Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) has lost the £100,000 he won in a rigged poker game after the cash was stolen from a pub chair in Emmerdale.
Earlier this week, Robert and Serena Sugden (Casey Al-Shaqsy) arrived at The Hide ready to reopen the business after Robert bought the place from Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham). They were shocked to find it completely empty. Gabby had removed every item from the restaurant and cancelled all permits and licences, knowing Robert would not be able to do anything about it.
High stakes game
Robert threatened to sue Gabby, but she knew a legal case would take ages and that Robert did not have the money to fund one. With no cash to buy equipment for The Hide, Robert needed to find funds.
In the episode dated October 16, he invited Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson), Joe Tate (Ned Porteous), Claudette Anderson (Flo Wilson) and Kev Barton (Chris Coghill) to The Hide for a high stakes poker match. Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) was apprehensive, but Robert was confident, saying he and Kev had passed time playing poker in prison.
Victory and theft
The game saw Claudette win repeatedly, forcing the others to get rid of her. Jai left as well, leaving just Joe playing against Robert. In the final round, if Robert lost, Joe would become the new owner of The Hide; if Robert won, he would take Joe's £100,000. Robert was victorious, but only because he rigged the final round.
£100,000 richer, Robert took Serena, Aaron and Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill) to the pub to celebrate. Instead of keeping the bag of money with him, he hid it in the corner of a pub chair. Distracted by telling everyone about his win, Robert failed to notice someone had stolen the money.
The cash was Robert's key to opening The Hide, and now it is gone. The identity of the thief remains unknown, with Joe, Kev and Claudette all potential suspects. Whether Robert can recover the money remains to be seen.
