What does it take to get yourself ejected from the World Series of Poker? Calling others ‘idiots’ multiple times a la Phil Hellmuth? Calling someone a cheat at the table or threatening violence, as in the Friedmann-Lisandro episode? Well, neither of those worked, but apparently ripping up the cards and throwing them across the table will!
Jared Blesnick, a well-known online high-stakes pro with a privileged but murky background, found out that there’s only so much that WSOP tournament director Jack Effel will put up with, and when he overstepped the mark, he was thrown out of the event, the series, and the Rio casino.
Known on the virtual felt as ‘harrington25’, his online poker skills (primarily at PLO) are legendary. However, his live poker antics have upset a number of players over the years, and the 2012 World Series of Poker saw him lose the plot – and the pot – completely.
As reported on the WSOP.com website, Blesnick was down to the final two tables of Event #34, the $1500 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball (Limit).
With more than 120,000 in the pot after the second draw, Bleznick had a single 1,000 chip left behind. Andrey Zaichenko drew one card from the cutoff in the final draw, and Jared Bleznick drew one from the button.
Zaichenko looks over at Bleznick, reported the official site, and he says, “I only have one thousand left, give me a payout ticket!” Zaichenko bets 1,000, and Bleznick fires his last chip into the pot. “Floor, give me a fucking payout ticket now,” says Belznick.
Zaichenko shows 10 6 5 4 2 for a ten low. Bleznick’s first four cards are tabled in front of him 8 5 3 2. He stands up, lifts up his last draw card, and crumples it up in his hand, throwing it across the table. He then grabs the rest of his hand and crumples them up as well, spiking them down on the table. Zaichenko quietly takes in the big pot, and Bleznick is escorted to the payout desk.”
Eliminated in 14th place for $4,706, Blesnick was then said to be banned from the WSOP for life, having been warned on multiple occasions about his behaviour. The ban was never enforced, though; Bleznick returned to play at the WSOP in 2016.
As reported by BluffEurope magazine back in 2013, Blesnick was at the centre of a multi-accounting scandal.
“The issue [of multi-accounting] was dragged into the spotlight last September when the shit really hit the fan in an explosive high-stakes row,” they wrote. “This happened when English pro Luke ‘FullFlush’ Schwartz accused Jared ‘harrington25’ Bleznick of multi-accounting on PokerStars. Bleznick, Schwartz alleged, was fraudulently behind accounts such as ‘longerpig’ and ‘Gozoboro’, as well as his main ‘harrington25’ handle. Schwartz blasted the New Yorker for this, saying in chat, “I think it’s wrong […] not knowing who your [sic] playing.”
This led to a free-for-all amongst high-stakes poker pros – many of whom feel it is not ‘illegal’ or ‘unethical’, including Tom ‘Durrrr’ Dwan.
Dwan stated at the time:
“Multiaccounting isn’t cheating. It’s a flawed rule that the sites try to enforce partly for their own benefits. That said,” continued Dwan, “in the current climate u shouldn’t do it, just like u shouldn’t angleshoot in a poker game. but angling and throwing in a chip that looks like a raise intentionally, while scummy, is way different than marking the cards and knowing all of them.”
Others, such as Dani ‘Ansky’ Stern, disagreed with Dwan’s stance and Blesnick’s actions.
“So very disappointing to see you [Dwan] post this. Surely you realize you are looked up to and when you speak people listen. You didn’t exactly give multi accounting your consent, but why post anything even mildly condoning it? We aren’t talking about someone playing on someone else’s account occasionally while they are bored or something. This is extremely deliberate and malicious multi accounting being used to squeeze out every cent available, from already winning players.”
As for Bleznick’s behavior at the 2012 WSOP, the reaction was exactly what you’d expect, with the punishment seen by many as either an overreaction to the incident itself or the inevitable result of repeated warnings and a reputation that had already worn thin.
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