WSOP Winner Cory Zeidman Pleads Guilty to Sports Betting Fraud Scheme

WSOP Winner Cory Zeidman Pleads Guilty to Sports Betting Fraud Scheme

Professional poker player and sports betting advisor Cory Zeidman entered a guilty plea in federal court in New York on Wednesday for deceiving clients in his sports betting operation. 

Federal prosecutors claimed that the World Series of Poker bracelet holder and his co-defendants deceived clients into paying for betting guidance by asserting they had insider information, “only to mislead them and steal millions from their savings and retirement funds.” 

Zeidman, a 61-year-old resident of Boca Raton, Fla., has accumulated nearly $700,000 in total tournament earnings over his 25-year poker career. He secured his WSOP title in 2012 playing 7-card stud. Before that, he was famously recognized for seemingly slow-rolling Jennifer Harman when he had a straight flush versus her full house during the 2005 WSOP main event. 

Plan Produced $25 Million 

Between 2004 and 2020, Zeidman’s racket provided gamblers with “insider information” regarding player injuries, “corrupt referees,” and manipulated sporting events – all of which prosecutors claim are false. The organization promoted its services on national radio under fake names such as “Gordon Howard Global” and “Ray Palmer Group.” 

When gamblers reached out to the organization possibly to put money into the scheme, they were informed it obtained injury details from physicians and that TV executives were providing insights on the allegedly fixed outcomes of matches. Prosecutors stated that this made sports betting a “low or no-risk option.” 

According to court details, Zeidman and his co-defendants gathered approximately $25 million in "excessive" fees from clients in return for information that "was either fabricated or sourced from an online search." 

Soon after his 2022 arrest, Zeidman informed PokerNews that he planned to enter a not guilty plea, citing Nietzsche (the last refuge of a scoundrel?) to assert his innocence. 

“In the words of Nietzsche, ‘Everything the state says is a lie and everything it has it has stolen,’” he proclaimed.

Victims Have Different Opinions 

However, it was Zeidman who engaged in deceit and theft, as per his victims, who reported his scheme to Homeland Security. This contrasts with how he portrays himself as “a person with the utmost morals and integrity” in his PokerNews presentation.

"Sports bettors sought Cory Zeidman’s advice before gambling their money — but it was Zeidman himself who was scoring big through his deceptive practices, outright lies, and high-pressure tactics that exploited unsuspecting clients,” special agent Charles Walker of Homeland Security in New York said in a statement.

Zeidman admitted guilt to a conspiracy to engage in mail and wire fraud, facing a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.