Will Kassouf Refutes Roulette and Poker Theft Allegations on Doug Polk Podcast

08:23
27 Apr

Will Kassouf took to the Doug Polk podcast this week to refute the allegations of chip theft that have dogged the controversial English pro, including the recent Irish Open incident...

Kassouf has never had his troubles to seek, his loudmouthed table antics reaching a massive audience for mostly the wrong reasons at the 2016 WSOP.

Those shenanigans during his deep run ended with the infamous “check your privilege” outburst by Griffin Benger, whose aces took out Kassouf’s kings to end his Main Event dreams.

Big wins and even bigger controversies kept Kassouf in the headlines, with a $½million EPT Prague SHR victory soon overshadowed by him losing his Grosvenor Poker sponsorship in 2018.

---

The Roulette Table “Chip Theft”

Kassouf was quizzed by Polk about his disastrous decision to pocket a friend’s £100 chip during a drunken night out in Leeds during a GUKPT stop.

Kassouf, however, claims that the entire incident was blown out of proportion, and that nothing nefarious occurred at all.

“I hate roulette with a passion,” said Kassouf, before explaining he and some friends were all drunk and he was talked into playing it for fun. “After one spin of the wheel, a payout was made both to my friend and I ... before the next spin of the wheel, there was a £100 chip left in the middle.”

Kassouf explains that he took the chip and added it to his stack, adding:

“I later then pocketed that chip, I don’t know why, I was drunk ...there was nothing untoward, I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong at the time.”

Having later paid the £100 to his friend, the problem arose, according to Kassouf, when a customer complained the following day, and that’s when things went downhill, resulting in him “parting ways” with his sponsor Grosvenor.

“I agreed with my friend at the time I owed him £100, I paid the money back,” Kassouf told Polk, but added: “Obviously because it’s Will Kassouf everyone wants to make a big issue out of it, it got blown way out of proportion.”

---

Irish Open “Chip Grab and Run” Allegations

Of course, Kassouf was back in the headlines just last week when he was accused once again of some seriously dodgy behaviour, this time at a cash game table during the Irish Open.

Accused of grabbing his chips when all-in and allegedly drawing dead, then running from the playing hall, once again Kassouf states that he was completely innocent of any malicious wrongdoing.

Instead, Kassouf says none of the events occurred as claimed by Leo Worthington-Leese in his video, and instead believes it most likely that the dealer made an error when chopping the pot.

“There’s only two scenarios that could have happened in terms of my stack: either the dealer has accidentally taken in my chips, which I genuinely believe he did, or the player in seat 2 – and I don’t want to accuse anyone – might have taken my stack from the main pot because he’d won the pot against me effectively.”

---

Allegations “Malicious and Vindictive” claims Kassouf

Kassouf also had some harsh words for some of his contemporaries in the poker world, with Leo Worthington-Leese described as “out of order” as well as “malicious, vindictive, and arrogant,” for making the public allegations.

“Effectively what he’s done amounts to slander,” claims Kassouf.

Irish pro David K. Lappin also gets a mention, described by Kassouf as “having an obsession with me”.

“Any opportunity he has to try and bring me down or make derogatory comments or say anything negative about me, he’ll jump on it in a heartbeat without any second thought,” says Kassouf.

Kassouf also refuted Lappin’s claims that he saw him “go south” with chips at the 2022 Irish Open.

“That’s a completely false statement and a complete lie,” says Kassouf, explaining that had he done so he would have been reported and kicked out of the event if true.

---

The Poker Community Says...

Kassouf’s interview with Polk may have given his side of many incidents, but the poker public still seem less-than-impressed with the Englishman. Some comments from YouTube...

• For a guy who is always innocent, he's sure in the midst of very many shady situations.
  
• When a person has a personality like his. He’s gonna be doing a lot of explaining no matter what he does…
  
• I think I just got speech-played into believing he’s innocent.
  

Not everyone was against Kassouf, though:

• Regardless of your opinion of Will, you have to admit he made good points here. He was willing to come on the podcast and chat, and his speech play/personality is so divisive that people who don't like him are all too willing to automatically assume the worst of him.
  
• I believe 1. The roulette thing was blown way out of proportion because it’s Will. 2. The dealer made a mistake at the Irish Open 3. Will is super annoying and I couldn’t bear to play with him at the table.
  

What do you think of Will Kassouf’s denials and explanations? Let us know on our social media channels!