Can an Entire Poker Tournament Be a Scam?

Poker Scams come in many different shapes and forms, but can a legitimate poker tournament on one of the main poker tours or just off the main poker tours be a big poker scam? Well, even though some poker tournaments have had scams within its organization and operating personnel, a total bogus poker tournament that receives publicity in the poker magazines and other normal press coverage is unlikely. I am talking about brick and mortar poker tournament scams, not online poker tournaments, where the chance of a complete scam poker tournament is of course much greater.

However, there is one big upcoming brick and mortar poker tournament that is receiving some serious poker scam scrutiny. That is the Lets-Play-Poker UK Poker Championships between August 29th and September 3rd at Manchester Stadium in England. This is a £100 buy-in event with a cap of 750 players, yet it says first prize will be £100,000 with nine other players cashing.

A number of major UK forums have been questioning the legitimacy event, most of whom think that this could be a possible scam. For them, the numbers don't add up. With a £100,000 first prize for a 750-player £100-buy-in event and nine other players cashing, they wonder where the £25,000 overlay is coming from? And where is the money for the rest of the winning players? It doesn't specify whether rebuys are part of the event or not. The website doesn't state a guarantee of the prize pool either.

That only 10 players from a possible 750 will make money also seems weird. Shouldn't the organizers know that few players would turn up for such a top heavy payout structure.

Numbers are dropping for live events around the UK. The APAT, the GUKPT and the Brighton Rendezvous are all holding big festivals that clash with the event (APAT have almost 450 players guaranteed for their event). So where are these 750 players coming from?

Yes, this does seem a bit out of whack to me, too. But could it be a poker scam? Probably not. It probably is more inexperience at work with the organizers than anything else.