If you attended one of the most popular poker events in the world, would you consider stealing other players’ chips during the game? However eccentric, it’s one of those poker strategies that not many people would actually think of. Yet it turns out that the officials do not allow such an approach in playing WSOP events.
The story of chip stealing took place on Day 1c of the 50th Annual World Series of Poker. There were actually a couple of disqualifications that shocked the poker world, but one of them really stands out. A Russian professional poker player, Georgii Belianin, was disqualified as he swiped a dead stack into his stack after winning a small pot.
Jack Effel, the director of the tournament, stated that players were not allowed to touch other people’s chips when they are playing professional poker. This is especially applicable in big tournaments, including the Main Event of the World Series of Poker. Effel added that if players had chips in front of them, they shouldn’t touch any other chips, especially not the chips belonging to other players. Finally, Effel confirmed that he had seen what everybody else had seen — Belianin took chips from another player who was sitting next to him. One does not simply take chips from others during the WSOP Main Event.
As soon as Belianin’s behavior was noticed, officials made sure to remove him from play and remove his stack. His $10,000 buy-in stayed as a part of the prize pool. However, Belianin is not only banned from this event, but also from all Caesars properties. In other words, if he attempts to return to WSOP events in the future and tries to enter Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, he will be charged for trespassing.
The Reason Behind Belianin’s Behavior
Many other poker professionals could not believe what had happened that day in the Rio. Many of them know Belianin personally and simply refuse to believe that he would commit such a crime. The question here is this: Why would a professional poker player want to ruin their career with such a reckless move? It seems that some of the players who were there have an answer. He was drunk.
Tom Peterson, a player who was seated next to Belianin at the poker table, stated that Belianin had been drunk and that he could smell alcohol on him. Furthermore, Peterson added that he had been a bar owner for 17 years and that he’s able to recognize a drunk person when he sees one.
Belianin eventually sobered up and realized that he had made a very serious mistake that could cost him his career. He addressed his poker players and colleagues on Twitter and offered an official excuse about his behavior. He admitted to being drunk and having made a mistake.
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