Red Rock Casino Blasted In Hearing Over Not Paying On Poker Bad Beat JackpotNevada Regulators Could Tell Poker Room To Pay Players |
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A bad beat on a bad beat.
Las Vegas’ Red Rock casino is under fire after refusing to pay out a bad beat jackpot from July because one of the players in the hand accidentally turned over his cards prematurely.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that a hearing on Tuesday featured testimony about the controversial poker hand that occurred in the casino’s 20-table poker room. Regulators will decide what to do about it next month.
The casino, along with its sister properties around the gambling hub, had a bad beat progressive jackpot worth $120,000 when 83-year-old Avi Shamir lost with a straight flush to a higher one from a poker player by the name of Len Schreter.
Shamir was in-line to collect $60,000 for losing, while Schreter was going to pocket $30,000, a typical breakdown for bad beat promotions. Under the Station’s Jumbo Hold’Em Poker Progressive jackpot promotion, poker players at four other poker rooms owned by the casino operator (at the time the straight flush vs. straight flush hand happened) would share a piece of the six-figure prize pool. More than 80 players reportedly were set to win some money.
That didn’t end up happening.
Red Rock examined video footage of the hand and decided to invalidate the jackpot because Schreter turned over his two cards prior to the end of the hand. He exposed his cards after the river card was dealt, but before the final round of betting had been completed.
The casino operator does have a rule that if players discuss their hands during the action it could potentially void a jackpot. But that’s up to the “discretion of managers.” The poker players involved reportedly can’t believe the casino is enforcing the rule, considering that the exposure of the cards apparently didn’t influence action or the outcome of the hand. Both players held straight flushes after all. The Gaming Control Board was called to investigate the matter.
An investigator with the Board conducted a review and determined that the players should be paid, according to the Review-Journal. Both Schreter and Shamir were present at Tuesday’s hearing. Schreter said that the invalidation of the jackpot has damaged his reputation.
“I went from local hero to local bum and, in one case, a local villain,” he testified. “I was hurt emotionally by Red Rock, but [Shamir] was hurt financially. Red Rock kicked me in the stomach, but Red Rock kicked him in a place a lot lower than that.”
Should Station be forced to pay, it can appeal the ruling, the report said.
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