In the year 2013, some of poker’s high profile personalities found their names dragged into unnecessary controversies. It has been a perennial problem with poker players and the poker community is finding it difficult to get rid of being in the news for the wrong reasons.
Arrest of Greg Raymer
The most astonishing story of all is that of 2004 WSOP champion Greg Raymer who was arrested by the police on charges of running a prostitution racket. He was arrested from a hotel in Wake Forest, North Carolina. The reports suggested that it was a male prostitution racket but later the word ‘male’ was removed taken off from the reports. According to local authorities, Raymer was one of the few people who fell into the trap set by the police to dig out those involved in illegal activities like prostitution.
Raymer however got bail by paying an amount of 1000 dollars and his attorney read out a statement on behalf of his client. Raymer apologized to his friends, family and fans for his act and was grateful for all the support he got after the incident. However, Raymer handled the whole situation quite well and his unconditional apology along with his stint at community service proved to be very decisive as the poker community and the public at large forgot the incident soon. He also underwent counseling at a mental health institution after which all the charges against him was dropped and he continued playing poker again.
Jerry Yang in the news for all the wrong reasons
In March 2013, 2007 WSOP champion Jerry Yang who won a humongous 8 million dollars, found himself on the wrong side of the law. His Corum Championship bracelet was seized by the Internal Revenue Service among various other things and they almost auctioned them all. Yang failed to pay internal revenue taxes which every taxpayer in United States is required to pay. He had a huge amount in lien, on his winnings from playing poker.
He clarified everything later on by saying that he was the only one to be blamed as he trusted the wrong people who led him astray. Luck also played a cruel game against him as his account in Bank of America was frozen in 2008 due to the financial crisis. The amount he owed as taxes only grew with time which ultimately led to the IRS coming down hard on him. He accepted the fact that he has been a little careless in handling his money as he gave away most of it to his dear ones without even paying his taxes. Jerry Yang’s case is a stark reminder to all about what happens to people who get hold of a whopping sum of money and don’t know how to manage it. However, nothing could be known as to what happened to his bracelet.
James Gold mysteriously letting go of his bracelet
The 2006 champion James Gold saw his bracelet being auctioned on Heritage Auctions. It was eventually sold to an anonymous buyer for a sum of 65000 dollars. It is still unknown why and when Gold gave away his bracelet as the current owner bought it from someone else.
Joe Cada shutting down his sports bar
2009 WSOP champion Joe Cada had to bring down the shutters of his poker themed sports bar in his hometown of Michigan as he was allegedly selling liquor at his bar without proper license. The bar was opened by Joe and his father in 2011. It all happened because of an amendment in the liquor license transfer law. Although the whole incident wasn’t very disgraceful, as Joe was not actively involved in the operation, but his reputation still got tainted as his name was also dragged into the whole mess.
The frequent occurrence of such incidents where past poker champions are involved in unlawful activities only gives a bad name to the poker community. These people are supposed to be the ambassadors of this game so they need to be more careful as they are always expected to be under intense scrutiny. They need to understand that they may be good at the game but cannot take the law in their hands.