A controversial hand took place deep on Day 2 of Event #20: $300 Gladiators of Poker No-Limit Hold’em involving Men “The Master” Nguyen that saw a player allege that he was shorted several million chips, and busting before the matter could be resolved.
The Gladiator attracted over 20,000 entries — the biggest of the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) so far — with 14 players bagging at the end of Monday’s play.
One of the players who will not be winning that six-figure payday or the bracelet is Brian Smith, who was involved in one of the most controversial hands of the summer.
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What Happened in Controversial Poker Hand
The hand in question took place during Level 36 at blinds of 500,000/1,000,000/1,000,000 with 28 players remaining.
Smith shoved from under the gun with J♠5♠ for 4,525,000. Steve Foutty, holding A♥K♥, three-bet to 10,000,000 on the button and Men Nguyen four-bet all in for 25,250,000 with A♦K♦.
“How much is it?” asked Foutty.
“I don’t care,” replied Nguyen, as the dealer counted his chips. Eventually Foutty called.
The 10♥6♣4♠ flop changed nothing, with the 2♥ on the turn giving Foutty a flush draw and the chance to eliminate two players. But the river 5♣ bricked that draw, but improved Smith to a pair and he tripled up, or so he thought.
Following an elimination at another table, play was halted after this hand ahead of the three-table redraw. As players racked their chips, Smith noticed that he had been shorted four million in chips. He was adamant that after the triple up of his 4,525,000 stack, he should have around 15 million, while he sat with only 11 million.
He alerted the floor manager, who went to check the cameras. Upon his return, he instructed players to rack up their chips and proceeded with the redraw.
Smith remained adamant that he had been shorted, but play resumed with the matter resolved. A few minutes later, tournament stuff ruled that Foutty and Nguyen needed to both surrender one million in chips to Smith. However, Smith remained insistent that this would still leave him short the correct amount. Meanwhile, Foutty was adamant he had initially paid the right amount.
The matter was escalated, with tournament staff promising to take another look at the cameras. However, the matter was never fully resolved as Smith ended up busting in 26th place for $16,770.
Video of the hand shared on social media shows Nguyen pulling back his chips as Smith celebrated winning the hand, but it remains unclear how the pot was shorted.
Players Recount the Action
PokerNews caught the action live on Day 2, and spoke to two players at the table, including Foutty, who was part of the now infamous hand. Foutty and Jordan Johnson both said they are unsure of how Smith’s pot was shorted.
“I’m not accusing Men of anything,” Foutty said. “But he has a history of this sort of thing. I know how much I put in. I was drinking and having a good time, but I know what I put in.”
Nguyen also busted before the end of Day 2, finishing in 19th place for $16,770, his 115th cash in a bracelet event.
Despite his involvement, and heavily criticized past behavior, the origin of the chip discrepancy was never fully resolved.
