Recently, it has been rumoured at forums that ‘zeurrr’ is underage; a Dutch news reporter used poker forums and Twitter to find that the screen name belongs to 17 years old Jimmy Jonker, whose 47 years old father claimed to have played using the account. PokerStars’ regulations do not allow underage persons to play at the site and in case someone provides false personal information, the room maintains the right to withdraw or withhold any winnings. Thus the issue becoming even more complicated, PokerStars’ announcement had been anticipated by many.
At last, PokerStars Holland representative Simon Keijzer announced on a Dutch TV show earlier today that “Jimmy Jonker is registered as a 19-year old, while he is 17 years old at the moment” and that he “shouldn’t have played the tournament and he will not be entitled to the prize money.” This means Jonker may have missed a once-in-a-lifetime kind of opportunity, effectively losing over half a million dollars. Although during the deal he tried to negotiate $650,000 for himself, he eventually earned a profit of exactly $518,400, having paid a $2 buy-in for one of the satellites to enter the tournament.
If PokerStars does disqualify ‘zeurrr’ retrospectively, the rest of the final nine may add other tens of thousands of dollars to their share. Many warn, however, that online poker rooms usually do not require official identification for registration or for most of the cash outs, either. This means players are able to register false data and still play real money poker; identification is only required for cash outs of higher value. Many find this outrageous as, in the mean time, rooms profit handsomely from their fees and rakes.
We will keep you updated on the issue; meanwhile, you could share your thoughts with us in our forum!
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