Poker Player Murdered - Bill Gustafik Found Dead in Las Vegas

A professional poker player was found murdered yesterday. His wife is being charged with the crime.

Cardplayer.com reports that Bill Gustafik, who had won over $160,000 on the professional poker circuit in the last calender year, was found stabbed to death in his Las Vegas condo on Wednesday. Gustafik's wife, Jill Rockcastle, was arrested in San Luis Obispo, as the chief suspect.

A knife that is thought to have been the murder weapon was found in a waste bin near the couple's condominium. Rockcastle was being treated in a San Luis Obispo when the police detained her. She had been found unconscious in a local bread-and-breakfast earlier that morning. Mrs. Rockcastle state of mind was said to be "suicidal".

Bill Gustafik was a chiropractor in San Ramon, California until a couple of years ago. He sold his practice, Hayward Accident and Injury, to turn pro in 2005. Taking the game name "The Manipulator", Gustafik has shown a solid amount of talent at the game in the past two years.

He finished in 10th place at the 2006 World Poker Tour $10000 Bay 101 Shooting Star event. He also finished 280th in the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event. Since that tournament had over 8,000 players in it, finishing in the top 300 is pretty darned impressive.

In interviews, Gustafik gushed over his relationship with his wife. His wife and nine year old daughter traveled with Gustafik to his tournaments. Players who met Gustafik claimed he was always smiling and friendly. An unidentified neighbor from San Ramon says that Rockcastle was "always in a bad mood", though she had recently inherited "a lot of money".

Gustafik and Rockcastle spent time between a large home in San Ramon and the condo in Las Vegas. Gustafik's daughter was Rockcastle's stepdaughter, who was not at the scene of the murder. The child was spending time with her birth mother.

Poker Player Murdered - Bill Gustafik Found Dead in Las Vegas