NGCB Orders Red Rock Casino to Pay Bad Beat Jackpot

Almost eight months after a bad beat jackpot was triggered at the Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas, the players are finally set to receive their payouts following a positive judgement issued by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB).
Since last July, the Red Rock Casino had refused to pay the $120,000 jackpot, claiming that one of the players involved had shown his hole cards before the hand was over and the dealer had officially instructed him to do so. This then led to the hand being nullified by Forrest Caldwell, poker room manager at Red Rock, as according to the casino’s bad beat jackpot rules “discussion of hands during the play by players, at the discretion of management, may void a Jumbo Hold’em Jackpot.”
It didn’t take long for other casino executives who reviewed the camera footage to agree with Caldwell’s decision, and as a result Avi Shamir, the holder of the losing hand, who was also the person accused of making the infringement, was refused his $60,000 prize. Similarly, Len Schreter was refused the $30,000 he was expecting for holding the winning hand, as were the other players who had been expecting to receive $30,00 between them.
After experiencing such a huge disappointment, the players subsequently contacted the NGCB which after reviewing footage of the incident sided with the players. The Red Rock Casino then decided to have one last attempt at having the ruling overturned by contesting the decision, leading to a subsequent hearing being set for December.
It wasn’t until February 7th, however, that the NGCB finally put the case to bed by stating: “Agent’s decision awarding payment of $62,126 to Avinoam Shamir be affirmed.” In addition, the NCGB ruled that those customers playing at the Santa Fe Station poker room at the time should also receive their due portion of the jackpot, or around $565 each.
Meanwhile, Len Schreter, who was due to collect $30,000 for holding the winning hand, had withdrawn his complaint a few months earlier and as of yet there is no indication as to whether he can expect to receive his due payment.