Borgata Winter Open Event #1 Cancelled, Fake Chips In Play

Prize money held pending investigation.

Borgata Winter Open Event #1 Cancelled, Fake Chips In Play
© World Poker Tour.

What was an amazing story of a record turnout at Event #1 of the Borgata Winter Open's $2 Million Guarantee has turned into a national story about greed, cheating and counterfeit chips. Welcome to “Chipgate.”

According to the Associated Press, The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement has officially cancelled the tournament and the prize money is being held in limbo pending an investigation as it was determined that one or more people introduced “a significant number of counterfeit chips” into the tournament. Reports indicate that the counterfeit chips amounted to roughly $1m in $5k tournament chips (there were roughly 96mm in play).

“Thus far, investigators have found that one or more tournament entrants improperly introduced a significant number of counterfeit chips into the tournament, gaining an unfair advantage and compromising the integrity of play for the event” said Tom Ballance, Borgata’s president and COO.

As of now, no charges have been filed and no arrests have been made, but the police are part of the investigation.

“It is extremely unfortunate that the criminal actions of these individuals can have a detrimental impact on more than 4,000 other entrants,” Ballance said. “We fully understand and regret the disappointment this cancellation causes our valued customers, and we will work diligently with DGE investigators to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. The integrity of our games and the confidence of our players is of the utmost importance to us.”

The Borgata has double checked all of the remaining chips that are in play and all additional events will move forward as planned.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling (VACPG) helpline at 1-888-532-3500
published 10 years, 9 months ago • by • permalink

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