The cheating scandal happened during a New Year’s Eve tournament at The Grand Central Hotel in Cobram, Victoria. At one point, the host noticed there were more chips at one of the tables and decided to conduct a security check and review the footage. The footage revealed that a player was taking chips from his pocket and adding them to his stack.
The host didn’t publicly release the name of the player who cheated, but Skinner later made a post on his social media admitting that he was the player involved.
“I cheated,I brought chips into play that I had no right to bring into the game. No matter the amount or the result, it was wrong. There is no excuse for it,” wrote Skinner.
Soon after, Skinner resigned as an SPT ambassador and added, “I’m sorry to the players affected, the local poker community, and Fred. I’m ashamed of the position I put him in and of the damage my actions may have caused. I’m not making excuses for what I did.”
“Poker, especially local poker, has been part of my life for a long time. These aren’t just games. They’re people I know, people I respect, and a community that’s always treated me well. Knowing I’ve let that community down and damaged trust with people who matter to me is something I regret deeply and am genuinely heartbroken about.
“I’ll be apologising in person to the players involved, and I’ve offered a contribution toward a future local tournament as a gesture of accountability, not as justification.”
SPT also made a post about the scandal, saying it was “deeply shocked and extremely disappointed” to hear about the cheating incident, and confirmed that it had parted ways with Skinner. He is now banned from participating in any SPT tournaments.
SPT also added, “SPT chips are transported to and from our venues only by SPT owners or our highest-ranked staff members and are stored securely after each series. As part of our SPT series host venue agreements, the venue is required to provide a secure room for sorting and storing chips throughout each series. Only staff have access to these rooms.”
Skinner had $312,270 in total live MTT earnings, with his most significant cash of $32,094 coming in 2023, when he finished second in the A$600 No Limit Hold’em APT Brisbane Main Event.
If you want to read more about scandals in Oceania, you can read about how an illegal poker room in New Zealand got raided by clicking here.
