WINFIELD, W.Va. - A local man is fighting a gambling charge stemming from his participation in a high-stakes poker game that was the target of a robbery.

Harry Knopp, 68, of Parkersburg was one of eight poker players charged with illegal gambling after a poker game with a $27,000 pot was robbed by two women in disguises. He and another player, Gerald Higginbotham of Nitro, are fighting the charges, which carry a $5-$300 fine.

Some of the men have pleaded guilty to the charges and received a $300 fine. Higginbotham said as far as he knows, everyone who has pleaded guilty received the maximum penalty, according to The Charleston Gazette.

The incident occurred last year in Charleston while the group was playing poker. Around 2 a.m., two women burst into the room and robbed the game.

"Two women came through the door with disguises on and robbed us. They got a pretty good chunk of money," Knopp said Thursday.

The players decided to call the police, which resulted in the perpetrators being arrested, Knopp said. At the time, the police allegedly were not interested in pursuing gambling charges, he said. However, when the case was turned over to the Putnam County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, a decision was made to pursue gambling charges against the players.

"First thing you know, they made an arrest a couple of days later. They said they weren't interested in prosecuting the guys playing poker. The prosecuting attorney got ahold of it and decided she does. Each one of us was given a ticket for playing poker," Knopp said.

Knopp said it isn't fair that table gaming is legal in West Virginia casinos, but private citizens must gamble in secret or risk receiving a fine.

"Everyone plays poker nowadays. I've played poker with policemen, everybody. This prosecuting attorney, I guess, is not a poker player," he said.

If nothing else positive comes from the incident, Knopp said it at least makes a great story.

"It was a lot of fun. We had a good laugh about it because two women robbed us. There's nothing else you can do but laugh," Knopp said.