Today in the WSOP 3-Bet we take a look at Vanessa Rousso losing a prop bet, Station Casinos launching an online poker app and Steve Zolotow’s bizarre diamond story.
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3) The Tale of Steve Zolotow’s Diamonds Ends
One of the most bizarre stories in poker resurfaced this week with a new story in the National Post.
First a little back story: Back in 1993 noted poker pro Steve Zolotow was playing with a diamond dealer who told him diamonds were a good investment. Apparently Zolotow was significantly convinced because he bought $900k worth of diamonds.
For some reason Zolotow felt the diamonds were unsafe in the United States in 1994 so he took them to Toronto, Canada, and put them in a safety deposit back.
Zolotow went to retrieve his diamonds in 2000 but was stopped at the border with the diamonds in his pockets. The Canadian government seized all 20 uncut diamonds and charged Zolotow with attempted evasion of paying duties.
Eventually the government put the diamonds up for auction and sold them for $250,225.
Zolotow was understandably outraged and sought legal help. It was to no avail and he never got a penny back from the sale of the diamonds.
This week the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal rejected his request to have the case reconsidered.
Moral of the story? Don't trust diamond dealers (or don't carry $900k in diamonds across borders).
2) Station Casinos Launches Ultimate Poker Site
The slow move towards online poker legalization and regulation in the United States appeared to speed up just a little this week.
Station Casinos launched a free online poker app called Ultimate Poker via Facebook today.
The name is pretty regrettable considering Ultimate Bet became one of the least reputable brands in the poker industry after the super user scandal but it’s certainly looking brighter every day for U.S. poker players.
Apparently Station Casinos owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta chose the name because they also own the Ultimate Fighting Championship and are looking to align the brands in the future.
The Fertittas hope the game will drive an eventual market for real-money poker games when online poker is eventually legalized.
1) Vanessa Rousso is the Roach!
Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso lost a bet to Liv Boeree at the shooting range and had to wear whatever costume Boeree picked in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em today.
Boeree outdid herself. Somehow the English poker pro found a full-blown cockroach costume for Rousso to don in the $3k.
You had to hand it to Rousso, however, as she was good-natured about the bet and wore the costume until she busted boat over boat in the later stages of the day.
Rousso is hardly the only player to lose a costume prop bet at the WSOP. Over the years we’ve seen Joe Sebok dressed as Robin and Spider-Man, Jeff Madsen in a jester costume and Blair Cahail as a wizard.
That’s not even including Phil Hellmuth, who, by choice has arrived at the WSOP Main Event as a race car driver, ESPN announcer, MMA fighter, military general and Julius Caesar.
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