How pro poker players are reacting to WSOP collusion allegations

On one side of the aisle are those who believe the integrity of the game must be protected and may have been tarnished by Jesse Yaginuma and James Carroll at the conclusion of the $1,500 buy-in “Millionaire Maker” No-limit Hold’em event.

But many others defended the professional poker players and said they should be paid their prize money regardless since no other players were affected by the alleged chip dumping.

Yaginuma overcame a massive chip deficit at the start of heads-up play to defeat Carroll on Wednesday night at Horseshoe Las Vegas. The WSOP released a statement Thursday that it was investigating a “potential breach” of tournament rules and has not officially awarded first- or second-place prize money or the bracelet that goes to event winners.

The “Millionaire Maker” is one of the largest events on the WSOP schedule and drew almost 12,000 entrants. First prize in the tournament is $1,255,180, with second place paying out $1,012,320.

But it was a separate bonus from a rival poker promotion that helped create this controversy.

Yaginuma was in line to earn an additional $1 million from ClubWPT Gold, affiliated with the World Poker Tour, which gave the bonus to any eligible player who won one of 11 preselected summer events. Yaginuma was eligible, but had Carroll won the tournament, the bonus would not be paid out.

With an outside $1 million available to potentially split between the two, the players clearly were incentivized to ensure Yaginuma, who began heads-up play with a 9-to-1 chip disadvantage, was the winner. And that’s where the difference of opinion in the poker community seems to begin.

‘Should get paid’

Professional poker player and content creator Doug Polk, who is a brand ambassador for ClubWPT Gold, said in a YouTube video he has “never seen this kind of response online” about a tournament.

“Based on how blatant some of these hands are, I think that they teamed up to make sure Jesse won,” Polk said. “But in this particular instance, I think these guys should get paid.”

WSOP Rule 118 states, “Chip dumping and other forms of collusion will result in disqualification.” Rule 40b defines chip dumping as “as any agreement between or among two (2) or more Participants for one or more of the Participants to bet chips with the intent of increasing another Participant’s stack.”

But several prominent poker pros believe that Yaginuma and Carroll did what many others would do in that situation with an additional $1 million available and should not be punished.

Yaginuma told Poker.org that he and Carroll did not have a deal in place to split the additional winnings.

PokerNews reported Friday that ClubWPT Gold will pay Yaginuma the $1 million bonus regardless of the results of the WSOP’s investigation.

“Who exactly do you think is being harmed by 2 long time friends extracting a million extra in promo money by simply cooperating in a high stakes game of split or steal?” high stakes pro Matt Berkey wrote on X.

British poker pro Patrick Leonard wrote on X: “Please stop talking about the integrity. The tournament was over, deals happen all the time. Not a single participant was affected AT ALL. … This is ironically probably the dream outcome for WPT.”

It is common for poker players to make deals to split the prize money. For instance, two players might agree to closer to a 50-50 split rather than the predetermined payouts for first and second place.

Pros are often willing to sacrifice some potential first-place prize money to ensure they would earn more for second place should they suffer a bad beat or cold run of cards.

However, the WSOP does not facilitate dealmaking at the final table, unlike other poker tournaments.

A better way?

“Expecting these players to ignore those stakes and avoid any workaround isn’t just unrealistic. It’s unfair!” two-time WSOP Circuit winner Matt Glantz posted on X. “That said, I do wish the players had handled it more strategically.”

Had Yaginuma and Carroll quietly agreed to split the WSOP prize money differently, it would not have created a controversy in all likelihood. But it’s the purported deal the players made to manipulate the final outcome of the tournament and ensure the ClubWPT Gold $1 million bonus was paid out that raised red flags.

And it’s Carroll’s alleged chip dumping in front of thousands of viewers on the PokerGO livestream of the match that doesn’t sit well with others.

Many poker players noted on X that had Carroll simply walked away from the table and allowed his chip stack to be blinded off so Yaginuma won, it would have been easier to accept than what allegedly took place.

“Poker will never be recognized as BIGTIME sport/game or gather +popularity if this is ‘OK,’” Brazilian poker pro Felipe Ramos wrote on X. “If you chip dump/collude, in whatever scenario, your values are negotiable. RULES EXIST FOR A REASON.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on X.