Triple WSOPC Winner Handed Lifetime Ban From All WSOP Events

Earlier this month, poker pro Chan Pelton was on cloud nine after winning the World Series of Poker Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club Event #9: $1,000 NL for $47,061, and securing a third career WSOPC title.
Soon after, however, the three-times WSOPC gold ring winner’s luck began to unravel after trying to remove a 25k denomination chip from his own stack during heads-up against Chris Bolek. Apparently, Chan Pelton’s intention was to keep the chip as a souvenir of his memorable day, but after being spotted by staff the eventual winner ended up having his prize money frozen pending an investigation.
The Palm Beach Kennel Club and WSOP have now handed down judgement on the issue, the end result of which is that Pelton will forfeit his $47,061 prize money, WSOPC ring and will be banned for life from all future PBKC events or from entering any PBKC owned property. Likewise, the WSOP imposed its own ban, excluding Pelton from all WSOP and WSOPC events, as well as Caesars Entertainment properties or properties which conducts events with the WSOP.
When handing down its punishment, the Palm Beach Kennel Club stated Pelton’s intent was not considered, but that the investigation concentrated on the fact the theft had violated WSOP Tournament Rule 39, Section A, Part ii. As PBKC Card Room Manager Noah Carbone, explains:
“The integrity of our games is of upmost important and regardless of the intent in question from this incident, we cannot sit idle and risk the stolen chips being reintroduced in the future.. this unfortunate incident..should serve as a reminder to players that tournament chips are the property of the poker room and must remain on the table at all times.”
After the verdict was announced, Pelton said he was shocked and was considering filing a lawsuit against the WSOP. Meanwhile, the folks at the Two Plus Two forum have had a poll to determine whether members considered the life-time ban harsh, with 47.83% of them agreeing with the verdict, 17.39% disagreeing, and 21.74% saying the ban should have been for just one year.