In this column, we deliver you the latest and most interesting news and gossip from our favourite poker people.
Chris Moneymaker sues PayPal
The 2003 WSOP Main Event champion has made it known via social media of his plans to go after PayPal for apparently seizing over $12k in his account just this April. The deduction noted “PayPal’s damages caused by Acceptable Use Policy violation” as the main reason which could be tied to the company’s crackdown on “activities involving gambling, gaming and/or any other activity with an entry fee and a prize..”.
While the pro remains heavily tied with online poker platform, America’s Cardroom, one of the major users of virtual currency, the funds are reportedly intended for a fantasy football league including 11 of his friends. The entry fee of $1,000 was each sent to Moneymaker to be later on awarded to the winner.
So @PayPal @AskPayPal froze my account last year and said i could access my money in 180 days. Well they straight up stole the money!!!! Money out of my account pic.twitter.com/fnQtkPw7s9
— Chris Moneymaker (@CMONEYMAKER) May 18, 2021
Moneymaker followed his initial post with a screenshot of PayPal’s response to the confiscation, utterly showing a great deal of disappointment.
If you have a @paypal account they can literally steal your money for thousands of reason and offer you no reason why. This is there response after stealing my 12k.#seeyouinsmallclaimsbitch pic.twitter.com/lJzBgD9vvz
— Chris Moneymaker (@CMONEYMAKER) May 18, 2021
“Anyone else that got funds confiscated by @PayPal feel free to reach out to my lawyers whom are starting a class action suit”, Moneymaker added.
No Gamble, No Future: Tom Dwan joins the show!
Iconic Tom “Durrrr” Dwan appeared in an exciting feature in last week’s No Gamble, No Future episode sharing with fans what he’s been up to since last year’s lockdown. Apart from spending seven months in Hong Kong, the poker legend has also enjoyed his time in Hawaii with fellow poker pro Rick Salomon away from the cards.
Up next for Dwan however, is WPT’s 32-player $25k heads up tournament presented by PokerKing this coming June 18-22, 2021 in Mexico. While the 34-year old pro will be headlining the event, Dwan seemed to be less excited with the upcoming championship and appeared to be more enthusiastic in the supposed queue to battle undefeated Phil Hellmuth in the High Stakes Duel series. The third session against Daniel Negreanu is due on June 23rd and could likely take Dwan as the next challenger once the current battle concludes.
Successful fundraiser sees KL making this year’s live WSOP
A special fundraiser led by Veronica Brill stands to be a great showcase of the power of social media to easily connect and bring together the community. In a bid to raise $75k for a customised van which would allow Kenneth “KL” Cleeton to join the annual WSOP festivities, poker stars Phil Hellmuth, Jamie Kerstetter, Andrew Neeme, Jason Mo and Kevin Martin impressively pitched in to reach the goal. Bill Perkins likewise pledged $25k for the cause with Johnnie Moreno putting in $5 for every retweet the fundraiser received.
In less than 24 hours, 208 donations were recorded and KL will be successfully heading to the WSOP games this fall. Cleeton can be remembered for his cash of $16,024 in the 2017 WSOP after winning a contest run by Negreanu.
Bill Perkins doesn’t hold back on Day 1 against Landon Tice
With heads up duels being a popular choice nowadays, Bill Perkins and Landon Tice’s battle is another thrilling occasion for poker fans alike. The first session concluded with Tice landing $18k in the green after a three-hour swingy battle over 624 hands. The battle played on America’s Cardroom was streamed for viewers to see Perkins diving in on the aggression and scooping up the biggest pot of the day worth $141k with nines full.
https://twitter.com/LandonTice/status/1400242246507589633
While Perkins is clearly the underdog in the ongoing duel, the wealthy enthusiast negotiated a handicap which requires Tice to pay back nine big blinds every 100 hands at the end of the agreed 20,000-hand match. At the stakes of $200/$400, this equates to a whopping total of $720k which gives Perkins just enough to possibly come out with a profit.
Poker player Billy Taylor arrested for multi-million dollar Covid fraud scheme
Arkansas poker player Billy Joe Taylor has been recently arrested on charges involving healthcare fraud amounting to $88 million, $42 million of which stems from fake Covid-19 testing. Two medical testing facilities in California owned by Taylor, Vitas Laboratories in Barling and Beach Tox in Torrance, were reported for at least one to have no actual laboratory equipment. The crackdown on false claims also highlighted fictitious billings including those who have passed away.
The poker community has since recognized Taylor as a “special type of whale” and has previously appeared in Texas Card House Live games nicknamed as “Bildo”. In an episode featured only two weeks ago, Taylor felted two players at the table after calling $25k pre-flop with 78o and managed to take down the largest pot of $148k in TCH Live history.
