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1M in counterfeit Tourney Chips Found in Borgata WPO Event #1

5K views 21 replies 10 participants last post by  Doctor_XXX 
#1 ·
#9 ·
I have less troubles in my home games than the Borgata's Winter Poker Open.

No Chips and a Chair

The dinner break ended just under an hour ago, and play has been in full swing since then at nearly every table in the room. The players at Table 37, however, didn't play a single hand until nearly 30 minutes had elapsed from the tournament clock, as yet another scandal involving chips broke out here at the Borgata Winter Poker Open.

Here's what we've determined after talking with the players involved and Tab Duchateau, Tournament Director here at Borgata.

D.J. Mackinnon returned from the dinner break and went to take Seat 1, where he had been playing from before break. Maruti Yarlapati — who finished in 13th place at the six-max event here just two days ago — was waiting for him, though, having just been handed a seat card after his table broke that directed him there. Confused? Imagine how Mackinnon felt.

Apparently, Mackinnon had stood up to sweat the result of the last hand before break, leaving his 61,500 stack under the supervision of the dealer — something that isn't out of the norm during poker tournaments. The last hand was contested by Robert Merulla (Seat 2) and Allison Schultz (Seat 4), with Merulla moving all in on the river for 50,000 (effectively 13,000, as he had Schultz covered).

Schultz tanked for a while, which prompted Mackinnon to stick around to see what happened, although he sweated from afar rather than remaining in his seat. After taking her time to make a decision, Schultz called off and put her last 13,000 into the pot, only to find her {a-}{a-} was second-best to Merulla's {2-}{2-} (we weren't around for the showdown, and thus the board cards here remain a mystery, but Schultz took to Twitter to vent about her aces being cracked by deuces).

This is where the issue of Mackinnon's missing stack began, because with his 61,500 stacked in front of the empty chair in Seat 1, Merulla's drag of the pot somehow included those chips as well as those just won from Schultz. Despite quickly producing a cell phone photograph of his stack taken after the hand — which in Merulla's opinion proved his ownership of the 143,000 now at his disposal — Mackinnon was calmly, but quietly insistent that his chips had been added to his neighbor's pile.

Mackinnon never accused Merulla of angle-shooting or stealing, attributing the situation to a potential dealer error instead, but the mathematics of the situation added up to show something was amiss. Merulla readily admitted that he began the last hand before break with around 50,000, but disputed his tablemate's assertion that Schultz only held 23,000 to start the hand before going bust. According to Merulla, she shipped a nearly equal stack his way, thus explaining the currently swollen size of his stack.

Nonetheless, a 50,000 stack had somehow transformed into one containing 143,000 — which shouldn't happen after a straight double up even with blinds and antes accounted for. However, if Merulla had added the 23,000 stack Schultz confirmed via Twitter that she lost, he should have started Level 7 with about 75,000 — and if Mackinnon's 61,500 was at some point added to that, his total of 143,000 made much more sense.

Merulla continued to deny any wrongdoing while showing Duchateau his cell phone images to show that he dragged a pot worth 143,000 his way before heading off to break. Despite the protestations of his tablemates — who pointed out that the cell phone shot could just as easily show the product of Mackinnon's stack being added to the pot — Merulla continued to state his case, insisting that his stack was accurate. Duchateau conferred with everybody involved before checking the video evidence, and after explaining the situation to the relevant parties, he ruled that Mackinnon's 61,500 would be removed from Merulla's stack and restored to its proper owner.

In explaining the ruling, Duchateau said that the video surveillance showed Mackinnon standing behind his chair to observe the showdown, and walking away after the cards were tabled. According to Duchateau, during the act of dragging the pot Merulla pulled Mckinnon's stack towards his and the chips became mixed, but the respected tournament director stated that intent was impossible to prove given the visual evidence. This meant Merulla kept his seat and the situation was deemed to be resolved.

Yarlapati, for his part, got out of dodge with his rightfully earned 145,000 — taking a new seat card and resuming his tournament. The other seven players at Table 37 were not so fortunate, though, and they were forced to sacrifice 30 minutes worth of irreplaceable tournament time at a key level in this second starting flight. Nobody was pleased with this fact, but despite their protestations (Mackinnon himself was the most vocal in requesting either a frozen clock for the room or an extended clock for his table), Duchateau ruled that the tournament would roll on.

Play resumed at Table 37 with 45:00 or so remaining in Level 7, and the Borgata Winter Poker Open WPT Main Event continued without further incident.

Mackinnon took to Twitter shortly after resuming play to comment on his new predicament for the rest of night, showing that despite almost losing a 157-big blind stack while sitting at the buffet, he can still see the humorous side of a strange situation:

DJ MacKinnon
DJ MacKinnon @djmacjr
"Now I get to awkwardly play with the guy next to me the rest of the night, hopefully he doesn't take my chips for real #"
Source: Live Reporting | $3 Million Guaranteed WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship | 2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open | No Chips and a Chair | PokerNews
 
#14 ·
The plot thickens.

Same guy is wanted for selling $1m worth of bootleg DVDs...

I'll bet a Chiptalker could have pulled this off...

Suspect in Borgata fake poker chip scam accused in DVD bootlegging ring

Posted: Tuesday, February 11, 2014 10:55 pm

By JENNIFER BOGDAN Staff Writer

A North Carolina man who attempted to foil authorities by flushing counterfeit poker chips down a toilet designed the fake disks with spray paint before mailing them to Atlantic City in a package he sent to himself at Harrah’s Resort.

The new details in the case of Christian Lusardi, who was charged last month in the rigging of Event 1 in the Borgata Winter Poker Open, emerged as the man was caught in another scheme, according to documents filed in federal court last week.

Those documents tell the story of a man whom the Department of Homeland Security has been investigating for a year and a half in a separate scheme, allegedly selling bootleg DVDs that yielded him close to $1 million. The 42-year-old also is being charged with copyright infringement after more than 37,500 illegal DVDs were found at his Fayetteville, N.C. home.

An affidavit by Bryan Moultis, a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security, shows law enforcement officials continuously tracked shipments of DVDs that Lusardi had sent from China to various postage drops and residential addresses in North Carolina.

But the document, used to obtain a warrant for Lusardi’s arrest, also included details about a plot that included introducing $800,000 in forged chips into play during the January poker tournament at Borgata.

According to the documents, authorities contacted Lusardi by phone after suspicions were raised about counterfeit chips. Lusardi told them he had hidden the chips he introduced into play in bathrooms located in the Borgata. Those fake chips were manufactured by hand as Lusardi spray-painted the designs.

An ex-wife, who is not named, also reported to authorities that Lusardi enlisted the help of his daughter to construct the chips in the weeks before the tournament. Court documents state that Lusardi received packages from Hong Kong, China described as “plastic chips.”

Lusardi’s girlfriend, Tiffany Decarlo, also of Fayetteville, N.C., told authorities that two weeks before the Borgata tournament that began Jan. 14, Lusardi received a package from China. He later mailed a package to Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, where he stayed.

Lusardi told authorities that when he believed the fake chips had been discovered in play, he panicked. He returned to his room at Harrah’s and flushed the remaining chips down a toilet. New Jersey State Police have said the fake chips he flushed would have totaled $2.7 million.

Flushing the chips only complicated the issue, as hotel guests then complained of leaks in their rooms, prompting casino maintenance workers to investigate. The casino workers then discovered the fake chips. Lusardi, who was an early standout in tournament play, was arrested Jan. 24 at the Super 8 Motel on Tennessee Avenue in Atlantic City and charged with rigging a publicly exhibited contest. He was taken to the Atlantic County Justice Facility, with bail set at $300,000. He was still being held there Tuesday.

Officials said the investigation continues.

New Jersey State Police Trooper Jeff Flynn said no other information could be released in the case.

Lisa Spengler, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, confirmed that the investigation continues. The division’s order suspending play remains in place, she said.

It remains unclear what will become of the buy-in money players’ paid, as well as the prize pool. The tournament began Jan. 14 with a $560 buy-in for $20,000 chips. At the time play was halted, 27 people remained.

According to court documents, Lusardi came up with the idea of entering fake chips into the tournament at least six months before it took place. Investigators interviewed Shaheim Sheridan, of Fayetteville, N.C., in the course of the investigation.

He told authorities that Lusardi approached him with the idea of introducing counterfeit chips into a poker tournament in July, but he declined to participate in the scheme.
Source: Suspect in Borgata fake poker chip scam accused in DVD bootlegging ring - pressofAtlanticCity.com: Atlantic County News
 
#18 · (Edited)
The secret service historically has dealt with counterfeiting and issues of fraud. The secret service was moved to DHS from Treasury when the dept was created. So maybe the DVDs were something they'd have investigated in the past. Now it would be DHS.

Pretty funny pics too.

Here's a really old example before DHS took over the SS.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/review/2001-03-15-cd.htm
 
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