WSOP: Jeff Madsen Arrest and Ejection From Rio a Hoax
Tweets made last week from the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas by poker pro Jeff Madsen about getting arrested for drugs and being banned from the event venue were not true, Gambling911.com can confirm.
The remarks, made on Madsen's Twitter feed last Thursday, July 3, were simply attempts at humor by the three-time WSOP bracelet-winner who is known for his wacky sense of humor and quirky personality.
Thursday, while playing in a pot-limit Omaha tournament at the WSOP at the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino in Vegas, Madsen Tweeted: "Playing 10K PLO event, brought some marijuana with me to throw on the table."
Three hours later, Madsen Tweeted: "Busted PLO and then got immediately arrested and 86'ed from the Rio for weed possession."
A few minutes later, he then Tweeted: "Okay, they've released me and allowed me to keep all my drugs."
Many poker fans from around the world who are following the WSOP were bemused by the remarks, and although some said they could tell right away that Madsen's comments were obviously a lame attempt at humor, others expressed concern that they were real.
On the posting forum at the 2+2 website, the Internet's largest poker-themed posting forum, one commenter remarked: "I feel bad but this isn't the first time somebody has been banned from a property for having weed. Maybe you shouldn't bring your weed to the WSOP."
But another commenter noted: "The Tweet was a joke."
Dozens of other commenters on the forum debated whether or not the Tweets were bogus or legit.
In order to get to the bottom of this budding controversy, Gambling911.com earlier today contacted the WSOP's official spokesman, Seth Palansky, for his reaction to the Madsen Tweets.
"The remarks on Twitter attributed to Jeff Madsen about getting arrested for drugs and being banned from the Rio are not true," Palansky told Gambling911.com. "He played in an event yesterday."
Asked if the WSOP is miffed that Madsen would be Tweeting falsehoods about drugs and ejections at the world's most prestigious poker competition, Palansky sniffed: "We don't even know he Tweeted them. We are busy running the world's largest poker tournament and not worried about Tweets."
Madsen, 29, a native of Southern California who now resides in Las Vegas, is third-youngest person in history to win a WSOP championship gold bracelet.
At the 2006 WSOP, at the age of 21 years, 5 weeks, Madsen won a $2,000 buy-in, no-limit Texas hold 'em tournament and earned $660,948.
Later at the '06 WSOP, he won a $5,000 buy-in, no limit Texas hold 'em six-handed tourney and earned $643,381.
His third WSOP victory came in 2013, when he won a $3,000 buy-in, pot-limit Omaha tournament and earned $384,420.
In all, Madsen has cashed in 31 different WSOP events in his career, earning about $2.1 million from WSOP play.
For his career, Madsen has earned over $4 million playing in live tournament poker.
By Tom Somach
Gambling911.com Staff Writer
