Crazy Gambling Stories From August

The gambling world can sometimes produce really off-the-wall stories. Every month there are plenty of cases of individuals going to extreme lengths to pay back debts, or of simply bizarre behavior at casino properties around the globe. It can be entertaining and sometimes sad.

August 2018 was no exception, as there was plenty that happened in the casino world.

Here’s a look at some of the most colorful and/or noteworthy from the month that was.

Poker Player Loses Pot Of 13,000 Big Blinds After Showing Opponent A Card

Showing your opponent one of your hole cards during a live hand can be a risky play, and one poker player was reminded of that in an ultra-deep-stacked no-limit hold’em cash game at the Bicycle Casino. Video of the hand began on the river on a board reading A52K4. A player with the nickname “Bitcoin Yoda” bet $10,000 into a pot of $15,000. It was then on Eric Hicks on the button to make a decision. The stakes in the game were just $5-$5 with a $5 ante. Bitcoin Yoda offered to show him a card. Hicks picked one, and Bitcoin Yoda flashed him the 3. Hicks didn’t take long before making it $25,000. Bitcoin Yoda quickly called with 43 for a flopped straight. However, he was no good against Hicks’ 76 for a flush. Hicks raked in the pot worth 13,000 big blinds.

Straight Flush Over Quads Over Quads For $18K Jackpot

At the Casino Del Sol Poker Room in Tuscon, a run-of-the-mill $1-$2 table saw some crazy fireworks with a $18,000 bad beat jackpot up for grabs. When the dust settled, one player was sitting with a straight flush, which trounced a player with quad nines and a player with quad tens. The player with the king-high straight flush received $4,500 of the bad beat, while the player with quad tens received the lion’s share of $9,000. The player who had flopped quad nines received just $665, the same as every other player at the table uninvolved with the hand.

Poker Pro Suing WSOP For Kicking Him Out Of Main Event

A Maryland poker pro says the World Series of Poker was in the wrong when it ejected him from the 2017 main event, according to a federal lawsuit. Joseph Stiers said in court documents obtained by Card Player Magazine that he’s seeking “equitable and injunctive relief” and punitive damages from Caesars Interactive Entertainment, owner of the WSOP. Stiers was booted without refund from the $10,000 buy-in tournament on day 3 with a large stack, relative to the field at the time, of 630,000 chips. Stiers said he was trespassed from Caesars casinos after card counting in 2014.

Man Sentenced For Using Bank Robbery ‘Bait Bills’ To Buy Into Poker Game

A Missouri man has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for a January bank robbery that was used to fund a buy-in for a poker game at a local casino. According to a criminal complaint, Timothy Karpovich of Kansas City robbed a bank of $1,052 in $10 and $2 bills on the morning of Jan. 22, 2018. Just a handful of hours later, the 39-year-old used the money to sit down at a poker game at the Harrah’s Casino. A poker room manager told police that they saw a photo of the bank robbery suspect online and matched it with Karpovich, a regular in the poker room.

Poker Shuffler Maker Hit With $315M Verdict In Antitrust Case

A federal jury in Illinois issued a verdict against Las Vegas’ Scientific Games Corp. after the court heard that the firm illegally tried to stifle competition in the gaming sector. A $315 million verdict in the antitrust case was returned in favor of a group of firms led by Chicago-based Shuffle Tech International. They said that Scientific Games engaged in a “pattern of sham litigation” in order to protect its market share. SHFL Entertainment (formerly known as Shuffle Master), which became part of Scientific Games in 2014, controls “100%” of the “relevant U.S market” for the devices, the suit said. As of just a handful of years ago, the market for the devices and related services was about $100 million per year, according to the suit.

Ex-Kansas Cop Admits To Outing Undercover Investigator In Poker Game

A former police officer in Witchita, Kansas has admitted to helping the organizers of an underground poker game identify a suspected undercover investigator at the tables, according to court documents. In U.S. District court in Kansas, ex-cop Bruce Markey pleaded guilty to one count of “misprison of a felony.” Markey also admitted to knowing about the illegal poker game business and not doing anything to stop it. In the plea agreement, Mackey, 46, admitted to helping the organizers determine that an undercover investigator was in the underground poker room that night. According to the government, federal authorities were looking into illegal gambling with ties to public corruption in Wichita since late 2011.

New Jersey Woman Wins $288K Gambling Online During Conference Call At Work

During a conference call at work, an unnamed woman from the Garden State hit a massive $288,000 online slots jackpot, according to a news release promoting the prize from the online casino. Playsugarhouse.com said the gambler, who lives in Sewell Township outside Philadelphia, was playing on a mobile device while multi-tasking on the job. The gambler said in a chatbox on the platform that she “almost screamed out loud” during the conference call after hitting the six-figure jackpot.

NYPD Arrest Organizers Of Meetup.com Poker Game With Alleged Ties To Drugs

Authorities in New York City said that they have busted an underground poker operation that used the social networking site Meetup.com to find players. The Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York said that 32 individuals were arrested on narcotics, money laundering and gambling charges. Authorities alleged that 52-year-old David Diaz of New York City was the “head” of the poker and drug businesses, which police say had some overlap. While Diaz was in charge, the poker games were allegedly managed and promoted by 43-year-old Geeta Singh, who was called Mira. Police said that Singh promoted the games remotely from her residence in Atlanta, Ga. They also said that she “oversaw a related online poker business.”

Poker Players Upset After Poker Room Closes Without Paying Out Promo Fund

The closure of a small four-table poker room in a tribal casino in the state of Washington has some poker players upset. Per a report from mynorthwest.com, the Snoqualmie Casino, about a 30-minute car drive from Seattle, is facing criticism from the local poker community over the player-funded promotional pot, which was used to award prizes for events such as “high hands.” The casino said it wasn’t able to return all of those funds to poker players before the room closed, and so it is awarding the leftovers via its Ultimate Texas Hold’em tables. The poker room promotional fund was nearly $60,000 as of late July, the report said, and it dwindled to about $29,000 a day before the room closed.

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