The CEO of the company behind America’s Poker Room said he has $100,000 for anyone who could prove that Ali Imsirovic is an online poker cheat, an allegation that the 2021 Global Player of the Year can’t seem to shake.
Imsirovic, who was banned from the PokerGO tour last September for allegedly cheating online, has been accused of using real-time assistance “dream machines,” running a stable of players, and colluding online by several of the top pros, including Matt Berkey, Phil Galfond, Alex Foxen, and Chance Kornath.
Even Daniel Negreanu has called for all sites to ban Imsirovic, telling his Twitter followers in March that Imsirovic “is continuing his antics and is likely irredeemable at this point”
Phillip Nagy, CEO of Winning Poker Network, is putting up a $100,000 reward to anyone who can prove that Imsirovic cheats online. Although these accusations have been rampant, a “smoking gun” that proves that Imsirovic is indeed guilty of these allegations has never been revealed.
I will go on record I am in the Triton 200k blinding off reading this. I will offer a 100k reward for proof of this I take security seriously however there is no-one that is perfect. Help me Help you if you can. (excuse grammar Im under some pressure here) https://t.co/8Kz4AtYL8X
— Phillip Nagy (@WPN_CEO) May 18, 2023
Nagy put up the $100,000 after the poker Twitterverse again accused Imsirovic of cheating when poker author and coach Barry Carter spread the news that Imsirovic has put out a call for students.
Oooh Ali Imsirovic is coaching people now. I wonder if he is coaching people on poker or, you know, the other thing pic.twitter.com/dfBQZGAkYH
— Barry Carter (@Barry_Carter) May 17, 2023
This promoted a series of sarcastic and serious replies, including one from Galfond who wrote: “Hopefully, someone will infiltrate & expose his current cheating methods (and not turn evil).”
CardsChat is trying to confirm that the email listed is actually Imsirovic’s and will update if we find out.
It was Galfond’s Tweet that prompted Nagy to take a break from playing in an event at the Triton Super High Roller series in Cyprus and put up the $100,000 reward.
Rumors, rumors, and more rumors
Now here’s where it gets frustrating for poker fans and reporters alike. While these pros have leveled accusations against Imsirovic for several years now, none have stepped up with hard proof that he has and is using nefarious means to cheat online.
For example, look at Berkey’s Tweet:
Lots of rumors floating around that the stable is divided according to shifts; newer guys play early stages, mid stages are for vets, etc, with Ali and Chris Fitz closing out using dream machines…
Just heresy though 🧐
— Matt Berkey (@berkey11) May 17, 2023
Berkey is not only a poker coach and an elite player, but he also a member of the media with his award-winning “Only Friends” podcast. He’s one of the few that works from “inside the building,” so to speak, and yet he has not revealed the hard evidence.
Still, Imsirovic’s ban from the PokerGO tour is telling, even if PokerGO refused to explain how they came to conclude that its former Player of the Year should face punishment. It’s also telling that Imsirovic chose not to fight the ban.
Another damning fact is that Imsirovic appears to be one of the players who were kicked-off of GGPoker in 2020 for using real-time assistance. Although the site did not release the names of the 40 players who were banned, according to SharkScope, Imsirovic’s activity on GGPoker ended the day the bans were handed down.
Imsirovic has been a ghost on the live tournament trail this year. His last live cash came in the 2022 WSOP Main Event.
Will the $100,000 be enough for someone to emerge with absolute proof that Imsirovic is a cheat?
Stay tuned.
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