Hacker Plays High Stakes Poker with Daniel Negreanu's Bankroll

Daniel Negreanu briefly had his PokerStars account hacked this week, as an unknown person gained access to his email account and ultimately played some high stakes poker under his screen name.

The incident took place while Negreanu was traveling home from Australia, where Negreanu had been taking part in the Aussie Millions tournament series. Negreanu had some success there, finishing 5^th in the $100,000 Super High Roller event and earning a $250,900 prize.

But while the Canadian pro was flying back home, someone was having lots of fun at his expense. Negreanu apparently had $100,000 in his PokerStars account, and the hacker was quick to jump into the $100/$200 no-limit tables. He played nearly 400 hands on Negreanu’s “KidPoker” account, losing more than $46,000.

Onlookers definitely noticed something was odd about Negreanu’s play. He was spewing chips left and right, with one hand in particular – one in which he called a five-bet all-in with A5 offsuit – drawing lots of attention from the railbirds.

Amusingly, though, many observers still weren’t sure that it wasn’t Negreanu himself losing the money on his account. Some suggested he could be drunk or hung over, while others simply thought he was playing badly.

But after Negreanu landing in Los Angeles, he was alerted to the incident and he confirmed that it had not been him playing on his account. He even joked to posters on the twoplustwo.com forums that his failures on the High Stakes Poker television show – where he has lost over $2 million – must have hurt his public image more than he had thought.

Reportedly, Negreanu’s money will be returned by PokerStars in accordance with their policies on fraud. Negreanu is currently a Team PokerStars Pro, having joined the poker site as a sponsored player in 2007.