Gossip Column: Mike Matusow Compares Wearing Face Masks to Abortion, Vice Journalist Turns £1 Into £220 by Cheating at Online Poker

Poker legend Mike Matusow aka ‘The Mouth’, literally put his foot in his mouth when he compared the mandatory wearing of face masks to abortion. Matusow started his social media rant on June 25 after Caesars announced that they would restrict the entry to their properties for any person not wearing a mask.

Vice Journalist Hayden Vernon published an article on June 26, revealing how he turned £1 into £220 in online poker using a bot that he had bought online from the site BonusBots.com. Needless to say, the poker community came down on him hard.

Mike Matusow Express Dissent Against Mandatory Wearing of Face Masks in Nevada, Compares it to Abortion

Four-time WSOP bracelet winner Mike Matusow was nicknamed ‘The Mouth’ for a reason, which he made very clear recently when he compared the compulsory wearing of face masks to the highly sensitive topic of abortion. The American poker pro’s social media rant began on Thursday, June 25, following an announcement by Caesars that anyone who enters their properties, (except children below 10 years old and those with breathing problems), will now be required to wear a face mask.

While the measure is intended to protect everyone’s health and safety, Matusow believes it shouldn’t be obligatory. He called out the radical left for being “hypocrites” and went as far as challenging the Governor Steve Sisolak to arrest him because he would not give in to the order, “my body, my choice,” he said.

In his rant, Matusow lashed out at apparent inconsistencies when it comes to the guidelines and statements coming from official health agencies, such as the Center of Disease Control (CDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO), which, according to him, had previously warned that “masks are bad.”

Governor Sisolak has issued a fresh directive enforcing the mandatory wearing of a protective mask across all indoor or outdoor spaces where it is challenging to observe strict social distancing. The decision comes as Nevada reported record numbers of new COVID-19 cases since casinos began to reopen earlier this month.

Vice Journalist Writes About How He Turned £1 Into £220 by Using Bot to Play Online Tournament

Cheating in online poker isn’t exactly a new thing, but it certainly is unheard of that the person who cheats decides to write about it. The person in question is Vice journalist Hayden Vernon who, on June 26, published an article titled “I Turned £1 Into £220 with the Help of an Online Poker Bot.”

Thought I’d spend lockdown getting really good at online poker, but it’s boring and difficult and I’m actually very shit at it, so I used a bot to grift my way to £200 instead: https://t.co/2GWjmcE8Zd

— Hayden Vernon (@HaydenVernon) June 26, 2020

In his Vice article, Vernon wrote that he used a bot from the site BonusBots.com. According to the website, all you have to do is simply download the software and “press Start,” and then let the bot play for you. What the website doesn’t tell you is that if you get caught using a bot, you’ll get banned from virtually any poker site. And there’s no guarantee it will even work correctly.

Luckily (or unluckily) for Vernon, the bot did work quite well. Down to his last £5 from a £10 deposit, he entered a £1 tournament on Bet365 and took it down to win £220.

“The website I get it from looks like it’s going to give my computer hepatitis, but the bot’s easy enough to use and even comes with different profiles depending on the style of game you want to play,” he wrote.

Bots are prohibited at practically every legitimate online poker site and frowned upon within the poker community. Vernon’s purpose, however, was simply to test out a bot and then write about his experience. But the way he went about it, got it heavy criticism from the poker Twitterati.

@VICE went and read some of your other gambling articles and you have been exposed. you write same article every 3 months and just change the title (what happens if i match bet? what happens if i forex? you then proceed to throw all ethics, morals, and laws out the window

— Jason Wheeler (@JDPC27) June 29, 2020

horrible article..sad excuse for a journalist…

— Jason Wheeler (@JDPC27) June 29, 2020

In one go you managed to undermine the integrity of the industry, get some people banned + funds seized because you forgot to mention how this is against TOS of every site and to end it you promote unregulated sites by insinuating bots don’t stand a chance on those. Impressive

— DaVitsche (@DaVitsche) June 27, 2020

Hasn’t even occurred to you that you’re jeopardizing the livelihood of thousands of people who try to grind o it a living playing poker while simultaneously prompting casual users to violate TOS.

— Chris BLM/VIVA LA REVOLUTION (@RealChrisBaud) June 29, 2020

Thought I’d spend lockdown getting good at something really difficult, but as you know I’m a massively unimaginative wanker, so I used some software to cheat honest hard-working people out of £200 for my shitty article. My parents are very proud.

— Cory Desmond (@ProdigyXII) June 29, 2020

Given that poker lovers are very passionate about the game, it was expected that Vernon would get shredded to pieces for his explosive article.