Scotty12;294290 wroteHuge +1 to the above, and people are saying the same things on another poker forum we both post on.
To me, its not fine that someone I considered afriend is 'trying his hand' at a scum practice. I have spoken well of him when his name comes up in conversation, and now some of the
same people within earshot are shut out of playing this at face value ... but they can get in for 15% of their winnings from him if they want!! His desire to pocket a for a reasonably small sum has messed up his moral compass and Im embarassed that I vouched for him.
Poker is my 'profession,' anything people do to give the reputation of the game or its players a black eye is something Im going to be vocal against.
Meeting a girls parents and being introduced as a poker player gets harder with every immoral choice that fellow 'gamblers' make. Whenever someone says 'oh I know someone that plays poker' more often than not I dread the conversation, they almost never reflect well.
I've played 'some' live poker in the WSOP, EPT, and many casinos and private games over the last decade. There are many shady fucks that will value a few hundred bucks more than their reputation, this just hits close to home. Im bummed that Im a bad judge of character.
You're probably not wrong here.
You are wrong here.
We did exchange PMs. At first, I was elated and relieved, willing to offer him a freeroll on some of my profits. He responded with a very unreasonable demand (IMO) $1k cash and 15% of my cash. Keep in mind we go back a few years, and have bounced handhistories off eachother and given/taken advice. Many years ago I invited Ryan to be my guest for VIP at the skydome because I know hes a huge jays fan. Only a couple months ago myself and another prominent Canadian poker player were drunk as fuck in Hamilton after seeing PearlJam, Ryan drove us ALL THE WAY HOME after I texted him asking for a hamilton cab #.
If I won the tournament and had to give someone 15% for doing next to nothing except preventing me from buying a seat on my own, it would inspire violent thoughts - and Im a very nonviolent guy!
This just isnt the way you should treat your friends or members of a community that have made you better at poker. At least its not how I was raised, or how I would want people in my circle of friends behaving.
Its a 'gaff' I would rather commit than line some scum scalpers pockets with variance free money. I spew enough on all the concerts and sporting events I buy premium tickets to, not doing it for a $1k in a joke of a poker room.
He is trying to rip off his peers and members of poker communities he participates in, in my mind that is a moral gaff!
I've heard you can buy a max of 4, which means Mr. Hall (lest we forget: he is a government employed teacher!) had a partner in crime.
Ryan: Are you two splitting it 50/50? Did you pay them a wage, or were they doing it for free? What a GREAT friend if the latter!
Lol thanks for registering to share your insight!! Breaking the law is not wrong because, as Ryan has already shared with us OTHER PEOPLE WOULD HAVE!
After hearing Scott's arguments via PM and coming to an impasse, I told him our conversation is done. Since he's a hero sitting behind his Dell, he's decided to air this issue out in public again.
Scott, you have an unhealthy obsession with regards to this topic. I don't know what happened to you in the past but you referenced in a post somewhere that the scalpers know who you are and threaten you when you walk by. Why is this? Ultimately, this is a non-issue and you've had a huge blowup over it. Why did you not have a problem when people posted the same things in the forums last year? Oh yeah, you probably had your tickets, right? You need to get a grip. You hate scalpers because you go to every concert and sporting event around. In the big picture, life's sure pretty good when that's the case.
You did NOT PM me an offer. That's incorrect. You asked me to tell you what I could do. I had no idea what to offer as I didn't foresee selling tickets to friends in the poker world who should already have them. It was not a big issue to me if you accepted my offer or not. Water under the bridge and I was guessing you'd feel the same way. Life's too short. I gave you an offer that you would not come close to getting anywhere else. You didn't get back to me but rather went cuckoo in the forums and started all of this. Not cool.
Don't worry Scott. Your girlfriend's parents aren't going to ask you why people have been scalping tickets to the Fallsview $1K tournament and how that reflects on you as a person. Ridiculous.
In the poker world, there are many things that have varying degrees of morality. These things aren't black and white, it's a grey area. Some things you don't do. You don't cheat. You don't purposely tell someone you have $2200 behind when you have $800 when asked for your stack. Everyone would agree on these things. Have you ever got a good deal in a chop? That's not very moral now is it. Or is it? Are you above doing that? You're a fool if so. But that's my opinion. It's a grey area. Have you ever taken money at the poker tables from someone who has had too much to drink, Scott? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you have. Some people who have different moral views would consider you a scumbag. Of course, they probably wouldn't go slandering you in a public forum over it, would they? Here's a moral conundrum: someone who makes money playing cards (preying on people who are worse at the game and/or have gambling problems) for a living has a problem with scalpers. I'm not judging. Just sayin'.
I find it interesting that you judge my character to be poor over THIS. I have paid out over 6 figures to different backers and have never stolen a cent in poker, nor a thing in my life (and never, ever will). (Confession, I did take a transformer off a kid's lawn in grade 3. It felt awful. I'm glad I got that off my chest). I have always been good to my word. Some of the biggest names in poker would happily attest to that. I judge your character to be poor because of you slandering my good name in these forums. It's just so easy on the Internet, isn't it?
I'm also disgusted that you bring up my real profession, as you continue your libelous behaviour. What that has to do with any of this, I'm unsure of. I work hard, teaching young people and doing a damned good job at it and you are using this against me in your arguments. Feel good? What exactly do you do for society, Scott, anti-scalping crusades aside.
As for breaking the law, I honestly wasn't even aware this was against the law. I wasn't aware of this because every time I go to a Blue Jays game, there are around 10-12 scalpers outside of the game selling tickets next to uniformed cops. Some laws take a higher precedent than others. Did you know that it's illegal for teenagers to walk down the street in Fort Qu'appelle with their shoes untied? Did you know that it's against the law to play a musical instrument in a park in Windsor? Have you ever broken the law? Oh, you haven't gone over 100 kph on the highway? OK. Guess you've never played underground either. I think you should read your image of the ticket speculation act very, very carefully. I noticed you've offered cash and services for a ticket, which I'm sure would be interpreted as illegal (y'know, if anyone actually gave a shit).
It will be very interesting to see if you play the Fallsview events. I feel it would be very hypocritical of you to. Fallsview is fine with people doing this. They allow people to buy multiple seats and sell them right at the tables in the room. Scalp them, if you will. Their main goal is to sell the tournament out. Debatable practice, at best. I would personally prefer it if they just sold 1 ticket each and checked ID at the tables. But they don't. They don't because they WANT this to happen. It puts more money in the pockets of regulars who will buy up the tickets and will gamble the money. It's very easy to figure this all out. They support reselling. You are deadset against it. You gonna play?