A player who tried to use fake chips brought the tourney to an abrupt halt
New Jersey’s Borgata Casino & Spa has announced it would reimburse over 2,100 players who finished outside the top 450 in a poker tournament and played in the same room as the suspect accused of introducing fake chips. Play had to be suspended because counterfeit chips were found among the stacks. Each entrant will receive $560, which includes entry fees paid at the tournament.
The final 27 players will share the remaining prize pool, each receiving a payout of $19,323.
The 423 entrants who finished higher than 27th and were in the money will not receive additional payments. All players will be reimbursed for their $60 entry fee under the agreement ordered by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
The Borgata will pay out a total of $1.7 million in prizes and entry fee refunds and has enhanced security and introduced more elaborate chips for last week’s poker tournament.
Fayetteville, NC, resident Christan Lusardi was arrested and charged with theft and rigging a public contest after play was suspended in the January tournament when the fake chips were discovered.
Authorities state that Lusardi stayed at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City, and after suspecting his fake chips had been detected, he flushed them down the toilet in his hotel room. However, the chips clogged the pipes, and guests in the room below complained that water was leaking from the ceiling.
After the maintenance was called, the chips with a tournament value of 2.7 million were found, although they weren’t worth anything.
Lusardi remains in custody awaiting trial, and there has been no word on whether he has hired legal representation.
