Ali Imsirovic has once again found himself persona non grata after attempting to register to a $1,500 buy-in poker tournament at Champions Club Texas.
The Bosnian high-stakes reg arrived at the poker room to join a Day 1 starting flight for the Champions Club Winter Poker Open Main Event.
However, within minutes it seems, he was ejected from the premises and told he wasn’t welcome to return.
Imsirovic apparently exited the Houston property without any fuss, no doubt mulling over the cheating scandal he was central to back in 2022.
Cheaters Not Welcome
Champions Club is part-owned by none other than Phil Hellmuth, and has a reputation of being one of the best places to play in the city which is known for its shady underground scene.
Isaac Trumbo, President of Champions Club, issued a statement to PokerNews that detailed how the club is dedicated to protecting its members and the integrity of its games.
It’s great to see an operator appreciating that for poker to thrive the community must have real trust in the landscape.
Sadly, other than PokerGO who banned Imsirovic and Jake Schindler right after they were exposed in 2022, Champions Club is the only outfit to take a stand against dirty players who insist on unethical play.
What Should We Do with Cheaters?
When we learned that high-profile players had been caught using real-time assistance, there was lots of talk about taking a hard stand against anyone caught.
In real terms, that amounted to going above and beyond the usual banning of the online account and confiscation of all remaining funds.
Some well-known players mooted the idea of a black list that would include having access to major live tournament series and even brick-and-mortar card rooms.
For what it’s worth, the shame of being exposed as cheaters has seen both Imsirovic and Schindler all but vanish from the scene.
Imsirovic was the 2021 GPI Player of the Year, winning 14 high roller events on his way to topping the leaderboard.
His 2022 was all normal until the scandal came to light and now we can see only nine live tournament cashes. One in 2023, seven in 2024 and just the one this year from a $400 event in Florida.
Schindler, on the other hand, cashed seven times in 2023 and hasn’t been seen since.
Since Imsirovic and Schindler were caught almost three years ago, poker hasn’t seen a similar scandal since. But that doesn’t mean we should stop doing everything we can to dissuade those who are considering breaking the rules.
What happened in Texas at the weekend is a reminder that the operators and community can work together to make it clear that you will not be welcome if you are caught cheating.
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