Gossip Column: Battle of Malta & Shaun Deeb Come Under Fire, Kevin Hart Plays Poker With Jay Z & More 

Battle of Malta, Shaun Deeb, Kevin Hart & Joseph El Khouri
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  • Namita Ghosh October 27, 2019
  • 5 Minutes Read

We can always trust the poker industry to come up with bizarre and outlandish gimmicks! We have all heard of poker celeb likes Phil Hellmuth making dramatic entries in poker tourneys, but reports coming in from the recently concluded Battle of Malta (BOM) just pulled the rug from under our feet. Surprisingly – no shockingly, it wasn’t a player who roused up a controversy but the tournament management itself. After making its dealers dance just before the starting days in the Main Event, the tournament organizers apparently asked the male dealers that were assigned for the €110 Ladies Event to go shirtless! As women participants poured out their dismay and anger on social media and some dealers even refused to comply despite the lure of the extra €50 they were offered, the floor finally asked the dealers to put their shirts back on. But not without putting a massive dent in the reputation of the series!

Poker pro Joey Ingram was among the many who criticized the incident but speaking of Ingram, the vlogger has blown quite a bit of a storm on Twitter himself. Ingram recently invited high-stakes pro Bryn Kenney on his Poker Life podcast. Kenney, who had finished runner-up at the ‘Triton Million – A Helping Hand for Charity’ Super High Roller in August for a colossal £16.89 Million ($20.56 Million), confessed he had put up nearly half of his net worth on the line at the event between the £1.05 Million buy-in and his various side bets. Evidently, Deeb took offense at this. He called Kenney out for what he felt was nothing more than degenerate gambling and charged him of free-rolling. The who’s who of the poker Twitterati, however, didn’t agree, and Deeb found a lot of criticism coming his way from Kenney’s high-stakes peers.

Another poker celeb hitting the newswires is comedian and poker pro Kevin Hart who recently made his first public appearance since his car accident last month. Hart was seen entering a restaurant with his rapper friend Jay Z and a few others where the group reportedly even played some poker.

Meanwhile, in London, poker-playing securities exchange trader Joseph El-Khouri has got himself embroiled in serious legal trouble with the U.S. law authorities over a multi-million dollar insider trading ring.

 

Male Dealers Asked to Go Shirtless at Battle of Malta Ladies Event, Management Gets Flak

In an unheard-of incident, the Battle of Malta series, which was recently hosted at Casino Malta at the InterContinental, was the stage to quite a bizarre sight in the €110 buy-in Ladies Event. The tournament kicked off on October 20, with most of the male dealers beginning the proceedings without their shirts on! The move was evidently a brainchild of the tournament management to ‘spice’ things up, and the dealers were offered an extra €50 to comply. While a majority of the dealers agreed for the sheer pull of the extra money they were making, some of them refused, and at least one such dealer confirmed that after he refused to go shirtless, he was taken off the roster!

Shirtless male dealers at Battle of Malta Ladies Event
Shirtless male dealers at Battle of Malta Ladies Event

Angry reactions began flooding social media straight from the tournament floor. Calling the gimmick unacceptable and demeaning, poker player and leading advocate for poker playing women Daiva Byrne shared an image from the tournament that soon went viral.

Responding to Byrne’s post, Dara O’Kearney shared that one of the dealers at the High Roller had told her that he had refused to comply and was removed from the event.

Soon, popular vlogger Joey Ingram shared images from the event asking, “Why is my grandpa dressed like a Chippendale dealing a ladies poker tournament??”

Ingram’s post was soon re-tweeted by Maureen Bloechlinger, who is a well-known activist for female poker pros.

The barrage of angry reactions seemed to have finally drilled some sense into the management, who asked the dealers to revert back to wearing their shirts after the first break. Several female dealers were also looped in to handle the event.

Though normalcy seemed to have been restored at the event, it turns out, this isn’t the first attempt of cheap gimmickry made at the series. At all the Main Event starting flights, the dealers had been asked to “Shuffle Up and Dance” instead of “Shuffle Up and Deal.” The management even promised dealers who came up on the stage and shook a leg with €100 more than the others who simply danced near their tables.

Different proponents of the poker industry came out against what had happened. Ivonne Montealegre, founder of The Malta Poker Festival and International Affairs Director for the Women’s Poker Association (WPA), said, “The situation during this Ladies Event was a very poor judgment decision from the organizers to create a marketing gimmick. It tarnishes all the hard work they put into the event.”

Poker journalist Florence Mazet who was present at the event pitched in, “Imagine if women dealers enter like that in a normal tournament? People will scream about sexual harassment and they will be right. It’s the same here, I don’t feel dealers were comfortable with it and neither was I. I’m here to play, not for a Chippendale show.”

Later, a male dealer is reported to have admitted to PokerNews that the incident was highly degrading for dealers, “It’s degrading for men! In an era of social media and live streaming via mobile phones, it’s borderline prostitution as dealers who would be enticed would earn €50 more than everyone else.”

 

Shaun Deeb Gets Flak For Attacking Bryn Kenney on Twitter

Poker pro Shaun Deeb never ever shies away from self-imposed activism, which is why it`s hardly surprising to see him getting into a war of words with someone.

Back in April, Deeb had attacked Daniel Negreanu over the seemingly high markup that Negreanu was charging on his WSOP pack. A long and intense war on Twitter ended with Negreanu calling Deeb a bully, an a******** and an angle shooter but he announced later that he’d be selling his WSOP pack at no markup.

Shaun Deeb
Shaun Deeb

Just when we thought that Deeb was settling down to quietude, the four-time bracelet winner landed himself amid another dramatic issue. If it was Negreanu then, it was Bryn Kenney this time. If only his arguments stood ground, and Kenney didn’t enjoy as much popularity as he does, Deeb probably could have gotten away unscathed. But by the looks of the way things have panned out, Deeb isn’t really getting much support from the poker community.

It all began with Joey Ingram tweeting on October 16 that Kenney, who has climbed up to take the numero uno position on the All-Time Money List after his runner-up finish in the Triton Million for $20.56 Million in August, would be making an appearance on his Poker Life podcast.

On Ingram’s show, Kenney got talking about his run at the Triton Million and confessed that he had put “about half” of his net worth on the line at the event between the £1.05 Million buy-in and his side bets. Kenney made a joke about it, “Don’t try this at home.”

Obviously, this was Kenney’s choice, but Deeb felt that Kenney’s aggressive bankroll choice was nothing more than degenerate gambling.

Deeb’s comment that what Kenney did was freerolling didn’t find much favor from many of Kenney’s high-stakes peers. George Wolff questioned how Deeb could accuse Kenney of free rolling when he was mostly guessing that the side bets that Kenney made equaled or were higher than the amount he had of himself.

Andre Akkari asked how Deeb could assume that Kenney bet more than 50% of his bankroll.

Ingram somewhat sided with Kenney on the side betting issue.

Jason Koon also firmly supported Kenney while David Peters felt Deeb’s comments were out of line.

Timothy Adams was another top pro who felt Deeb was being very unfair to Kenney.

Ali Imsirovic also disagreed with Deeb.

If you thought it’d all end here, it didn’t! Deeb took to Twitter later to accuse Kenney on sending him a threatening message, and he even challenged Kenney to a heads-up match, which he later backed off from.

While things seem to have settled down somewhat, for now, this is one story that doesn’t end here for sure, so keep watching this space for more updates!

 

Kevin Hart Returns to Public Eye After Car Accident, Plays Poker with Jay-Z

Last month, comedian and poker pro Kevin Hart was seriously injured in a car accident off a highway in California and had to undergo an emergency back surgery. Hart remained hospitalized for nearly 10 days and has been quietly recuperating ever since. Hart was with his friend Jared Black and his fiancée Rebecca Broxterman with Black driving the car when the incident had taken place. While Broxterman only suffered minor bruises, both Hart and Black were severely injured. Police later determined that the accident was caused due to Black’s negligence, but Hart seemingly has no issues with Black over what happened. He recently spoke out on the crash through a statement released by his attorney. “I have nothing but love for Jared and wish him and Rebecca a speedy recovery.”

Kevin Hart with Jay Z
Kevin Hart with Jay Z

Hart has already been signed on for the sequel of Jumanji and is already back to work. Still, he has been keeping away from public appearances, especially those poker clubs he used to frequent earlier. But earlier this week, Hart finally came into the public eye again. The popular actor was spotted with his good friend, rapper, and songwriter Jay Z at a luxury restaurant in Los Angeles.

According to media reports, on Monday night, Hart went to the Avra Beverly Hills Estiatorio with Jay Z. The duo was accompanied by Irv Gotti who is CEO of Murder Inc., businessman Maverick Carter who is reportedly close to basketball star LeBron James and sports agent Rich Paul.

The group evidently spent three hours in the restaurant, a better part of which was spent playing poker. Hart himself didn’t wish to be noticed since he wore a hoodie and left with the rest of the group from the rear exit of the restaurant.

Despite their efforts to shroud their appearance, the group was spotted, and a video of them has gone viral. Watch the video shared by TMZ here.

 

Poker Player Joseph El-Khouri Among the Prime Accused in Insider Trading Ring

London-based Joseph El-Khouri, who is primarily a securities trader, is not a big name in poker, but he is no tard in the game either with a very respectable $599,762 in live tournament winnings. El-Khouri’s last recorded live score had come at the EPT Prague last year, where he had finished 246th in the EPT National event for $2,322.

Joseph El Khouri
Joseph El Khouri

El-Khouri has now managed to find his way into serious legal trouble. He has been, along with five others indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York for allegedly participating in a ‘wide-ranging international insider trading ring that orchestrated a multimillion-dollar scam!!’

Last week, U.S. prosecutors filed charges against El-Khouri and a group of people that include a London investment banking couple Darina Windsor and Benjamin Taylor, Greek restaurant chain owner George Nikas, Goldman Sachs vice-president Bryan Cohen, a trader in Switzerland and Telemaque Lavidas, son of the board member of a pharmaceutical company.

Just as Lavidas was arrested in New York and legal proceedings initiated against Cohen, Nikas went missing. Police are yet to arrest Windsor and Taylor, who called each other ‘Pop’ and ‘Popsy.’

As for El-Khouri, the 52-year-old was picked up by the London police on October 22. Police said his role in the insider trading ring was to act as a middleman who received cash and gifts in exchange for stolen information that was passed on to him by Windsor and Taylor, who worked at separate investment banking advisory firms. The three often met up with each other or used ‘burner phones’ to communicate the information.

Making an official statement on the case, Deputy U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss, said, “The insider trading charges announced today lay bare a long-running international scheme stretching over the course of years, whose participants earned tens of millions of dollars in illicit profits from illegally trading on stolen inside information.”

El-Khouri and the other ring-members reportedly had access to many insider tips and covered their track not only by employing burner phones but also by trading using derivatives that are illegal in the U.S and are difficult to track down. While his involvement in the case has black-labeled El-Khouri forever, it’s not going to be a smooth ride for the poker player from here for sure. The U.S. law authorities are breathing down heavily on him and have initiated proceedings for his extradition from the U.K.

If the charges against El-Khouri are proven, he may face up to 20 years in prison.

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