Joseph Stiers Settles With Caesars Over WSOP Fallout

Poker pro Joe Stiers has put an end to his long-standing battle with the World Series of Poker (WSOP) which ran for more than two years.

Stiers was playing at the $10,000 buy-in WSOP Main Event in 2017 when he was kicked out from the game, despite holding a sizeable chip stack, after it was revealed that the he was using a pseudonym.

During that time, the poker player was subject to a ban from Caesars properties nationwide, and therefore he was trespassing at the WSOP tournament which was held at the Caesars-owned Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino.

The ban was put in place in 2015 when Stiers was caught card counting at the blackjack tables at the Caesars-owned Horseshoe Casino Baltimore. Despite the ban, the player still managed to get into the WSOP in subsequent years by playing under a pseudonym. In 2016, he entered the WSOP Main Event as “Joseph Conorstiers”, and finished 640th, walking away with around $18,000. However his ruse did not work and he was caught during the 2017 edition.

Battling the Giant

During 2017 WSOP Main Event, he apparently had a massive stack worth $150,000 but was suddenly pulled up and sent out. He did not receive any refund for his stack of chips. Stiers went back to his normal life, pursuing a degree in law while continuing to battle Caesars. The poker pro said he was left with close to nothing after the embarrassing event.

He launched a lawsuit against the corporate giant, seeking $150,000 in damages after losing a lot of money due to what happened at the WSOP. Stiers also said he tried to reach out to Caesars through several letters in the wake of the ban, and promised to exclude himself from games other than poker, but to no avail.

He said he was left with no choice but to play under a pseudonym as he needed to play poker to make a living.

Stiers has now decided to accept a deal and finally put things to rest with Caesars. He is keen on moving on from the incident and directing his focus to his law degree. He is due to take a bar exam in July.

Stiers and Caesars have reached a settlement but the terms are not being disclosed to maintain confidentiality. However, it appears that the ban on Stiers still stands and he will not be able to enter any Caesars owned properties.