Poker Pro Suing Caesars for Costly WSOP Ejection

Counting cards in blackjack got him banned. Using a false ID got him ejected from a WSOP poker tournament. Joseph Stiers now suing Caesars for compensation.

Every veteran of poker knows that there are strict rules you must abide by. One of the most important is the provision of your real name and address. You can’t access an online poker room without providing, and verifying, this information. So why should you be able to play in a major land-based poker event under false pretenses?

Apparently US poker pro Joseph Stiers of Maryland has been getting away with it for a few years now. When he got caught last year, and subsequently ejected from the WSOP Main Event at the Rio in Las Vegas, his buy-in was confiscated too. He’s suing Caesars Entertainment over the incident, but the casino corporation says Stiers had no right to play in the tournament to begin with; that his use of a false identity automatically disqualifies him from the event, and makes him ineligible for reimbursement of any losses.

Caesars Sued Over WSOP Poker Tournament Ejection

According to Joseph Stiers, Caesars decision to eject him from the tournament has ‘cost him his livelihood‘. He’s suing the company for an undisclosed amount of money. No doubt it exceeds the $10,000 buy-in he was forced to forfeit when WSOP officials escorted him from the Rio that fateful day.

Stiers claims that he was in the 9^th highest position in the event, holding 630k chips at the time. He believes he had a good shot at cashing high in the tournament, if not inning the top prize of $8 million.

So far, it sounds like Stiers should at least get his buy-in back. Using a fake ID at an online poker site will result in account closure, but in most cases, the original deposit is also returned. However, the story gets more interesting when we hear Caesars’ reason for immediately ejecting the poker pro upon discovery of his real name.

Stiers was Banned from Caesars Casinos in 2015

According to Caesars Entertainment Corp, Stiers had to use a false name to register because he wouldn’t have been allowed to participate otherwise. Back in 2015, he was banned from entering any Caesar casino property.

That incident occurred at the Caesars Horseshoe Casino in Maryland when management accused him of counting cards in blackjack. Stiers says the casino suspected him of card counting, but Caesars said they had to remove him from the property multiple times for it; hence the permanent ban. The poker pro can’t deny knowledge of the ban either. It made headlines in the Baltimore Sun.

I’m all for counting cards. It’s not illegal. But you do have to be inconspicuous about it. Casinos are treated as ‘private clubs’ by law, meaning they can pick and choose their patrons. If a player is clearly counting cards, the casino has every right to ask them to leave, and if they deem necessary, ban the player from ever entering their properties again. That’s exactly what Caesars did—and that’s exactly why Stiers spent the next few years playing the brand’s prestigious WSOP poker tournaments under a fake identity.

Caesars says that from that moment on, Joseph Stiers never used his actual name or address to enter a poker tournament. That’s why he managed to fly under the radar for as long as he did. He always registered under a combination of his first, middle and last name, and falsely listed Washington, D.C. as his hometown.

Stiers claims that he’s entered WSOP poker tournaments (under false names) many times over the years, and says Caesars didn’t care so long as he was losing. He estimates he’s lost over $200,000 in buy-ins since 2015. This time, when had a real shot of winning some serious cash, he was ejected.

Who’s right? Who’s wrong? Who knows! The courts will get to decide that one. My advice to any poker + blackjack pros out there would be this. Don’t count cards at any Caesars casinos if you ever want to play in the WSOP.