Author: Ricky Davies

Nick Yunis has become the 2024 World Poker Tour bestbet Scramble champion, winning $315,791 and the iconic Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup.

All eyes were on three-time champion Eric Afriat as six-handed play began at the bestbet poker room in Jacksonville. The 55-year-old Canadian came in with a commanding 6.5 million chip stack which put him nearly 60 bigs ahead of second-place Nick Funaro.

A fourth WPT title for Afriat would take him level with current record-holder Darren Elias, who captured four titles between September 2014 and May 2018 (plus a painfully close runner-up finish at the 2010 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown).

But it was Yunis who would emerge top of the 361-player field, taking down the biggest score of his career only a few months after becoming a father for the first time.

WPT bestbet Scramble Championship Payouts

Place	Player	Prize	Country
1	Nick Yunis	$315,791	Canada
2	Yunkyu Song	$252,059	U.S.
3	Eric Afriat	$165,000	U.S.
4	Joseph Jordan	$123,000	Chile
5	Nicholas Funaro	$93,000	South Korea
6	Dion Jagroo	$71,000	U.S.

Afriat Goes for Glory

Jagroo entered the final six as the short stack and it didn’t take long for then-chip leader Afriat to send him packing. With his stack dwindling, Jagroo took his chances and jammed with just a gutshot straight draw on the queen-high board. Afriat found the call with pocket jacks and eliminated Jagroo while extending his lead.

Funaro was next to go after one of those hands where you look like a genius when it works but kick yourself when it doesn’t.

He picked up 9♣3♣ and got into a blind-on-blind war with Yunis, who held 8♣5♥. Yunis flopped two pair on the Q♥8♦5♣ flop, making him a 90% favorite to win the hand, but Funaro was having none of it. Yunis checked it to his opponent on all three streets, with Funaro firing on the flop, again on the A♠ turn, and then unloading the clip on the K♣ river. Yunis wasn’t a believer and correctly made the call to send Funaro to the rail.

Perhaps Yunis was giving off the vibe he could be bluffed off of big pots, because it wasn’t long before Jordan also tried his luck in similar fashion. Yunis was standing strong with a boat and snap-called the river shove of Jordan with just king high. This left him crippled, and soon after he committed his final few blinds with Yunis again seeing him off. It’s easy when you’ve got it, as they say.

A Game-Changing Bluff

If any viewers thought Yunis was simply hitting the cards, that was all about to change with a major bluff against Afriat in three-handed play.

Yunis began the hand with just under 7m and raised on the button with Q♠8♥. Afriat called in the small with 9♣7♣ on around 5.7m, and Song came along with a stack of 5.1m.

The flop came 9♠10♣6♣ giving Afriat middle pair, the flush draw and gutshot straight draw. He opted to lead out small, prompting a call from Song’s J♠10♠ top pair. Yunis weighed up his options and stuck in a raise to 700k with his double gutter, which Afriat three-bet to 1.5m. Song folded and Yunis paid to see a turn.

The 3♠ did little for Yunis but was a good card for Afriat, who led out for 25% pot. Yunis called the 1m and they went to the river.

The 5♠ confirmed that Afriat had the best hand but Yunis sensed weakness in his lead for just 1/10 pot. It didn’t take long for Yunis to jam it all in and Afriat just couldn’t muster a call.

You can see how it went down from the 4:13:30 mark below.

All wasn’t yet lost for Afriat, who got himself into a terrific position in an all-in against Song. He began well ahead with pockets kings against pocket nines, until a nine on the flop ended his hunt for a record-equalling fourth WPT title.

Heads-Up Play

Eliminating Afriat helped Song, but he still trailed to the 2:1 chip advantage of Yunis as the two entered heads-up play. With big bucks on the line, the two agreed on a deal which meant they were effectively playing for $33,000, a $10,400 WPT World Championship seat in Las Vegas, and the title.

Heads up lasted 18 hands, including a double up for Song when short stacked with J♥10♦ against J♦5♦, but ultimately the cards would favor Yunis.

With his opponent sitting on just 11 big blinds, Yunis applied the pressure with K♠3♥ and ran into Song’s K♣5♣. Song looked good value for at least a split pot, but the 3♦ on the river gave Yunis two pair and the championship.

Nick Marchington made history by winning the record-breaking North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Main Event in Las Vegas with over $4.3 million guaranteed – and he did it with a one-hand heads-up elimination.

Hosted by PokerStars, the NAPT Main Event 2024 had a $3 million GTD prize pool, but that was blown out of the water by the 895 hungry entrants who’d made the pilgrimage to Resorts World Las Vegas, topping the previous record of just over $4 million.

This year’s champion had already came close to glory in 2019 when he finished 7th in the WSOP Main Event for just over $1.5 million. That proved to be the catalyst for his move into poker as a profession.

“I think when I made that run in the Main Event in 2019 I was a spring chicken,” said Marchington after his recent win. “I was very inexperienced in poker. Now, in life and in poker, I feel a lot more experienced. I’ve been doing this for a living now for six years. I felt a lot more ready for the whole experience of the final table. PokerStars Main Events are the most prestigious Main Events win, so it feels great to win one.”

Here’s how the final table of the NAPT Main Event 2024 ended up.

Place	Player	Prize	Nationality
1	Nick Marchington	$765,200	UK
2	Joel Micka	$478,450	U.S.
3	Jeff Madsen	$341,750	U.S.
4	Marco Johnson	$262,900	U.S.
5	Curt Kohlberg	$202,250	U.S.
6	Masato Yokosawa	$155,550	Japan

Marching to Victory

Marchington had a firm handle on the tournament for the entirety of the final table, holding a nearly 2:1 chip lead over second-placed Madsen – who’d just eliminated Brock Wilson in 7th – as play commenced between the last six players.

With a pay jump of over $45k on the line, nobody wanted to be the first to bust. This suited Marchington, who was able to maintain pressure on all of his opponents and gradually keep chipping up.

Eventually, Yokosawa had had enough and made a stand with pocket 10s, cruelly running into Marchington’s jacks. Shortly after, it was a straight race between Kohlberg’s Big Slick and the pocket 9s of Micka. The 9s held, and Micka then went on to eliminate Johnson when his pocket 10s improved to trips.

With three remaining, Marchington was well ahead on 19.8m chips to Micka’s 4.2m and Madsen’s 2.8m. An all in between the short stacks was inevitable, and it would be Micka’s A♥10♣ getting lucky against Madsen’s Q♥Q♣ on a 2♦5♥8♥J♠A♣ board which took things to heads up.

But it wouldn’t last long.

Over in One Hand

With a 20-minute break, Marchington began his usual routine: a lone walk, listening to music, to get himself in the zone for an intense heads-up battle which could last hours.

The reality was less than two minutes of action, as the 26-year-old secured the title on his first hand back at the table.

Holding a 4:1 chip lead, Marchington limped in with 7♥4♠ and Micka checked behind with 5♦4♦. The flop came 5♣J♠6♦. Micka check-called the 400k min bet, before the 3♠ landed on the turn. This gave Marchington the nut straight while improving Micka’s bottom pair to an up-and-down straight draw. Again, it went check, bet, call.

The 2♥ landed on the river – the worst possible card for Micka. He’d upgraded to a straight and was only being beaten by 7-4 specifically, so he naturally snap called when Marchington went all in, ending heads-up play after a single hand.

The final result was Marchington’s second biggest live tournament cash and, in his own words, “a memory for life”.

There can’t be many feelings worse than winning over a million dollars only to have it taken away a few weeks later, but that’s the grim reality facing GGPoker player Francesco Garofalo, playing under the online username ‘forzaitalia’.

The Italian locked up more than $1.1m after coming first in the WSOP Online $25K GGMillion$ Super High Roller Championship in late September, but things went from forza Italia to mamma mia when he was hit with a permanent ban. The entirety of his cash prize was then retracted and shared among the other ITM players – plus one lucky bubble boy.

This meant huge jumps for some of the top finishers, such as UK pro Patrick Leonard, who woke up to find his account over $152k better off.

What Happened?

At this time, details of the infringement are still thin. In an email to affected players, GGPoker referred to “the most severe breaches of our Security & Ecology Agreement”, which gives away little. Some are speculating it could be a multiaccount breach, but this has not been confirmed by GG.

Could he have won it himself? The Italian’s online GGPoker results are definitely decent, with $38,000 in winnings, but that was nothing compared to the seven-figure haul he received for the controversial victory. Normally, you’d expect a $25k buy-in to attract players with much higher overall earnings.

And what a battle it was to win it in the first place. Just take a look at the final table payouts and you’ll see the caliber of player he was up against heading into the final nine (along with their new totals):

Position	Name	Original Payout	New Payout (Total)	Difference
1	Francesco Garofalo	$1,122,201	$0	-$1,122,201
2	Chris Brewer	$865,335	$1,122,201	+$256,866
3	Bryn Kenney	$667,265	$865,335	+$198,070
4	Patrick Leonard	$514,531	$667,265	+$152,734
5	Dimitar Danchev	$396,758	$514,531	+$117,773
6	Adrian Mateos	$305,942	$396,758	+$90,816
7	Roman Hrabec	$235,914	$305,942	+$70,028
8	Ole Schemion	$181,914	$235,914	+$54,000
9	Samuel Mullur	$140,275	$181,914	+$41,639

The Road to (Temporary) Victory

Garofalo joined the final table in third with nearly 50bbs, but was still a huge underdog given he was facing a full table of elite WSOP bracelet winners..

His first double up came with K♦K♥ against Brewer’s A♠Q♣. Then, with six left, he raised A♥10♠ on the button. Mateos three-bet jammed with K♠Q♥ and the Italian called, hitting trips on the A♠6♣A♦Q♦3♥ runout.

The next elimination was a real game-changer. Garofalo shoved Q♥6♥ into Danchev’s big blind, who called with the superior 10♠10♥. The J♣4♣3♣ flop looked pretty safe, but the 5♥ turn and 7♥ confirmed a cruel exit for the Bulgarian, who has earned almost $9m in live earnings.

Brewer, who ultimately finished second, eliminated first Leonard (A♠8♠ vs K♣8♥ on a dry runout) then Kenney, who recently made waves in his clash with Phil Hellmuth.

Despite those knockouts, Brewer was still slightly behind going into heads-up action, and never managed to take control. When both players flopped a top pair nine, it went as you might expect, and Garofalo took both the mega payday and the bracelet. For a little while, at least.

Brewer Won’t Receive Bracelet

Given the fact each player received one pay jump after Garofalo’s ban, you might assume Brewer would retroactively receive the bracelet. But that doesn’t seem to be the case, according to his own social media post.

I got the difference between 2nd to 1st. But I don’t get the bracelet, quite happy either way

— Chris Brewer (@Chris_D_Brewer) November 4, 2024

Without knowing the full reason behind the ban, it seems an odd ruling to redistribute the cash winnings but not award Brewer the bracelet. But if I woke up one day with hundreds of thousands of dollars which I was never expecting, I probably wouldn’t be too bothered either.

The Women in Poker Hall of Fame (WiPHoF) has now announced its eight candidates to enter the Class of 2024 – and there are some stellar names on the list.

Here are the 2024 nominees in full:

• Kristen Bicknell Foxen
• Liv Boeree
• Jeanne David
• Jamie Kerstetter
• Kara Scott
• Rebecca McAdam Willetts
• Annette Obrestad
• Jennifer Shahade

Former WSOP and EPT champion Liv Boeree stands out as a fan favorite, especially given her charity work co-founding Raising for Effective Giving. Bluffing is in her blood, as you can see from this 2007 clip from a British TV show called Golden Balls.

Kara Scott is another strong contender. She’s been an ever-present on our screens since 2005, commenting on the biggest poker events, from the WSOP Main Event on ESPN to the European Poker Tour.

The 888poker ambassador also co-hosts a poker podcast, On The Rail, and has had some success at the tables. This includes a deep run in the WSOP Main Event (104th for $41,816) and a second-place finish at the Irish Open.

There are plenty of reasons for Annette Obrestad to join the ranks of the WiPHoF. The youngest ever WSOP bracelet winner has racked up over $3.9 million in live tournament earnings, including just over $2 million for winning the first World Series of Poker Europe Main Event. She also once famously won a $4 buy-in, 180-person Sit & Go while only looking at her cards one time. Remarkable.

Any one of these ladies would be deserving of a place in the WiPHoF – and you can help influence the outcome.

How to Vote

Voting is now open to determine who will make the cut. Votes are cast from all living members of the WiPHoF as well as eight carefully chosen experts from the Member Media/Industry voting panel.

You get to have your say, too. The public vote will remain open until 30 October 2024, with the combined results counting as one member’s votes. You’ll have the chance to vote for up to three nominees, with the results being revealed in November and a full Induction Celebration & Ceremony taking place on 11 December 2024.

You can cast your vote here.

Resources

• https://womeninpokerhalloffame.com/ (WiPHoF)

Daniel Negreanu wrapped up his fourth PokerGO Tour win of the year on Sunday to claim a tasty $265,000 in the sixth event of the Pot Limit Omaha Series II in Las Vegas.

The face of GGPoker has been on somewhat of a heater in 2024, highlighted by his first WSOP bracelet in over a decade in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship.

Once again, Negreanu was toppling big names in the $10,100 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha tournament event. Here’s how the stacks looked at the final table:

Position	Player	Final Table Chip Stack
1	Alex Foxen	3,435,000
2	Daniel Negreanu	3,370,000
3	Nick Shulman	1,980,000
4	Nacho Barbero	1,925,000
5	Jeremy Ausmus	1,910,000
6	Matthew Wantman	390,000

There’s definitely more satisfaction when beating the best in the business, as we recently heard from Bryn Kenney’s dig at Phil Hellmuth. That being said, DNegs will be pumped to have cleaned up at a table which could’ve been ripped straight from an episode of Poker After Dark.

Here’s how it went down.

Foxen Starts Day 2 Ahead

Alex Foxen, who’d already won close to $350,000 in live high rollers over the last month, started the day with a marginal lead over the second-placed Negreanu. It didn’t take long before Foxen sent Nacho Barbero home after flopping a set of kings and cracking the Argentine’s aces.

However, it was Negreanu who would then steal the show. First, he won a couple of significant pots against Foxen, including a big river bluff with 8♦7♦6♥4♥ against Q♣J♥9♠6♦ on a 8♠7♥9♦5♣5♦ board.

Then, he knocked out Nick Schulman and Jeremy Ausmus in back-to-back hands.

Negreanu opened for 300,000 with 9♠7♠7♣3♣ and Schulman jammed his remaining stack of 725,000 with J♥J♦3♥2♦. The 5♠4♥3♦6♣K♠ runout brought a straight for Negreanu to wrap up the hand and send Schulman packing.

The very next hand, it was all in pre-flop again, this time between Negreanu’s K♦J♣10♠7♠ and the A♣K♣8♠3♣ of Ausmus. It was pretty much a coin flip going in, but Negreanu flopped top pair and turned trips on the 9♦J♠3♦J♦6♣ board to make it two-for-two.

Not long after, and with less than a 10bb stack in the small blind, Matthew Wantman limp-called pre with K♥J♣9♥8♠ against Negreanu’s A♠Q♠6♥2♠. Wantman then jammed on the Q♦J♠6♦ flop and was snapped off by Negreanu’s two pair.

Wantman still had a 34% chance to win the hand but Negreanu upgraded to a boat on the Q♣ turn and that was all she wrote.

Negreanu Wins Again

This gave Negreanu a commanding 3:1 chip lead moving into heads-up play. Just as Foxen appeared to be clawing his way back into contention, he ran into full house over full house. The river on the Q♠10♥Q♥A♣10♦ was the worst thing that could’ve happened for Foxen and his A♦10♣7♦4♥, who then got into a raising match with Negreanu’s superior A♥Q♣6♣2♠.

That winning hand saw Negreanu pick up just over $265,000 and move into second on the PokerGO Tour leaderboard for 2024.

Position	Player	Prize
1	Daniel Negreanu	$265,200
2	Alex Foxen	$171,600
3	Matthew Wantman	$119,600
4	Jeremy Ausmas	$93,600
5	Nick Shulman	$67,600
6	Nacho Barbero	$52,000

Check out all the action as it happened below.

Bryn Kenney recently stirred controversy by claiming Hellmuth is “great at beating amateur players” but doesn’t belong in his league.

Speaking on the Digital Social Hour Podcast, the leader of the all-time money list in poker conceded that Hellmuth is the “number one WSOP player”, given his record-breaking 17 bracelets. On the flip side, Kenney went on to say how he doesn’t rate Hellmuth’s high roller. Simply put, Kenney believes that, to be labeled the best, you have to beat the best.

“He’s played some high rollers and hasn’t really fared very well in them. You know, when you think about who are the best players in poker, if you’re not competing at the highest level, you can’t really be in contention for it,” said Kenney.

“If you’re playing against mostly amateur players at the World Series, you’re great at beating the amateur players. It’s like you could be the King of Triple A or something – but he’s not really in the Majors.”

He also claimed Hellmuth doesn’t want to play him heads-up, and even laid down a WSOP challenge to see who would cash the most over a series “and show him that he’s not even the best at those”.

Disrespect or Fair Game?

It’s easy to see why Hellmuth rubs some people up the wrong way. He’s called the Poker Brat for a reason. You’ll constantly see him bemoaning his bad luck and complaining about his opponents calling with perfectly reasonable hands. Unfortunately, that includes when he’s playing amateurs.

But that doesn’t change the fact that Hellmuth is the all-time record holder for WSOP bracelets and a player who’s shown an ability to stay relevant and successful in the sport decades after his debut.

Does he deserve more respect? He certainly thinks so, and was quick to defend himself in a post on social media platform X.

Hellmuth’s right about his Hendon Mob page, which remains in good shape. He hasn’t exactly caught fire this year, but cashed for over $1.4 million last year and over $2 million in both 2022 and 2021.

The 1989 WSOP Main Event champion and 2012 WSOP Europe Main Event champion currently ranks 26th on poker’s all-time money list. If you exclude buy-ins of over $50,000, he jumps up to 10th. If you focus purely on super high rollers, he drops to 58th. There’s merit to Kenney’s critique.

However, Hellmuth has enjoyed notable success in some recent high roller events. In 2023 he won the $10,000 WSOP Super Turbo Bounty, where he eliminated Phil Ivey – another who can be considered the greatest poker player of all-time – on the final table, to pick up over $800,000 and his latest bracelet.

And then there were the famous heads-up matches over on PokerGo.

The Heads-Up Master

High Stakes Duel began as a heads-up series on PokerGo which debuted in 2020, starting with a $50,000 one-on-one match between two top poker pros. The loser then had the option to play for double or nothing, or walk away. After three attempts, they’d be out.

The first season saw Phil Hellmuth take on Antonio Esfandiari. Esfandiari, who famously won the first Big One for One Drop with a $1 million buy in for $18,346,673, is a bit familiar with super high-stakes poker.

Hellmuth ended up winning three straight matches and made “The Magician” disappear.

Next up was Daniel Negreanu, a man who was pronounced the best poker player of the previous decade by Global Poker Index in 2014. The GGPoker ambassador is very well-known for needling his good friend Hellmuth on television, but not this time. Hellmuth won 3-0 again.

In season three, Hellmuth defeated sports television host Nick Wright in the first round, who then refused the chance to return. Tom Dwan stepped in to hand Hellmuth his first defeat before losing his rematch and then stepping away.

Scott Seiver was next, and Hellmuth defeated him to make it nine wins in 10. He then lost to Jason Koon and, with the stakes now up to $1.6 million and nobody willing to enter the ring, Koon’s single win was enough to make him champ. The format has changed since then, but Hellmuth definitely impressed during his time on the show.

What Next?

It remains to be seen whether the spat ends here or if a genuine challenge takes place. Poker is a sport which is packed with both big egos and gamblers, so it’s not uncommon for things to escalate. Just take a look at Negreanu vs Doug Polk in their 36-day challenge which cost Kid Poker over $1.2 million. Or Dwan vs Dan Cates and the infamous “Durrrr Challenge”, which has never been resolved.

On the other hand, Hellmuth has weathered some brutal insults before and kept a cool head. In 2014, Dan Colman called him “spineless” and “a cancer to this world” in a TwoPlusTwo post. Hellmuth, who now promotes and has written a book on what he calls the #Positivity Movement, shook it off without much further drama. Colman later admitted he’d gone a bit too far with his comments.

Which way will Hellmuth vs Kenney go? Keep an eye on PokerScout news for any updates.

Resources:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHTf0Tb_DrY (Digital Social Hour Podcast)
• https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=117 (Hendon Mob)
• https://x.com/phil_hellmuth/status/1842447024735584510?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1842447024735584510%7Ctwgr%5E4796a67513e7467b1a4345a1d1d7ca0d98af2bcb%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.poker.org%2Flatest-news%2Fhellmuth-responds-as-bryn-kenney-calls-him-minor-leaguer-issues-challenge-aEBTR6r69lNz%2F (X)
• https://www.globalpokerindex.com/gpi-player-of-the-decade-1-daniel-negreanu/ (Global Poker Index)
• https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29/news-views-gossip/brian-koppelman-interview-phil-hellmuth-1488692/#post45225217 (TwoPlusTwo)

Dig around the history of most poker networks long enough and you’ll find an interesting backstory. ACR Poker’s Chris Moneymaker kick-started the poker boom with his rags-to-riches WSOP win. Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer were pretty much exiled from poker for their role in withholding player funds at Full Tilt Poker.

But no story compares to that of the Grand Poker Network and William “5Dimes Tony” Creighton.

The Birth of 5Dimes

Creighton’s tale can be traced back to West Virginia in 1998. Fresh out of university with a degree in business administration, he became a successful sports bettor and racked up big wins at a site owned by a US bookmaker named Al Ross.

Rather than pay out, Ross offered Creighton a sportsbook of his own. He accepted, and then it was off to Costa Rica, away from the reach of US legislation which prevented online sports betting at the time.

It was there that he and a handful of pals would begin the 5Dimes gambling site. By 2000, the site was up and running – and business was good. Creighton never lost his zest for gambling, taking on huge bets from punters and often replicating these at other bookies for even more money.

It worked. Creighton was single-handedly putting other sportsbooks out of business. Some of these were neighbors in his office block, and so he’d absorb their properties and expand, like a game of Monopoly where the dice never stopped rolling.

Rumor had it Creighton was bagging a million bucks a day. It wasn’t just sports betting, either – by now, he’d opened his own poker room, operating via the Grand Poker Network. If you were playing online at that time, chances are you’ve come across one of his poker rooms.

US Government Case

So far, Creighton had done a great job of keeping his identity secret. The moniker ‘5Dimes Tony’ helped him conceal his real name. He was well-known in the industry, but dressed modestly and was enjoying the family life. He’d married Laura Varela Fallas, a local, and they’d had two children together.

But all that cash changing hands began to attract unwanted attention. In 2016, a money-laundering investigation was launched by the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Department of Homeland Security.

In a scheme which could’ve been ripped straight from an episode of The Sopranos, the investigation claimed that 5Dimes was encouraging players based in the US to use Amazon gift cards to place bets and bypass local laws. Winners had mink coats and jewelry sent to them instead of cash. The charges never stuck, but the US government was now officially on his case.

Things went from bad to much worse around 10pm on 24th September, 2018 – the night 5Dimes Tony was kidnapped.

Night of the Kidnapping

It was a rainy Monday evening as Creighton left his office in San Pedro and started his usual journey home. The 43-year-old father of two hopped into his Porsche Cayenne and began making his way through the Costa Rican district of San Francisco when he was pulled over by a couple of cops.

But this was no ordinary vehicle stop. It was a setup.

Moments later, a gray pickup truck screeched to a halt next to them. Four men jumped out, forcing Creighton into the truck. One took off in Creighton’s Porsche, crashing it to stage an accident, while the rest made their getaway.

Creighton emerged six miles away in a place called La Trinidad de Morovia, with a phone being shoved into his face. On the other end of the line was his tearful wife, Laura Varela. And now, having heard his voice, she knew that the kidnappers weren’t bluffing.

She could have him back in one piece, but it would cost her. The demand? $5 million. Immediately.

Investigation Begins

Unable to secure the full amount on such short notice, they settled on $1 million in bitcoin (worth around $10 million at the time of writing). She sent it over right away, hung up, and called two former FBI agents as well as the Costa Rican Judiciary Investigative Police (OIJ) .

Between them, they tracked both the crashed Porsche and the receiving wallets of the BTC transaction. They belonged to a 25-year-old computer engineer named Jorduan Morales Vega, but there was no sign of him. Although they didn’t know it then, he was on his way to Cuba, where he’d withdraw the BTC ransom.

Sadly, there was no sign of Creighton, either. A report in the 20th October, 2018 edition of the local Costa Rica Star claimed he’d been found dead, but rumors swirled that he’d escaped the country using a fake passport. Maybe people just didn’t want to believe it.

Three months later, in January 2019, authorities had located Morales Vega and pounced. Their raids were successful, and 12 arrests were made, including Morales Vega, several of his family members, and the two crooked cops who’d pulled Creighton over.

But they couldn’t find Creighton’s body. And, with the defendants continuing to claim it was all a hoax, the early sentences were lenient. The kidnappers received six months. The police were somehow let off on probation.

New Evidence Emerges

Then a video surfaced. Another tabloid, the Diario Extra, claimed the video showed Creighton being tortured by the kidnappers and ultimately buried on their farm. Months later, the site was located: a cemetery in the small fishing village of Quepos, Puntarenas. Dental records were tested, and the bad news was confirmed. The body was that of William Creighton.

With Creighton now officially declared deceased, longer prison terms could be authorized. Kenny Ford Dowman, one of the accused, received a 33-year sentence in February 2022.

There was also the matter of the 5Dimes business. Creighton’s widow, Laura Varela, assumed control of the company. Unlike her late husband, she quickly made a truce with the US government, agreeing to pay out $46.8 million to settle the money-laundering investigation.

In true 5Dimes style, the payment wasn’t in straight cash, but flashy assets, too. This included gold coins, cryptocurrency, and even a $400,000 George Mikan rookie baseball card. Following its donation, you can now see that little piece of 5Dimes history in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.

The settlement ensured Laura Varela was absolved of any criminal conduct, and was free to continue running the company. It was subsequently renamed from 5Dimes to 5D Americas LLC. Sacrifices were made, including the permanent closure of 5Dimes in Europe in May 2023, but the company is still alive and fully legit.

Despite its tragic ending, the story of William Creighton, 5Dimes and the Grand Poker Network is pure Hollywood. To this day, there are still circles who insist Creighton faked his own death and made away with a fortune.

If this were a Hollywood script, perhaps that would make the perfect ending.

Resources

• https://www.espn.com/sports-betting/story/_/id/30009851/costa-rica-based-sportsbook-5dimes-reaches-468-million-settlement-feds (ESPN)
• https://victoryjournal.com/stories/five-dimes/ (Victory Journal)
• https://www.lateja.cr/sucesos/33-anos-de-carcel-para-uno-de-los-11-acusados-del/CYTS4SPGDZC5RJWBUIB64TJ5CA/story/ (La Teja)