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| Pokerazzi |
| There is no escaping the smile of Amanda Leatherman, or her notepad and camera. Like an annoying member of the paparazzi, Leatherman is there to get the dirt on what is going on in the poker world, and on the PokerRoad, just for you. |
| Conspiracy Theorists Unite! |
| More than a few eyebrows were raised at last month's WPT event in beautiful Turks & Caicos when the title wasn't taken down by a grizzled poker veteran or an up-and-coming Internet whiz kid, but rather by Rhynie Campbell…the overseas organizer of the event. One player commented to me on day two, as Campbell accumulated chips, that, "it would be a little fishy if he really ends up doing well". Sure enough, by the end of the event, Campbell had weaved his way through the maze of professional players to find himself sitting in the winner's circle. Now this column is not insinuating that any actual wrongdoing was committed, but there were a number of players who commented on the strange happening of an unknown setting up the event and that same individual also taking it down…overseas…in his own home country. We in the "Pokerazzi" will let you decide if it's just an amazing coincidence or something else. |
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| Online Poker Taking Big Hits? |
Winning heading back into “the void”…?
That seems to be the case, as not one but two major Internet sites are at the center of scandal. The first involves Internet giant PokerStars, who last month hosted the main event of the WCOOP. Of the 2,998 entrants, which created a $7,495,000 prize pool, 'TheV0id' emerged as the champ and the winner of the massive $1,378,330.50 first place prize. End of story, right? Congrats to ‘TheV0id’…well, not so fast. A couple weeks ago the forums started going crazy about an investigation that was taking place with PokerStars. There were claims that the newest winner had been using multiple accounts during the event. Sure enough they released a statement that said he was in breach of the PokerStars terms of service , but no multiple accounts were found. Looks like PokerStars did the right thing by disqualifying 'TheVoid' and bumping everyone up one place. There were also claims that a few of the respected pros, such as Vanessa Rousso, Chad Brown, and Josh Arieh were also involved in different acts of cheating. Hopefully this isn't true, as nothing is confirmed as of yet. |
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Good God (Account)!
The other persona (or should I say sitea) non grata in online poker is Absolute Poker. The site has caused quite an uproar thanks to allegations of a "SuperUser" account. It all started with players posting hand histories on the forums, followed by claims of certain accounts at Absolute Poker that allow individuals to see the hole cards of their opponents. Some of the evidence is rather shocking, and many players believe something fishy is going on. Absolute Poker fired back with a statement saying that they checked their software and found no “SuperUser” accounts. However, Nat Arem, an online player and the owner of www.thepokerdb.com, has been investigating the scandal on his own and appears to have made two startling discoveries. First, that the IP addresses in question lead back to Kahnawake Gaming Commission, which is where Absolute Poker is hosted. And secondly, that one of the IP’s in question traces back to…Scott Tom, the CEO of Absolute Poker. Could this actually be an inside job from the site itself? What will happen to Absolute Poker if the allegations prove to be true? Stay tuned to the forums for more… |
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| Frogmen in Turks & Caicos? |
There were more happenings in Turks and Caicos than just Rhynie Campbell’s conspiracy inspiring win. It seems nearly all poker players love prop bets, and most bets usually fall under the categories of harmless or stupid. Down in Turks though one bet proved to be a little more “extreme” than the norm. Poker pros David Williams and Lee Markholt offered fellow pro Matt Gianetti $15,000 to stand in the hotel’s pool for 12 hours. That's right people, 12 hours! To make matters worse, Gianetti had to spend the entire time in the deep end, where the water reached up to his shoulders (he was allowed to walk to the edge for food and water). It was the talk of the night, as most people thought Gianetti would never make it. But congrats to Matt, as he ended up winning the bet! There was even a doctor on hand when Matt, sporting some actual blue legs and feet, finally exited the pool. Not to worry though, other than being a little waterlogged, Matt was fine…and $15,000 richer.
But that’s not all, folks! While the pool bet was taking place, poker professional Sean McCabe decided that if he could round up $100,000 from his fellow pros, he would stand in the ocean for 24 straight hours the next night. So did McCabe, the former rescue diver turned poker pro, get any takers? Well, almost. While Mark Seif and Joe Sebok were confident they could win the bet, the safety of a fellow player mattered more than the money, and both thought that McCabe might have been too stubborn to get out of the water even if he were in danger. Good thing too, as a massive thunderstorm hit that night, meaning McCabe probably would’ve died or, at the very least, been down $100,000. Jeez…is there ever enough action? I guess boys will be boys…. |
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