The high-stakes world of poker contains inherent risks beyond the felt.
These are true stories from Panama and abroad – from TylerRM's team's harrowing detention after a hike, to a WSOP winner implicated in a $25 million sports betting scam, to tennis legend Boris Becker's tragic fall into bankruptcy fraud. While avoiding sensationalism, these accounts uncover poker's little-seen underbelly.
Hiking Turns into Panama Nightmare for Players
On May 11, TylerRM announced in his Telegram channel that his team was detained by Panama police in late April. They had been held in a migration detention center for over two weeks. Tyler had fallen in love with Panama and decided to set up a headquarters for his team in a warm country. He rented an apartment, made custom tables, and bought computers, creating an ideal bootcamp for playing large series.
The team included
- Andrey Streltsov (TylerRM)
- Ruben Akopyan (xpronto)
- Arkady Lobov (saltwort)
- Dmitry Gorbal (withoutfart)
- Maxim Dubrovsky (glum)
- Anton Silyavko (antonovec)
- Evgeniy Karpatsky (r0manista) and his wife Tatyana.
One day, the players decided to climb a hill near their house.
Unfortunately, this hill was located in the protected zone of the Panama Canal. Its name is Sosa Hill and Google has it listed as "Temporarily Closed". and climbing it was forbidden. The only obstacle was a barrier for cars, but it seemed that nothing prevented them from walking up.
The police met them at the bottom and detained them. All team members, including those who were resting at the headquarters, were taken into isolation. Their apartment was searched, and all computers were confiscated.
Tyler hired a lawyer who negotiated with the police to allow the team to leave the country. However, instead of being taken to the airport, they were sent to an isolation ward. After two weeks of unsuccessful attempts to release them, Tyler made the situation public. He stated that the state had stolen their computers, kidnapped seven people, and held them for 17 days without charges or any damage.
The situation became even more complex when the migration officer demanded a document confirming the completion of an investigation that had not been opened. The lawyer threatened to file a complaint about illegal arrest in court, and the players were eventually given their computers back and put on a plane. They were asked to sign a deportation document for 10 years and an agreement to reimburse expenses, but they did not sign anything. The final papers for their release were personally signed by the President of Panama.
WSOP Bracelet Winner Leads $25 Million Scam (Allegedly)
In Florida, 61-year-old Cory Zeidman, a WSOP bracelet winner and limit game regular, was recently arrested for his involvement in a massive fraud scheme involving sports betting. Zeidman led the Phoenix Organization, which claimed to have inside information related to large numbers of sports bets throughout the years.
The group offered a dial-in phone number, and once bettors did so, they were told by Zeidman and other Phoenix Organization co-conspirators that certain sporting events had already been fixed, and the group's operators already knew the outcomes of the events. Zeidman and the other conspirators are accused of pulling in at least $25 million through the long-running fraud. Consumers had to pay fees to receive the information, which was either obtained from Internet searches or was entirely fictitious. Some customers are alleged to have lost their life savings through the fraudulent sports-betting schemes.
If you feel like reading the legal jargon, this is the US Government's press release in Zeidman's case.
A Miami LLC wrote on the firm's website:
By 2020, Zeidman had defrauded victims out of approximately $25 million. He allegedly used the money to fund his own professional poker career and personal travel. In 2022, he was arrested in Boca Raton on charges of wire fraud and mail fraud. If convicted, he will have to forfeit the money in more than a dozen bank accounts, as well as his real estate properties in Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and New York. Zeidman, 61, has yet to enter a plea. Like all defendants in criminal cases, he is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and he has the right to representation by a criminal defense lawyer.
Zeidman is a well-known figure in the high-stakes poker world, having appeared on several televised high-stakes cash-game productions over the years. He plays most formats and is generally recognized as a strong mixed-games player. At the 2012 WSOP, he won the $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better bracelet event, topping a 622-entry field to win a live-tournament best $201,559.
According to TheHendonMob’s results database, Zeidman has collected over $690,000 in tourney cashes stretching back to 1997 and including a WSOP cash as recently as 2019. Over half of that amount, more than $373,000, has come in his 14 recorded WSOP cashes.
Ilya Gorodetsky, another fan of limit games, shared his experience playing with Cory in Vegas at the World Series. Gorodetsky described Zeidman's behavior at the table as "disgusting," stating that he would try to unbalance his opponents by any means. Gorodetsky recalled a specific hand in a HORSE tournament where Zeidman outbid him with the last card in a huge pot, and then started slowrolling, stalling for time before calling and showing a better hand.
Zeidman is currently facing charges of wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering conspiracy in connection with the sports betting fraud scheme. He was arrested at his home in Boca Raton, Florida, and will make his initial court appearance in a Miami federal courtroom. The scope and length of the alleged fraud may place Zeidman, if found guilty of any charges, at risk of significant fines, jail time, or probation.
Poker Ambassador Boris Becker Gets Prison Time
Boris Becker, the legendary tennis player and big poker fan, was found guilty of violating bankruptcy laws and concealing assets by a court in London at the end of April. He was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison. If the 54-year-old six-time Grand Slam champion behaves properly in prison, the second half of his sentence will be replaced with a suspended sentence.
Becker has always struggled with money management. In 2017, a London court declared him bankrupt due to his debts. In 2019, most of his trophies went under the hammer. Around the same time, he was charged with a mountain of charges related to bankruptcy violations, which ultimately landed him in prison.
He may be well known for lobbing balls over a net, but Becker has always been a big fan of poker. He has played in the EPT and WPT tournaments and has been an ambassador for three major poker rooms: PokerStars, partypoker, and the online stage of the WSOP Circuit on the GG Network.
According to Hendon Mob, Becker has $111,416 in prize money.
In the end, Becker served eight months of his two-and-a-half-year sentence for hiding £2.5m of assets and loans in a bankruptcy fraud case. He was released from prison in December and deported from the UK. Becker told BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast that his incarceration "humbled" him and made him a stronger, better man. He is now building his life's "third chapter."
Becker will not be able to return to the UK until October 2024 at the earliest, but he said he missed London and would "love" to return to his commentating role at Wimbledon.
Poker in Holdem's Birthplace Can Get Ugly
A single street in Texas has seen enough crime to fill an entire article. The Legends Poker club on this street has been the site of multiple incidents, including a fight between Sammy Farha and a dealer.
In January 2022, there was an attempted robbery by a criminal with an AR-15. This man announced that he had come to rob Legends Poker. After a few seconds, a guard jumped on him and knocked him to the floor. During the fight, the criminal got several shots off, but fortunately, he did not hit anyone. The security guard managed to subdue him, and together with the players who arrived, he held the man until the police arrived.
The hero who saved the club is named Trelynn Robinson; he escaped with a dislocated shoulder and a couple of abrasions. About $3,500 was crowdfunded to pay for the injuries.
A few months later, in April 2022, an unknown man was asked to leave the Legends club and responded by shooting at the club from the street. The bullets easily pierced the thin walls, but fortunately, most of them flew just a meter above the floor, and no one was injured. The shooter fired more than 20 shots before driving away. Despite the incident, the game resumed shortly after, and the club was soon filled with players again.
After this incident, the walls of Legends were surrounded by bulletproof panels. However, in mid-May, shots were fired again right next to the club. This time, a criminal tried to steal a late-model Chevrolet Corvette from its owner, who was sitting in the car at the time. The owner, feeling that his life was in danger, pulled out a weapon and shot the intruder several times. The criminal died from his wounds in the parking lot of the Legends club.
These incidents highlight the dangers that can be present in certain areas and the importance of taking precautions to ensure the safety of both players and club employees.
