GPI Suspends Two Poker Players Following Cheating Allegations
The Global Poker Index (GPI), the world’s top poker ranking system, has suspended two poker players, following the posting of a video clipping, in which the duo was shown cheating.
The video clipping, which was posted on YouTube fifteen days back, soon become one of the most viewed video clipping in the poker gaming community. It showed the poker action at the final table of the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event of 2009, with the focus on poker players Cedric Rossi and Jean-Paul Pasqualini, who emerged as the runner-up and champion of the event, respectively.
Those who have viewed this clipping agree that the two players are definitely sending signals to each other throughout the final table action. Despite the fact that the organizers of the poker event claim that their officials did not spot any cheating at the final table, Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO for Global Poker Index, said that action has been taken against the two players.
In a statement published on the official website of Global Poker Index, the CEO said, “We debated it internally for the last ten days, ever since we learned of it, like everyone else. It was, and remains, a very complicated decision to make.”
Dreyfus further stated, “Recently, some information was made public about a very suspicious incident of cheating, which in poker is equivalent to fraud. We spent a lot of time analyzing the facts, checking the accuracy of the video and its sources. We also solicited the point of view of the GPI’s top 50 players. The feedback from the industry and the players has been very clear – they were in support of suspending Jean-Paul Pasqualini and Cedric Rossi from inclusions in the Global Poker Index.”
He also said, “What we are advocating is fairness at the table, not necessarily off-table ‘ethics.’ I remember the Ethics Committee or something like that, from the now defunct Epic Poker League. I don’t want to go there. I cannot impose my own ethics upon others. I won’t judge a person’s lifestyle. The Global Poker Index is meant to rank poker players on their performance. If the performance is distorted or compromised, then we act. At this stage, we can’t do much else. I was pleased that this decision was supported by so many of the people I spoke to, because it means that none of us want to see this behavior on table.”
He also expressed his desire to start a Player Trust Rating, an idea that will be put up for discussion at the GPI meeting on the occasion of World Series of Poker 2013.
The pages of Rossi and Pasqualini on the official website of the Global Poker Index now bear the sign “SUSPENDED” on them. The French poker community is shocked by the cheating allegations against Pasqualini, who they had considered as their hero.
Neither Rossi nor Pasqualini have made any comments on the cheating allegations against them. They have also not spoken a word about the decision taken by the Global Poker Index.
-
Recent Tips for Real Money Poker Players:
