Over the past couple of weeks, the online poker world has been abuzz with ongoing developments in the cheating scandal involving Jose “Girah” Macedo, Haseeb “Dogishead” Qureshi and Dan “jungleman12″ Cates. A new scandal seems to pop up every month or even more frequently, with forum junkies at TwoPlusTwo breaking down the details and solving the mysteries that the poker rooms themselves often find all too daunting.
From the Ultimate Bet superuser scandal to Full Tilt’s ongoing inability to repay U.S. players, poker grinders often wonder whether it would be better to retreat to the relative safety of live casinos, where it’s far easier for supervisors and organizers to ensure the fairness of each and every hand. Of all places, you’d think that the Bellagio in Las Vegas, known for its incredibly high stakes cash games, would represent a level and balanced playing environment.
Not so, according to professional poker layer Jimmy Fricke. A few days ago, Fricke took to Twitter to announce what could add up to one of the most significant cheating scandals in all of poker, including both the real and virtual felt:
“Every single ace of spades is marked at Bellagio and no one gives a [explicit] at all. I’ve pointed it out in 10ks and big cash and no one cares.”
Fricke then posted a follow-up tweet, saying that the “marked” cards are warped due to their method of storage. Although it seems unlikely that the Bellagio is intentionally warping its own cards, it’s disheartening to read that Fricke’s complaints fell on deaf ears. A little while later, Fricke tweeted:
“Screw this. I get into a pot where I know my opponent has the As after I’ve told the table they’re all marked. I feel like a cheater.”
Alas, the moral implications are complicated. How would you handle an unfair advantage when you’ve already explained it to the powers-that-be? Let us know in the comments below.
1 Comment - Click Here to Speak Up