Las Vegas Casino Regulators Rule Poker Player Deserves Bad-Beat JackpotMan Who Lost With Straight Flush To Be Paid $62K |
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The Nevada Gaming Control Board has ruled in favor of a poker player who won the lion’s share of a bad-beat jackpot last summer.
After delaying a decision last month, regulators determined at a meeting last week that Avi Shamir will be awarded $62,126 for his share of a $120,000 bad beat at Red Rock Casino. That’s according to a disposition of player dispute appeals posted to the Board’s website. Shamir, who was 83 at the time of the bad beat, lost with a straight flush to a higher one from a poker player by the name of Len Schreter.
However, there was a problem.
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. Schreter technically broke the rules but his actions didn’t influence any action, so there was outcry when the casino held onto the money. The bad-beat jackpot is funded by poker players.
The Board’s posting didn’t say whether Schreter will be awarded any money. It also didn’t say what would happen to money that should have gone to dozens of poker players across Las Vegas, including the tablemates of Shamir and Schreter.
Under Station Casinos’ 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 were set to win some money.
Red Rock’s parent company can appeal the latest ruling. The casino operator reportedly contested an earlier recommendation from a state investigator that the jackpot should be awarded. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, it’s virtually unheard of for the three-member Nevada Gaming Control Board to go against a recommendation from a hearing officer.