Home / Poker News December 2014 / 2014 Poker Retrospective: the Lusardi Cheating Scandal
2014 Poker Retrospective: the Lusardi Cheating Scandal
Posted by: Randy Williams - Wed, 2014-12-31 15:50
Looking back at the poker-related developments of the past year, the Christian Lusardi cheating scandal stands out not only through its audacity, but also through the clumsiness which eventually led to its downfall. 42-year old Christian Lusardi, from Fayetteville, NC, thought it a great idea to supplement his tournament stack with counterfeit chips smuggled into the tournament area: after all, in a
poker tournament, one’s stack is one’s lifeblood, so getting some more chips into play would surely increase one’s odds, right? Right and wrong: tournament officials at the Borgata Winter Poker Open’s opening event (a $500 NL Holdem affair, featuring $2 million guarantee) – because that’s where Lusardi tossed his counterfeit chips into the middle – realized the chips in play didn’t add up, and they paused the event pending an investigation into the matter, with 27 players remaining. Interestingly, Lusardi had long busted out of the tournament at that point.
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The investigation found that cheating had occurred in the event, and the tournament was cancelled, to the chagrin of the 27 remaining players, all of whom had survived a 4,812-strong starting field. With the authorities tightening the noose, Lusardi decided to attempt to get rid of the incriminating evidence by simply flushing his counterfeit chips down the toilet at Harrah’s Resort and Casino in Atlantic City. The chips clogged the pipes though, and when they were found, they pointed a rather stern finger at Lusardi, whose room the problem originated from.
The obvious temerity of the perpetrator cast aside, the Lusardi scandal showcased the efficiency of the authorities and the keen eye of the tournament officials who first discovered the problem.
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