The Nevada Gaming Control Board is scheduled to rule next month on a dispute involving Station Casinos’ Jumbo Hold ‘em Poker Progressive, a bad-beat jackpot that occurred last July at Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas.
The Jumbo Hold ‘em progressive is divided by all players competing in Station poker rooms. Bad beats occur when a four-of-a-kind or higher hand is beat by a higher hand. On July 7, the jackpot stood at $120,000 when 83-year-old Avi Shamir lost with a straight flush to Len Schreter’s higher straight flush. Signs lit up indicating the bad-beat jackpot, and names of all the players were taken.
Under the rules, Shamir stood to win $60,000—half of the jackpot—and Schreter $30,000, or a quarter of the prize. The remaining 25 percent would be divided among the other 80 players engaged at the time.
However, the casino’s review of surveillance video showed that Schreter exposed the two cards he was holding out of order just before the game concluded. Under the rules, “discussion of hands during the play by players, at the discretion of management, may void a Jumbo Hold ‘Em Jackpot.”
The casino refused to pay the prize, and the matter went to the Nevada Gaming Control Board for review. Board members heard three hours of testimony. The board held a hearing on the matter last week, and will announced its ruling in January, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The players contend that the action of Schreter revealing the cards occurred after the river, the final deal of the game, and thus had no effect on the outcome of the hand. Surveillance showed that Schreter tossed his cards face-up on the table before the dealer asked for a show of hands.
Should the board rule for the casino, Schreter would receive only the $12,000 he got for winning the hand.
