Managing Editor
The World Series of Poker has finished its investigation into the Millionaire Maker final table and has concluded that Jesse Yaginuma and James Carroll colluded to ensure Yaginuma was the victor. Yaginuma was eligible for a ClubWPT Gold promotion that would pay him out $1 million for a win. PokerScout analysis showed that Carroll’s postflop bet-sizing choices had odds of less than 1 in 16,500 to occur by chance if he was not signalling to Yaginuma.
The bracelet would have been the fourth in Yaginuma’s career.
Fans watching the final table quickly realized what was happening. Despite very short effective stacks, Yaginuma never ended up all-in until he’d taken a commanding lead from Carroll. He always seemed to know if Carroll was strong or weak, while Carroll was betting odd-numbered millions of chips for his bluffs, and even numbers with strong hands.
The PokerGO commentary team also grew more suspicious as play continued. By the end, they were able to call the players’ actions before they happened, though they stopped short of using the words “collusion” or “cheating.”
WSOP immediately withheld the players’ winnings and Yaginuma’s bracelet pending the investigation, which took five days to complete. In the end, tournament officials decided not to deny the players their money but to split it evenly and deny Yaginuma the bracelet.
Although WSOP has yet to confirm this, multiple poker players on X have said the decision also resulted in a lifetime ban for both players from WSOP events.
The investigation into WSOP Event 53 has been completed.
We have concluded that in order to uphold the integrity of the game and to uphold our official WSOP Tournament Rules, no winner will be recognized and no bracelet will be awarded for this year's tournament. The remaining… https://t.co/giL0Ij9Cwj
— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) July 1, 2025
Protecting Bracelet Integrity
It appears the plan didn’t affect anyone outside of the final two players. Consequently, many fans on the social media platform X were on the players’ side.
Most other tournaments allow players to strike a deal when heads-up. Schemes like the one Yaginuma and Carroll appear to have concocted are only necessary in the absence of that. The only “victim” would be ClubWPT Gold, but the site confirmed through ambassador Doug Polk that it would pay out regardless of the WSOP’s decision.
Polk also offered his personal opinion that it would be “ridiculous” for either player to suffer any consequences for the plan.
Interestingly, of the social media comments taking a stance against the players, rather than for them, the majority were in response to WPT Gold’s announcement of the promotion winner. Conversely, most reactions to the WSOP’s investigation announcement advocated for paying the players.
The stated reason for the WSOP’s position against allowing final table deals is that WSOP bracelets hold special status in the poker world. A player’s lifetime number of bracelets is often equated to their prominence within the poker world, and players sometimes make large side bets on winning a bracelet in a given series. Allowing deals—formally, or informally, by allowing a situation like this to slide—would seem to undermine the bracelets’ cachet.
Some players counter that WSOP itself has already cheapened the bracelets’ value by adding too many low buy-in and gimmicky events, such as the GGPoker Flip & Go format.
Regardless, WSOP’s decision appears consistent with the philosophy of protecting bracelet integrity. At the same time, withholding the players’ prize money would have been a risky move for the brand’s image, given the prevailing public sentiment.
Image Credit: World Poker Tour (license)
