flannagan's, the Beach, the Deep nightclub and even golf clubs such as Tucker's Point and Mid Ocean Club found the game popular with their patrons and members.

However, home games are perfectly legal. Stakes can vary from just a few dollars to hundreds, even thousands of dollars.

As Police continue their investigation, many of those who attended Saturday night's game believe that the hooded men who perpetrated the crime were well aware of the amount of cash involved.

Ironically, when they arrived most of that money had already left with the players, leaving only Mr. Gaglio and a friend to clean up the premises.

As one player said yesterday: "We're just stunned. 'Gags' invited anyone to his house, he welcomed everyone, the more the merrier.

"For most of us it was an entertaining night out. We wanted to win, but I think more than anything else we enjoyed each other's company.

"It was a pretty diverse group from all parts of the Island. There was a lot of laughter, most of it sparked by Gags himself."