Ali Tekintamgac Enters WPT Championship, Controversy Follows

While most of the action at the World Poker Tour Championship was on the felt, where players were competing for a $1.6 million first prize, there was a secondary story line occurring on the floor. Ali Tekintamgac – an accused cheater who was disqualified from a Partouche Poker Tour event last year – was participating in the event, and many players were not happy about seeing him there.

Daniel Negreanu in particular was outspoken in his disappointment at seeing Tekintamgac at the tournament. On his Twitter feed, Negreanu made it clear that he felt Tekintamgac had no business playing in a WPT event.

“Ali Tekimtamgac who was caught cheating in Partouche is in #WPTChamp I called him out, and floor told ME I can't do that! When will we learn,” Negreanu wrote during the first day of play.

“Bellagio/WPT should absolutely not allow this person in the event. He was caught red handed cheating and should be banned. This is absurd,” he added.

Later in the day, Negreanu made reference to a floor incident in which he claimed Tekintamgac threatened Scott Siever. Finally, Negreanu said he would take further action ahead of this summer’s World Series of Poker.

“I'm going to talk to the people at the WSOP in the hopes that we can ensure that this cheater is not welcome at the WSOP,” he said.

In last year’s tournament, Tekintamgac apparently used a team of assistants – posing as bloggers and reporters to gain access to areas near the tournament tables – in order to get information on either the exact holdings or the strength of his opponents’ hands. After reviewing video from earlier in the tournament, PPT tournament officials disqualified Tekintamgac before the final table began. It was the second time Tekintamgac had been embroiled in a cheating controversy; he was also accused of wrongdoing at a European Poker Tour event in Tallinn earlier that year, and was forced to leave the event.