Poker News

Most Players In Midway Poker Tour Payout Controversy Still Waiting On Payment

It’s been almost a month since the inaugural Midway Poker Tour was hit by a payout controversy and till date a number of players have yet to be paid in full, despite promises by the tour’s owners and organizers that they would sort things out.

This was supposed to be a charity event with 4 KIDS Sake, Inc. being the recipient charity.

The scandal revolved around the $1,100 buy-in Main Event which ended up with the top 31 finishers not being able to receive their full winnings, partly because of the Illinois Charitable Gaming Acts and Regulations, which states that charity tournaments cannot pay more than $500 in cash on top of the actual buy-in amount.

The event ran in collaboration with Illinois-based not-for-profit organization 4 KIDS Sake, Inc.

Organizers awarded the payouts in the form of precious metals on a promise that a trader was ready to buy them back. But it never happened.

Where Is Dan Bekavac?

When chaos hit the venue, the tour’s founder Dan Bekavac was nowhere to be found. He issued a statement a day later on October 5, apologizing to the players and pledging to make them whole, but until now, that promise has remained unfulfilled, with just 19 of the 31 players being repaid.

Worse, the affected players were only paid a flat 30 per cent of their actual winnings amounting to a total of $12,546. Meaning, there’s still $50,185 of missing money yet to be received by its rightful owners. It has also emerged that among the 19 players who were repaid, only two (Rocco Pace and Nicola Ditrapani) came from the final table.

The remaining 12 players that still haven’t been made whole include the Main Event winner Renato Spahiu who should have walked away with a $55,060 top prize. Adding insult to injury was Bekavac’s continued silence on the issue, with some players reporting that they’ve been reaching out to him, but their calls and messages had been left unanswered. A number of players who reached the final table are now considering taking the matter to the courts.

Midway Poker Tour Not Paid 4 KIDS Sake, Inc

The 4 KIDS Sake, Inc charity also wasn’t able to receive the agreed- upon amount they should have earned, which was supposed to be 50% of net proceeds, as Bekavac and his team claimed that the operational expenses were more than the amount collected during the event.

Carolyn Dutton

Carolyn is our legislation expert, with a background in law she is able to cover the current state of poker around the world

Share
Published by
Carolyn Dutton

Recent Posts

Scott Seiver’s Premonition Comes True with WSOP Player of the Year Win

Summary: Scott Seiver won the WSOP Player of the Year, as anticipated by the player…

4 months ago

Bally’s Rebrands Poker Room Following Maverick Gaming Partnership

Summary: Bally's Twin River Lincoln rebranded its poker room following its partnership with Maverick Gaming.…

5 months ago

Moneymaker Wins Triton’s Event #1: $25,000 GGMillion$ Live for $900K

Summary: Chris Moneymaker won Event #1: $25,000 GGMillion$ Live at Triton Montenegro. Moneymaker scooped up…

6 months ago

Melanson Is the New WSOP-C Playground Main Event Champion

Summary: Dustin Melanson has crushed the final table at the WSOPC Playground Main Event. The…

7 months ago

Nick Yunis Drops Out of SHRPO for the Birth of His First Child

Summary: Yunish abandoned the $1,100 Triple Stack No-Limit Hold'em in the middle of a heated…

7 months ago

Martinez Jr. Wins $100K in bestbet Jacksonville Main Event

Summary: Dimas Martinez Jr. has won over $100,000 in the RunGood Poker Series bestbet Jacksonville…

8 months ago