$120,000 Bad Beat Jackpot denied on a technicality
The winners of a Bad Beat Jackpot are now facing a genuine bad beat, which is being played out through an appeals process.
A $120,000 Bad Beat Jackpot was won across five Station Casinos poker rooms in Nevada on July 7, with 80 players due a slice of the prize pool. This is because anybody playing poker in one of their rooms when the jackpot is hit is eligible for a prize.
83-year-old Avi Shamir was set to win $60,000 given his straight flush lost to the higher straight flush of Len Schreter.
However, security footage showed that Schreter, who has also been denied $30,000 for having the winning hand, exposed his cards out of turn before the river was dealt. According to the promotion's rules “discussion of hands during the play by players, at the discretion of management, may void a Jumbo Hold ‘Em Jackpot.”
The casino is claiming that exposing the cards constitutes a communication about them, which invalidated the Bad Beat Jackpot win.
Bill Olliges of the Nevada Gaming Control Board investigated the situation and argued that while it violated etiquette, it did not change the outcome of the hand.
The outcome of this dispute is now expected to be ruled upon by the Control Board in early January.
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