Online Poker Cheat Sorel Mizzi Joins Betfair Team!

Evidently Betfair Poker doesn´t seem to care that its latest pickup to join its poker team is an infamous online poker cheat. Sorel Mizzi is the newest member of the Betfair team. More power to em! Let´s just hope that Mizzi is through cheating!

If the name Sorel Mizzi rings a bell, it could be due to his online poker successes over the last several years as "Imper1um." Or the name might sound familiar because of a cheating scandal that overshadowed his career in the late months of 2007.


Mizzi and former managing editor of Bluff Magazine Chris Vaughn were accused of seat selling, which involved Vaughn going deep in a Full Tilt tournament, then selling his seat to Mizzi who went on to win it for nearly $200,000. After the players' initial denials of any wrongdoing, Full Tilt investigated, disqualified the winner, and banned both players from the site. Subsequently, Mizzi and Vaughn admitted to the cheating and apologized. On February 20, 2008, Betfair Poker, part of a betting exchange network located in the United Kingdom, announced that 21-year old Mizzi was the newest member of Team Betfair, a sponsored team of players that includes 2008 World Series of Poker Europe champion Annette Obrestad. Betfair does not accept U.S. players on its site and pegged the signing of Mizzi, not even six months after he admitted to cheating in an online tournament, as a proud accomplishment.


Betfair's Head of Poker, Bruce Stubbs, said in a press release, "I am proud to add a player like Sorel Mizzi to our team. He is regarded as one of the best online tournament players in the world by many and has the results to prove it... I honestly believe we have the two best tournament players in the world right now. There is a new world order; look out!"


At a press conference in Copenhagen, Mizzi said that he was joining a team with a great reputation after himself having a "great year" in 2007.


A few weeks later, Mizzi decided to write a post on his new Betfair blog to set the record straight on the Full Tilt cheating issue, "share the evolution" of his thought process, and "finally have some closure."


He began by admitting to the wrongdoing, and saying that he had not purchased another player's account before that incident and will not do it again. But again with the half-assed apologies, he wrote, "I accept that people are really angry with me, and I can understand that, but from my point of view I am in the political nightmare of being a high-profile figure who the online poker gods have decided to make an example of."


Mizzi then proceeded to acknowledge that many of the posts on online forums regarding ghosting (playing someone else's account) and seat selling made him reconsider his position and see the validity of those arguments. He admitted to his own stupidity and naiveté's, then summarizing the three reasons that he would not do it again.


First, he cited "reverse ownage," which he described as playing one person throughout a tournament, then another person takes over, unbeknownst to the opponent, and plays entirely differently and puts the other person at a severe disadvantage. Second, he mentioned stamina, comparing it to competing in a marathon until the final two miles, at which point a fresh new person steps in to finish the race. Third, he noted the experience factor, in that he had more final table play experience than Vaughn, which gave him an advantage to finish out the tournament. Mizzi closed his blog post with one sentence. "I am truly sorry."


Evidently, such apologizes were good enough for some in the poker community, including Betfair Poker. Out of all of the tremendous talents in online poker, Betfair picked a controversial one who admitted to cheating and was banned from ever playing on another site. Good public relations move? Possibly. Risking reputation on the late-coming apology of a 21-year old, immature young player? Definitely.

Should Cheats Really Worry About Casino Facial Recognition Software?

Everywhere I go to speak or give seminars, people either ask me or tell me about casino facial recognition software that either will or will not put a major dent in poker and casino cheats´ armor. The claim is that this facial recognition software, which is also being used at airports and other points of entry to the US to recognize and spot terrorists threating global distruction, can focus on facial features of known card counters and casino cheats and identify them against a database before they even have the chance to take their positions at whatever casino tables they will attack.

What do I think of all this? Can this software actually stop someone like me from cheating casinos? If I wore a baseball cap and shades, would the digital cameras zoom in on my nose and calculate the distance between my eyes to identify me? Well, even if it could, there are so many factor that negate the technology, not the lease of which is the human factor, the surveillance personnel who have to be able to use the high-tech equipment to the point where they can actually identify a known cheater. But pushing that factor aside, I don´t believe for a second that the technology is good enough to weed me out from a casino crowd of hundreds if not thousands if I made even the slightest effort to conceal my identity, such as pasting a little makeup or putty on my face. And I have not heard of a single case of a known cheater apprehended while entering a casino or sitting at a table by way of facial recognition technology.

In a word, it´s more hype than not. Purveyors of this technology can make millions of dollars selling this equipment to casinos and casinos have millions of dollars to spend on it. The reality is that if you´re a known poker or casino cheat, the chances of you getting spotted and ID`d by casino facial recognition are no greater than running into your highschool sweeheart in a casino New Year`s Eve in Siberia!

Casino Magnate´s Murder by Cheat Stripper Girlfriend Now A Movie!

I blogged the other day about a new strip poker site coming online, and speaking of strippers, Sandy Murphy, the ex-Las Vegas stripper accused of plotting and carrying out the murder of Horseshoe Casino Magnate Ted Binion is coming to life...I mean "Lifetime"! The TV cable network is set to air the movie.

In September, 1998, wealthy Las Vegas casino heir Ted Binion was found dead in his Las Vegas home by his beautiful ex-stripper girlfriend, Sandy Murphy. On the surface, it appeared that Binion, a habitual drug user, had died of a self-induced overdose. But questions arose when Binion's younger estranged sister Becky went to police with claims her brother had been murdered.

That set the stage for one of Vegas’ most shocking murders. Now, Mena Suvari ("American Beauty") and Matthew Modine ("Weeds") are set to star in the Lifetime Original Movie, "Sex & Lies in Sin City.” It’s based on the true story of Binion’s death and the ensuing trial of his lover and her con artist boyfriend. The movie is based on the book “Murder in Sin City” by Jeff German. "Sex & Lies in Sin City," produced by The Konigsberg Company and Sony Pictures Television will premiere on Lifetime in September.

"Much like a trip to Vegas, this movie is a guilty pleasure," said Tanya Lopez, senior vice president, Original Movies, Lifetime Networks. "Ripped from the headlines, 'Sex & Lies in Sin City' captures all of the true crime story elements and the madness that surrounded Ted Binion's life."


Binion was heir to the Horseshoe Casino fortune. Police discover that Murphy, who met Binion after going to Las Vegas in search of a better life, was cheating on him. Some 24 hours before his death, Binion erased Murphy from his will. Also, within hours of the suspicious death, Murphy's lover, Rick Tabish, was caught trying to steal Binion's cache of silver bullion hidden in the Nevada desert. Ultimately, a scandalous trial revealed astonishing greed that culminated in the death of one of the Desert Oasis' most notorious figures.

Suvari is best known for her role in the Academy Award-winning film "American Beauty." Other acting credits include "Factory Girl," "Brooklyn Rules," "Rumor Has It," "Domino," "Beauty Shop," "Sonny," "Spun," "American Pie" and "American Pie 2." Suvari was also a recurring character in the critically acclaimed HBO series "Six Feet Under." Other television appearances include a recurring part on the Steven Spielberg-produced series "High Incident" and "Chicago Hope." Suvari recently completed production on "The Garden of Eden" directed by John Irvin and can currently be seen in "Stuck" opposite Stephen Rea followed by "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" with Sienna Miller and Nick Nolte.

Modine is an acting veteran with more than 50 films to his credit including "Birdy," "Married to the Mob," "Vision Quest," "Full Metal Jacket," "Orphans," "Pacific Heights" and "On Any Given Sunday.” He won a special Golden Globe Award for his work in the ensemble cast of "Short Cuts." In television, he earned Golden Globeand Emmy Award nominations for his performance in the critically acclaimed "And the Band Played On" and a Golden Globenomination for "What the Deaf Man Heard." Other television credits include the miniseries "Hitler: The Rise and Fall of Evil," Steven Spielberg's "Into the West," "The Winning Season" and "The Bedford Diaries." He was most recently seen on the Showtime series "Weeds."

Executive producer is Frank Konigsberg (Lifetime's "Caught in the Act," "The Last Don"). Peter Medak ("Romeo is Bleeding," "Carnivale") directs from a script written by Teena Booth (Lifetime's "A Little Thing Called Murder").

"We are thrilled to be working with director Peter Medak on this fascinating true story of sex, drugs and an untimely death all with exciting Las Vegas as our backdrop," said Helen Verno, executive vice president, movies and miniseries, Sony Pictures Television.

IS 2008 WSOP FINAL TABLE DELAY CAUSING SHEER PARANOIA?

If you read this article that appeared in the UK Guardian, you´d have to say YES! Aside from all the cheating and collusion articles that I and many others have been talking about, now there´s mention of blackmail...and even worse...death! With each passing day more probabilities and possibilities, all of them sordid, are popping up and being bandied about. I mean, it´s getting a little bit out of hand. I highly doubt any serious blackmail threats are going to breed from Harrah´s decision to delay the play of the final table 117 days after the qualifying players are determined. And as far as what would happen if one of those players died during the interim?...Well, what would happen if there were no delay of the final table play and one of the players died the night before? I don´t know, but I guess whatever decision was made to fill that void (pardon the pun if it is one) would be the same if a player or players died during the 4 month interim.

In any case, let the cheating and scamming begin once the players for the 2008 WSOP are determined!

Here´s the UK Guardian article:

When Harrah's, the giant hotel-casino chain, took over the rights to the World Series of Poker a few years ago, they moved the tournament from May to July. This was a bad result for the players: July is too hot in Las Vegas, there are no good shows, and it's a nasty clash with the school holidays for anyone who prefers not to expose his children to quite such a rich seam of sunstroke and prostitution. But it was a good result for Harrah's, who can now fill their hotel rooms with World Series contestants at a time when nobody else is dumb enough to go there.

Having established July, Harrah's have just announced that they are going to delay the final of the main event - which would normally be on Day 13 - until November! This will "maximise coverage", which I assume is code for "increase the revenue Harrah's get from TV".

Never mind the players, eh? Never mind that a four-month gap after naming nine people, one of whom will win at least $12m, throws open the door to possible blackmail or cheating scams. Never mind that a player might be unable to return in November due to an illness or family problem - or even die - during that time. Never mind the thousands of punters who used to enjoy, having been knocked out, sticking around to watch the final.

Harrah's are messing with the very definition of a poker tournament. It is as though the Chinese Olympic committee had decided to stage the first three legs of the 4x100m relay, then do the last leg four months later. But they wouldn't; compared with Harrah's, China looks like a soft touch.

Live Strip Poker Coming Online!

Live Strip Poker Cheats Coming Online Soon!

Why Cheats? Because anyone willing to strip while playing poker has got to have cheating up his or her sleeve...or up somewhere given the fact that at various times in the poker games the participants will only be wearing their birthday suits! Get it?...I mean totally nude. The opportunities for cheating will be endless...or should I say topless...and bottomless! Whatever the case, you want to know what I´m talking about, right?

Well, there is serious talk about a new online poker room that will offer strip poker in real virtual reality online...whatever that means! I don´t know whether this is going to involve webcams, animation, virtuality, imagery or whatever else, but what I do know is that there will be plenty of "strip cheats" out there online ready to strip away your clothes, virtual clothes, money or virtual money, or whatever the heck this is going to be about. In any case, it sounds like fun and maybe some of you diehard online poker players will be sucked and tantalized away from PokerStars, Bodog and Ladbrokes to try your luck stripping away at your opponents´ clothes instead of chips...Oh yeah, I don´t know if this new strip poker site will be straight, gay, bi, all three or whatever...I don´t even know the name of it for sure, but I have heard that it will be called Livestrippoker.com.

Stay tuned...or should I say "stay dressed!"

More Cheat Fallout From Harrah´s Announcement to Delay 2008 WSOP Final Table!

The poker world and poker cheating world is still abuzz about Harrah´s decision in cahoots with ESPN to delay the 2008 WSOP final table for nearly 4 months after the Final Table players are determined. Everyone is talking about the numerous cheating opportunities that will breed during that long lapse in time before the final table convenes in November, especially those concerning collusion and deal-making, which will undoubtedly spawn whipsawing, soft-play, and chip dumping among other nefarious tactics to cut-up the tens of millions in prize money before the first final table round is dealt.

Personally, I am 100% sure that all this cheating will occur. Don´t forget, a former WSOP main-event champion was once my casino cheating partner before he lucked out in the professional poker world. Of course I cannot publish his name, but I will tell you that I spoke to him yesterday, and he assures me that even the biggest poker names will be involved in WSOP collusion, about which I have written magazine articles and detailed in my book Dirty Poker.

After all, when you´re talking about so many millions of dollars in prize money at stake, it will be hard for even the most successful professional poker players to look the other way if they find themselves at the final table. So, believe me, the cheat deals will be in the making long before the first card is dealt at the 2008 WSOP final table...In fact, probably just seconds after the last player is eliminated from the tournament in July!

Slot Cheat To Be Nominated For Nevada´s Infamous Black Book!

According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, a new candidate is being readied for nomination and induction into the Nevada gaming industry´s Black Book, which excludes entry into any of the state´s casinos under penalty of arrest for trespassing. It's been almost four years since Nevada gaming regulators added a name to the state's List of Excluded Persons, commonly referred to as the Black Book. Today, the Gaming Control Board will consider the newest nominee.

William Cushing, who spent time in federal prison in the 1980s for gambling-related cheating violations, will face control board scrutiny following his indictment last year for attempting to cheat slot machines at two Clark County casinos. A trial in the case has been set for November in District Court.

Gaming Control Board member Randy Sayre said Monday that Cushing's latest indictment showed regulators that steps needed to be taken to keep him out of casinos. Cushing, who lives out of state, has several other cheating-related convictions in Clark County since 1998.

"Clearly, his actions have risen to the level that we need to take steps to ensure he is not a danger to the state," Sayre said. "Even though his indictment still needs to be taken through the system, his past history clearly indicates from my perspective that we need to keep him out of the industry."

The Black Book now lists 35 people. The law was set up to prohibit people with felony convictions against the gaming industry from entering a casino. It's considered a felony if someone from the List of Excluded Persons enters a gaming establishment. Casino executives can also face felony charges if they knowingly allow a member of the Black Book to enter the property.

Sayre, who was appointed to the three-member control board in January 2007, said there are at least two or three other individuals whom he would like to add to the list. However, he doesn't believe the list should be too encumbered with names, so that it's unmanageable for the casino industry to police.

"I think there are a few others, like Mr. Cushing, who belong on this list," Sayre said.

The control board nominates people for inclusion in the Black Book to the Nevada Gaming Commission, which then decides whether the person will be added to the list. The most recent names added were Eugene Bulgarino and Dennis McAndrew in September 2004.

Some of the names in the Black Book harken back to the 1960s and 1970s, when organized crime controlled Nevada's casino industry, such as reputed mob associates Dominic Spinale, Joey Cusumano and Anthony Cino. The most well-known name on the list may be reputed mob associate Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, who ran several casinos in Las Vegas during the 1970s. His story was depicted in the 1995 movie, "Casino," which starred Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone.

The only way someone can be removed from the Black Book is by dying.

Cushing was indicted in September for using a cheating device on slot machines in the Boulder Station and Fiesta Rancho casinos. According to the indictment, Cushing inserted a device into a slot machine's bill validator in which it would register a wager of $100 when just $1 had been inserted into the machine. The credits were then cashed out through the slot machine's ticket in-ticket out system.

In June 1985, Cushing was found guilty in the U.S. District Court in Reno of transporting stolen property and defrauding the Internal Revenue Service after cheating several Strip casinos out of thousands of dollars in fraudulent slot machine jackpots. He was sentenced to between five and seven years in prison, but it is unclear how much time he spent incarcerated.

Two of Cushing's former associates, John Vaccaro and Sandra Vaccaro, who were convicted with him in 1985, are also listed in the Black Book.

"His associations with the Vaccaros add to his eligibility," Sayre said.

They may even add to Cushing´s eligibility for my Poker and Casino Cheaters Hall of Fame, which already has two infamous slot cheats inductees!

Nat Arem Promises More Poker Cheating From Absolute Poker!

Pocket Fives administrator Nat Arem, one of the people responsible for uncovering the superuser scandal at Absolute Poker, said in a post at P5s that more details likely will be uncovered regarding cheating at AP and UltimateBet and said he wouldn’t blame people who don’t want to play at either site.

He was fairly vague in his post, but Arem is about as plugged into the situation as one can get.

Here’s some of what he said:

I reallllllly want to tell the whole story as I know it, but I can’t. In fact, telling the whole story as I know it could jeopardize the whole outcome of this situation. Once the facts are revealed, people will understand why I can’t say what’s going on right now. You’ll just have to trust me on that.

Okay, now that I’ve said what I can say, I also want to say this: If I were you, I probably wouldn’t play at UB or AP right now either. I can perfectly understand the frustration on the part of the players in a situation such as this and I think it’s perfectly reasonable to boycott the site until you’re satisfied the site is safe. In fact, if you believe that a company that allows (not necessarily intentionally so much as ignorantly) cheating to go on at some point is unable to ever clean itself up, then you should never play at either site ever again. Make no mistake about it — there was blatant cheating on both AP and UB in 2007 and if the players never spoke up, nothing would have ever gotten refunded or fixed. That’s obviously inexcusable and it’s up to AP/UB to show that it has made things right and that it will be clean going forward.

And later in the post, talking about AP’s and UB’s efforts:

Although it may be too much to ask, give them some more time to get everything in order — imo, there’s a good but unfortunate reason for why they’ve taken so long. However, for the time being, I completely understand anyone who wants to cash out from both sites and take a wait-and-see approach. It’s exactly what I would do.

Here’s his post at P5s.

Arem does say that he believes both AP and UB are trying to make right for the past, and they’re trying to make certain “superuser” cheating doesn’t happen again.

New Ultimate Bet Bad Beat Jackpot Cheat Scam!

More Online Poker Cheating In Question!
Ultimate Bet Again!

A player known as "dhc2lovr" has now hit Ultimate Bet´s Bad Beat Jackpot twice! In six weeks! This is hard to believe, and naturally an inside cheating scandal has to be suspected. Well, it´s not 100% a cheating scandal, is it?...After all, the same woman won two Illinois State Lotteries for more than $3 million each in the 1980s, so I guess anything is possible, right?...WRONG! Give me a break!

There is no way that the same player handle could legitimately win TWO Bad Beat Jackpots!....Ever!...let alone in 6 weeks. Such an occurrence just stretches probability way too far. We will soon be hearing about another GIANT online poker scam, a la the Absolute Poker Scandal of 2007. When will this all stop?

An article in 4Flush broke the story:

"The well known online poker room Ultimate Bet has found its way into the headlines on numerous occasions due to its lucrative Bad Beat Jackpot promotion. Past cases have been happy, congratulatory messages to the winner, but this time, the story comes with an interesting, if not distressing, twist.

Yesterday, May 6th, online poker player ‘dhc2lovr’ was awarded a massive Bad Beat Jackpot at Ultimate Bet, pocketing $448,920.71 for losing with an extraordinary hand at a Bad Beat poker table. Only 1-1/2 months ago, on March 25th, ‘dhc2lovr’ accomplished the same feat, claiming an Ultimate Bet Bad Beat Jackpot of $171,498.31.

Congratulations may be in order, but that is not the general mood circulating the online poker community. Instead, many are questioning the legitimacy of he same individual releasing two Bad Beat Jackpots in such little time. Perhaps the player is extremely lucky, or perhaps there are underlying problems that need to be addressed.

What turned this story into a speculative wonder is Ultimate Bet’s direct association with the online poker room Absolute Poker. If you follow online poker news at all, you probably already know that Absolute Poker underwent a dreadful scandal in the last year, overturning a string of corruption from its higher-ups. What it boiled down to was cheating, not just from members, but managers of the online poker room.

Absolute Poker strictly claims to have resolved the issue and that all operations are back to normal - normal implying integrity and stringent security measures to thwart collusion, cheating and other underhanded activities. Even so, Absolute Poker is still feeling the effects of the ordeal, with members slow to trust, and even slow to return.

Members of the online poker community do not feel that the miraculous double win of an Ultimate Bet Bad Beat Jackpot is very plausible, and once again, the trust factor is coming into play. It will not sit well with many online poker players at Ultimate Bet unless a full investigation is held.

Foxwoods Stung by Major Craps Cheat Scam!

It seems that Connecticut casinos have been getting hit hard by cheats the last few months, both from the outside and from their own dealers. After some major poker card marking scams and blackjack cheat episodes, now we have another cheat caught at the craps tables--and it´s a Foxwoods Craps Dealer! And it´s a WOMAN! I love women casino cheaters; the ones I worked with were the best!

The former craps dealer at Foxwoods is accused of cheating the casino out of more than $50,000 by paying players for pastposted bets (late bets) after the dice were rolled.

Mattie Tarlton, 42, of 57 Berkley Ave., New London, was arrested back in December for first-degree larceny and cheating at gambling. She had worked at the casino since 1998. I don´t know why the news hadn´t been released before, but I imagine it´s because there was a major ongoing investigation. Her case is still pending in New London Superior Court, where she appeared on Monday with defense Attorney Anthony Basilica.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit prepared by detective Richard Bedard of the state police Casino Unit, an unnamed craps floor person alerted a shift manager that Tarlton was cheating with players. The information was passed on to the casino's inspector general, who notified state police. The surveillance department reviewed videotape of Tarlton's table and determined she had worked with two players in December. The players placed late wagers on high-paying proposition bets (rather ballsy!) after the outcome of the dice-throw was known by the dealer, according to the affidavit.

The director of surveillance told police, "These are not random mistakes of a new inexperienced dealer, but are deliberate and intentional acts of a person who knows the outcome of the game after the dice are stopped, and then places late bets on the table which negates the random outcome or final results."

She must have been doing it while picking up losing bets, which certainly shows the girl´s got some talent! If I ever get back into cheating casinos, I will be looking to recruit little Miss Mattie!

The arrest warrant did not indicate whether Tarlton profited from the scheme, but I´m sure she wasn´t in it for love...or was she?

She is free on a $5,000 non-surety bond while her case is pending. Her attorney will be reviewing the videotape of the incident and Mattie will appear in court again on June 2.

See! I´m already on a first-name basis with her...