WSOP Probes Suspicious Finish in Millionaire Maker Final

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is taking a closer look at the results of its $1,500 Millionaire Maker event following concerns about what happened during the tournament’s final moments, which concluded Wednesday night in Las Vegas.

The Showstopping Comeback

James Carroll was in complete control heading into heads-up play, sitting on a massive chip lead with nine times more than Jesse Yaginuma. However, what started out as a sure win for Caroll quickly turned into something else. 

Yaginuma managed to win his way back, one hand after the other, eventually overtaking Carroll and walking home with the massive $1.26 million first-place prize. Carroll, finishing second, took home $1 million.

While comebacks of that scale aren’t unheard of in poker, the way this one played out raised some red flags. 

Yaginuma gained the upper hand primarily through uncontested pots, raising and reraising without Carroll pushing back. 

That stretch of play didn’t sit right with some viewers. As the livestream kept rolling on, poker fans and seasoned pros began to question whether Carroll was folding to boost Yaginuma’s stack on purpose, a tactic known as “chip dumping.” 

If true, it would be a clear violation of WSOP’s rules.

The WSOP rules explicitly define chip dumping as: “Any agreement between or among two (2) or more Participants for one or more of the Participants to bet chips with the intent of increasing another Participant’s stack.” 

The broader definition of collusion includes other unethical behaviors like soft play, sharing card info, or signaling during a game.

The ClubWPT Gold Drama

Adding another layer of intrigue was a separate promotional offer from ClubWPT Gold. The online poker service was running a special bonus program rewarding any player holding a qualifying ticket from ClubWPT Gold with an extra $1 million by taking down a WSOP event. 

Yaginuma had one of those coveted tickets, thanks to a prior ClubWPT contest. However, this was not the case for Carroll, which further fueled speculation regarding Yaginuma’s victory.

On Thursday morning, the WSOP publicly confirmed it had launched an investigation into what transpired during the final table.

“Last night, we were made aware of a potential breach of the official WSOP Tournament Rules during heads-up play in Event 53,” the WSOP stated on social media. 

“An investigation is underway. At this time, 1st and 2nd place have not been confirmed, and neither the prize money nor the bracelet has been officially awarded.”, they added.

Yaginuma, speaking with Poker.org after the win, denied any wrongdoing. ClubWPT Gold has not announced a separate inquiry but did congratulate Yaginuma online. 

According to three-time WSOP bracelet winner Doug “WCGRider” Polk, a source had directly informed him that ClubWPT Gold would pay Yaginuma the million-dollar bonus, no matter the outcome of the current investigation.