The World Series of Poker may have put on extra Main Event starting flights to accommodate foreign players who will now be allowed into the US to play, but it’s doubtful the Europeans will receive a warm welcome after Allen Kessler became the latest to make xenophobic comments…
Minor altercation at my $500 table.
Obvious foreigner in seat 10 literally tanks every hand preflop and every street he is involved with.
He gets all in with JT v AQ on AQ8 and busts.
I clap and say. “Yes! Finally no more drama”.
He freaks out.
— Allen Kessler (@AllenKessler) November 2, 2021
Kessler, known for his incredible ability to min. cash tournaments and by some for his social media presence, added several more questionable tweets.
His answer as to why he used the “obvious foreigner” tag? “Because he started ranting in some foreign language,” although as someone pointed out the USA doesn’t have a single official language, and Kessler’s name itself has German origins.
This didn’t prevent Kessler, nicknamed “Chainsaw”, from continuing to dig a hole for himself. “Foreigners are more likely to tank pre flop and on every street. This is a well known fact. Not sure why this statement bothered you.”
He tried again with “But the truth is they are more likely to be serial tankers. That is a fact. Not prejudice or bias on my part,” and then followed up with a Twitter poll…
Who is more likely to “serial tank” on every decision preflop and and on later streets.
— Allen Kessler (@AllenKessler) November 3, 2021
Kessler’s “foreigner” category was quite clearly a dig at the “Europeans”, and in particular the German and Scandinavian players who have somehow earned a reputation for “un-American” behaviour at the tables.
As we reported last month, Bart Hanson used some similarly unsavoury language when he went on the Doug Polk podcast and talked about a “euro invasion”.
The CrushLivePoker CEO claimed that the European players “are mostly professional players…they come over here…some are nice, sometimes they stick out like a sore thumb…their behaviour makes the game more serious…”
To avoid such a scenario, Hanson stated: “If I was an owner of a private Texas poker club I would seriously consider requiring a US driver’s license to play.”
Kessler’s similar dig didn’t go unnoticed, Irish pro David K Lappin writing his own piece entitled “There are no ‘foreigners’ at the WSOP”. Lappin pointed out that “there have been WSOP events all over the world and Main Event champions from ten countries.”
If it were just words and stereotypes, such facile and juvenile comments could perhaps just be ignored as ignorance, but threats of violence have even emerged.
Poker pro Adam Hendrix threatened to punch any euro “caught angling”.
Any euro caught angling at my table gonna catch hands from now on.
Tips to not get angled:
*Confirm the action of villain with dealer before snap calling etc
*Dont fall for the fake mistake raise if they overly react, euros dont react to anything
Below ill post people caught.
— Adam Hendrix (@AdamHendrix10) October 20, 2021
Fair enough, you might think, in that anyone angling at the poker table deserves a slap or two. But replace “euro” with Canadian, African, Japanese – or take it a step further with, say, Black or Asian, and you’d be staring at a police report or lawsuit.
Remarkably, or ironically perhaps, it was Bart Hanson who questioned Hendrix’s statement, replying: “Actually I find rec Americans in general to be more angle shooting types than Euros. But there are always edge cases.”
Lappin, who tried his best to be light-handed with the errant Kessler, explained the problem: “The US has always been a nation of ‘foreigners,’ but it is also a nation suffused with xenophobia, a fear or hatred of those same ‘foreigners’ that can be easily stoked by divisive language.”
With presumed planeloads of those very same “foreigners” due to land in Vegas after the travel ban lifts on November 8th, let’s just hope none of them “catch hands” because of Hendrix, Kessler or Hanson’s very public xenophobia.
Terms and conditions apply. New customer offer and 18+ only. Should you require help regarding your betting pattern, please visit www.begambleaware.org
