Poker Pro Accused of ‘Bad Debts and Threats’

Poker pro Aaron Massey has gone public about the ‘staking-debts’ he alleges fellow pro - and one-time friend - Dwyte Pilgrim owes him, including what he claims were veiled threats to his life.

Massey’s blog posting also contends that Pilgrim has pulled similar scams on other people, and regularly uses big-name stars such as Antonio Esfandiari and Brian Hastings to boost his credibility when asking for loans and stakes.

The $7500 debt dates back to the 2013 WPT event at Borgata in Atlantic City, when Massey claims Pilgrim – whom he had built up a close friendship with over the years – asked him for the loan, claiming that his own bank account had been frozen.

In his detailed blog post, Massey stated:

Pilgrim’s persistence paid off when Massey finally agreed to the loan, claiming that he did so reluctantly, and with the proviso that:

Massey claims he has never received a cent back from Pilgrim in the years since and his pleas have been continually met with excuses, something which others have claimed also happened after staking Pilgrim.

According to Massey’s account, fellow player Nathan Burdette also claimed "…trying to be a good friend I loaned him $3000 and have yet to receive even a $20 payment” despite pleading with Pilgrim that being married now and soon to be a father, he really needed the money back.

Massey’s own problems in recouping his loans – he had given Pilgrim other loans in the hope of being re-paid through winnings - took a sinister turn when Pilgrim sent him cryptic text messages. One message, in which Pilgrim mentions he ‘almost died in Brooklyn’, was followed by “that shit could happen in the blink of a breath” which Massey sees as a thinly-veiled threat.

He also reproduces a later message on his blog which states, “Hang wit the Crips and I hang with the Bloods”, a gang-related reference which Massey also feels was designed to intimidate him into forgetting about the alleged debts.

The lengthy post relates other stories from those Pilgrim ‘scammed’, one woman stating:

The woman claims that on the back of this she loaned Pilgrim $3000 but has yet to see anything returned, claiming she was told:

Massey ends his blog post with the following warning:

In the world of poker, staking is a necessary part of the game, and one which can be fruitful for all involved, but Massey’s allegations – and others involving well-known poker pros such as Chino Rheem – are not exactly rare. Massey’s blog post allegations can be found here and PokerTube would be more than happy to carry Dwyte Pilgrim’s response to these allegations.