Cheating scandals 🍿

Paul Oresteen weighs in on chop pots and banned players at WSOP Paradise.

His take is well worth a read as he digs into ex-banned player Ren Lin being allowed back at the WSOP, as well as the first ever chop pot taking place during Paradise, posing the question: is it one rule for them and another for everyone else?

The rules are for we, not for thee.

There’s no misclick like a $25K misclick.

The $25,000 WSOP Paradise Super Main Event saw some serious drama on Day 1b, with Daniel Rezaei cracking Kyle Lin’s aces after what was described as a 'misclick.’ The hand went down after Lin min-three-bet from the small blind, which had others at the table speculating whether it was intentional.

Lin said it was a misclick, though American pro Aram Oganyan suspected otherwise, calling it an 'angle.’ What do you think?

All in the name of balance.

Not everyone minds that Ren Lin is back at the WSOP tables. Berkey thinks Ren has paid his dues and that everyone should get a second chance.

Pads also doesn’t mind that Ren is back, but admits the optics look dreadful.

GG’s statement on Ren Lin and the GGMillion$ debacle from October.

According to GG’s official statement at the time RealOA was caught soliciting real-time advice during the GGMillion$ final table, with pro Ren “Tony” Lin stepping in as an impromptu coach.

At the time, both players have faced swift consequences. RealOA has been permanently banned from GGPoker, the WSOP, and all partner platforms. Lin is indefinitely suspended and has been disqualified from the WSOP Super Circuit Cyprus Main Event.

However, Lin returned during WSOP Paradise, much to the chagrin of other players. To summarize, people are pissed.

Seven weeks ago, GGPoker and the WSOP made a big show of banning Ren Lin for ghosting a friend at a final table.

According to David Lappin’s latest article on Vegasslotsonline, the message was clear: nobody is above the law. Unless, it seems, you’re a high-roller.

Lin took his seat at a WSOP Paradise event just weeks after his supposed “indefinite” ban, with no explanation from the organizers. The article points out this comes right after the WSOP arranged a chop in another event, despite always insisting such deals are forbidden.

“It’s hard not to read between the lines here and think that this is the WSOP deploying a two-tiered system – one for highrollers and one for the rest of us.”

Whether this is just business as usual or something more, the questions about integrity are only getting louder.

Looks like Ren Lin hasn’t been banned from WSOP events after all.

The poker world seems divided over whether it is fair to let Ren back into tournaments from which he was banned only seven weeks ago.