The EPT Barcelona was back in action this month with players heading to Spain to take part in one of the PokerStars live tour events. The European Poker Tour Barcelona stop is no stranger to controversy and the most recent series stop in the area has seen serious complaints from top players. In the past, the EPT Barcelona was subject to controversy, going back to 2013, when Jens Kyllonen’s laptop was reportedly stolen from his hotel room and tampered with. This caused players to be worried about security and this most recent stop includes complaint of security measures.
For this year, it seems as though the EPT did not have security measures in place in regards to cameras. Jason Mo reported an incident in which he had 350,000 in chips before a color-up break and was returned a stack of 310,000. Mistakes are not uncommon but when he asked the floor supervisor to check the cameras to see if his chip count had been completed correctly, he was told that there are no cameras on the floor. The floor stated that cameras are too expensive. It seems as though after the first instance of security in 2013, PokerStars would have ramped up their efforts, especially on the gaming floor.
After hearing this admission from the official, Mo asked the staff of the tournament what measures were in place to keep other players from stealing chips from their opponents. He was told that it was the job of the dealer to make sure that chips are not stolen. To prove a point, Mo stole 20,000 in chips from the player seated next to him and was able to do so while the dealer was looking away.
The lack of security is surprising, especially considering the stakes at play with the EPT Barcelona events. It will be interesting to see if PokerStars has a comment on the subject, stating as to why no cameras were in place.
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