ClubWPT Gold Looking Into Chip Dumping Allegations at WSOP Final Table
The second $1 million bonus winner from ClubWPT Gold occurred at the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) on Wednesday, and it had many within the poker community making collusion accusations.
Jesse Yaginuma pulled off a wild comeback during heads-up play against James Carroll in Event #53: $1,500 Millionaire Maker. He won the gold bracelet and the $1,255,180 first-place prize. But he also received an extra $1 million from ClubWPT Gold after he’d won a Gold Rush ticket contest from the sweeps coin poker site. Meanwhile, James Carroll would receive $1,012,320 for his second-place finish.
Yaginuma is the second Gold Rush ticket winner already this summer to win a bracelet to earn the $1 million bonus prize. Michael Lavin, who won Event #20: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em SHOOTOUT, was the first.
Poker Community Says Collusion Occurred
Carroll and Yaginuma are accomplished pros with nearly $9 million in combined live tournament cashes entering the Milly Maker. But some poker players on social media were critical of the heads-up play, and pointed to a few hands as evidence they believe proves collusion.
In one of the most criticized hands, with the blinds at 1.5 million/3 million, Yaginuma limped on the button with J*♣8♠* and Carroll raised to 13 million with 6*♣3♦, receiving a call. The flop came out 10♣5♣J♠* and the preflop raiser bet 17 million, a bet that was called. Both players checked the 7*♣* turn before Carroll bet, and was called, 57 million on the Q*♠* river.
Yaginuma took down the 174,000,000 pot to move into the lead for the first time after trailing nearly 10-1 in chips a half hour before. That lead was just over 5-1 in chips at the time.
Throughout the heads-up battle, Carroll frequently folded to Yaginuma’s preflop pressure. In another hand, Yaginuma limped in with 9*♣8♥, prompting Carroll to raise to 13 million with Q♥6♣*. Yaginuma responded with a three-bet to 32 million, and Carroll quickly folded.
A similar pattern played out several hands later. Yaginuma opened to 8.7 million with 8*♠7♣, and Carroll three-bet to 23 million holding 8♣3♦*. Yaginuma came back over the top with a four-bet to 42 million, forcing another fold from Carroll.
PokerNews reached out to a representative from ClubWPT Gold, who said “we’re looking into the matter,” but was unable to say anything further.
The final table aired on PokerGO, and some poker fans began to take notice of what they alleged to be questionable play. Eric “Barstool Nate” Nathan, a Barstool Sports personality and avid poker player, was among the first to bring forth the allegations.
Many others chimed in, echoing those sentiments. Joe Stapleton, a commentator on the PokerStars livestream, replied to a tweet in regards to the heads-up match, saying, “total embarrassment.”
This is a developing story. PokerNews will continue monitoring any further developments.
Eliot Thomas is a Content Executive at PokerNews, specializing in casino and poker coverage. He has reported from major events including the European Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker.
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