Freaky Fortnight: Bizarre Moments in Gambling, Late April 2024

At ProfessionalRakeback, we like to ensure you’re having a great time. While the focus is usually on insights into playing poker, we also think you deserve to have a laugh at some of the amusing occurrences within the gambling world too. That’s what drives us to continue creating Freaky Fortnight articles. Through them, you get to see that there is always a bit of craziness, odd behavior and entertaining happenings going on.

So what has the latter half of April 2024 provided in terms of amusement? Well, read on to find out!

High-Stakes Poker Player Loses Life in Targeted Heist

It’s never nice to start off with news about the loss of a life. Yet there is a lot of absurdity and unfortunate lack of fortune involved in this one.

Professional poker player Matthew Bergart found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time on Thursday, April 25. At around 2:25 a.m. on that day, police officers responded to a shooting call at a townhouse on Long Branch Avenue in Etobicoke, a part of Toronto. The incident was labeled as a targeted heist. It was the townhouse’s other occupant who was the target for the invaders though. Bergart was only visiting the location.

Slain Canadian Poker Pro Matthew Bergart

The odd and insane part of the story is that local imbeciles had gotten wind of a certain stash of treasure within the townhouse. That’s usually stuff contained to small towns within the countryside. Often, it centers on a few knuckleheads hearing that an old-timer has buried thousands of dollars under their mattress or in the outhouse. Those engaging in a heist to steal the treasures frequently end up finding nothing and then turning on the occupant, trying to get them to talk on where the stash is.

This time, the incident occurred in the big city, with the townhouse being the supposed location of the treasure. The police never said what the thieves were after in there though. Three suspects entered the Etobicoke unit and demanded that any valuables were handed over.

It isn’t clear what happened after that. A struggle seemed to ensue, and Bergart ended up being shot multiple times. The professional high-stakes poker player later died in hospital. His murderers wore dark clothing and balaclavas, fleeing the scene in a white sedan after the shooting took place.

Bergart, 30 years old, was somewhat of a star in the online world of poker. Referred to “Mysterious Canadian” in poker circles, he was quite successful with his games. As it happens, he had been banned from playing at two of the biggest online poker franchises – PokerStars and ACR Poker. Bergart said that he banned himself on the former because of a request by his parents. He was banned from the latter for potentially using a solver. He also spoke of GG Poker acting mean to him in 2019 due to his winning ways.

Although mostly a cash game player, he did participate in the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event where he finished 825th for $18,535. Yet while it is common for poker players to win and lose varying amounts of money, none of them gamble with losing their life. Unfortunately, Matthew Bergart ended up losing his for being in the wrong place and the wrong time.

Anyone holding any information on the unfortunate incident is asked to contact the police at 416-808-7400. Alternatively, you can contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).

Man Murdered by a Random Stranger in the Muckleshoot Casino, WA

From one murder scene to another – this time taking place in an actual casino!

In Auburn, Washington, a 29-year-old man was killed in a random stabbing early on the morning of Sunday April 21. The incident, which took place at the Muckleshoot Casino, occurred when a stranger randomly approached a man at a gaming table from behind and stabbed him in the neck.

A police report said that a 911 call came in at around 1:30 a.m. about the stabbing inside the casino. Further information revealed that the person suspected of the stabbing was Ricky Fuentes, 31.

It was also noted that the men had no contact with each other prior to the stabbing taking place. Thus, police labeled the murder as a “random incident.”

Fuentes was booked into the King County Jail at around 8:00 a.m. on pending murder charges. He remains there on a $5 million bond with Washington state declaring that he is a clear threat to the community and its safety. He was then charged with first degree murder on Wednesday, April 24.

Court documents suggest that Fuentes randomly slashed a man’s throat with a boxcutter in the middle of the crowded casino establishment. Five days prior to this attack, the killer was arrested and charged with hit-and-run and reckless driving.

Police allege that Fuentes informed an officer that he went into the casino to murder one of his associates. However, he couldn’t locate him and instead searched for someone else to kill in his place. Allegedly, he told the officer that he’d seen his victim being a bully on the craps table, and this led to him stabbing him in the neck. The boxcutter was found at the scene and taken by the police as evidence.

It has also been revealed that Fuentes has a vast criminal history. This includes a warrant for assault in Olympia and multiple cases of reckless driving. Possession of dangerous weapons is also linked with his criminal history.

It’s not the first time a crime like this has been committed and linked to gambling, though. In 2019, Florida native Michael Psilakis, 29, lost thousands of dollars playing cards. In retaliation, he set his winning opponent on fire, killing him. Psilakis was later detained at his mother’s house, with a huge trail of evidence leading to his sentencing.

Dismissed Jontay Porter Becomes a Punchline for Pelicans Center

In the last edition of Freaky Fortnight, we highlighted the ban placed on basketball’s Jontay Porter. This came about due to him violating rules over engaging in betting – something he had been found guilty of doing. Reports suggest he even wagered on games that he or his team was participating in.

Following the result of the investigation into Porter, he was dismissed from the NBA for life. This means he is no longer able to play or involve himself in the league or any of its associated leagues.

It appears the former NBA player has now become a punchline, too. He was on the receiving end of a joke from Larry Nance, Jr. on Friday, April 19 – just two days after his ban from the league. On that date, the New Orleans Pelicans (who Nance plays for) secured a victory over the Sacramento Kings.

Even though they were heavy underdogs going into the first round of playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round, Nance spoke with reporters and told them he was confident in his team getting the better of their opponents. He commented, “We got a ton of respect for them, but, respectfully, I’m betting on the Pels.”

Nance then paused before clarifying what he meant by his comment.

I’m not betting, no Jontay Porter. I’m not betting. I’m not betting on anything. I don’t own a betting app, none of that.

Whether Nance realized that what he said could have been taken seriously and potentially led to an investigation into himself or if he just wanted to poke fun at Porter, we’ll never know. One thing is for sure, though – Porter likely won’t have enjoyed the reference to his betting activities and dismissal from the NBA.

However, if you can’t stick to the rules, then you’re only bound to fail at some point.

Celebrity Poker Tour Won by “Wolfgang Poker” in a Hilarious Final Hand

PokerGO brought forth Game Night II of the Celebrity Poker Tour on April 19. It witnessed superstars from the scenes of sport, poker, and culture come together and clash at the poker table. Players like Ray J, Barstool Mintzy, and Aljamain Sterling missed out on securing the win though. That was left to Wolfgang Poker – real name Alexander Seibt.

Wolfgang would come up trumps against another YouTube sensation in Tana Mongeau. Only the top two players were set to make money. The runner-up would receive $5,000, while the winner would get the $10,000 top reward. It featured 20-minute levels, with 100,000 chip starting stacks and a single 100,000 rebuy or add-on possible. No rebuys after Level 6 were permitted.

Alexander “Wolfgang Poker” Seibt

The all-star line-up featured former winner, Princess Love, as well as Josie Canseco, who joined the others mentioned. Wolfgang was the favorite from the start though, thanks to his extensive poker experience.

Side bets stood out as being especially prominent at the table. Wolfgang gave Vegas Matt odds of +250 to last longer. If he could have managed that, he would be on the receiving end of $7,500. Wolfgang would get $3,000 if he lasted longer than Matt.

Each one of the celebrity players had their moments, yet Vegas Matt lost his last-longer bet against Wolfgang. That came about thanks to his Ace-King hand losing to Mongeau’s Jack-10, thanks to the board of 9-7-9-2-10 giving Mongeau a pair.

The final two were Wolfgang and Mongeau, with the former having the heads-up with his 1,050,000 chips to the latter’s 750,000.

Wolfgang built up his stack to a 10-to-1 lead, then Mongeau shoved with Queen-7 and Wolfgang called with 7-4. The flop wasn’t the best for Tana though, providing a 6-5-3 and giving the YouTube poker star a straight.

The room went wild as PokerGO commentator Brent Hanks screamed out, “Not like this!” A 3 on the turn meant absolutely nothing while a 4 would have been the only thing to save her. It didn’t materialize though. The ace on the river provided Wolfgang with the win, yet somehow, he didn’t realize it. Tana was left with the indignity of having to tell him he’d won herself!

“You were the only person I was trying to knock out too!”, she exclaimed as Wolfgang began celebrating being the first man to win the Celebrity Poker Tour. Mongeau commented:

Third place last time, second place this time. I’m about to rewatch the last 10 minutes of this stream to see what I could have done differently and ruminate on it forever. It’s always good vibes over here. I’m so ****ing mad!