High-stakes poker pro Eli Elezra has been accused of carrying a massive gambling debt for years, but he’s never publicly addressed the matter. Until now. And after admitting for the first time that he does indeed have some outstanding IOUs to multiple poker pros, things went downhill from there.
In an Ask Me Anything session on 2+2 earlier this month, it didn’t take long for the “anything” to turn to allegations that Elezra still had significant gambling debts.
He was there to promote his new book, “Pulling the Trigger: The Autobiography of Poker Pro Eli Elezra.” Things started off cordial enough, but it didn’t take long before the thread devolved into an attack on Elezra’s character after poker pro Cole South entered the AMA fray.
Calm, Cool, and Uncollected
Most of the initial questions for Elezra were about his experiences in high-stakes games — nothing insulting or aggressive — at least not until the conversation went, ahem, south.
Elezra was asked about allegations that he owes Shaun Deeb and others money that he supposedly refuses to pay. The former Full Tilt pro insisted, “I always pay my debts.”
But forum poster “cts,” known offline as Cole South, contended otherwise. He claimed that Elezra borrowed $100,000 from him during a cash game at Bellagio in 2010 and has only paid back $60,000 of that debt. South alleged that Elezra has been unresponsive since 2011 whenever he’s attempted to collect.
From there, it didn’t take long for the forum to turn on the former TV poker regular. Out went the questions about Eli’s favorite people to play with and high-stakes television memories, and in came the “Elezra is a scammer” posts. With the AMA devolving into a virtual smackdown Elezra quietly disappeared from the conversation without so much as a goodbye. He didn’t return until 12 days later.
Finance Charges
In a post titled, “A STATEMENT FROM ELI ELEZRA,” the poker pro said he borrowed money “years ago” when the “financial crisis hit.” Instead of dropping down in stakes with a smaller bankroll, he claims he continued playing high-stakes thanks to some generous loans from fellow poker players, including South and Deeb.
He also admitted that he still has some outstanding debts, but didn’t say how much. He defended his refusal to fully pay back some debts, however, by making a statement that was heavily criticized by others in the thread.
“When a poker player decides to lend another poker player money, they do so with the inherent risk that it might not be paid back,” Elezra wrote. “At no time when I borrowed money did I ever make a promise to pay loans back the next day. During the Full Tilt days, money flowed like water and when it came to paying people back it was never an issue.”
Elezra also claims that “almost $2 million” is owed to him by poker players he has lent money to.
“But I have never gone public with their names,” he said.
According to different forum posts, Elezra is rumored to owe more than $1 million to various poker players. CardsChat is unable to confirm the accuracy of such claims. We now know South contends he still owes $40,000 of a $100,000 loan. And we also know he owes at least some money to Deeb. But no one outside the those involved with loaning him money knows the exact amount.
Still Grinding High Stakes
Elezra might have a massive gambling debt but that doesn’t stop him from continuing to play high-stakes poker. Las Vegas grinders often spot him competing in Ivey’s Room at Aria or Bobby’s Room at Bellagio.
He also hasn’t refrained from playing an exhaustive WSOP schedule each summer. That fact made many in the thread question his character. Some wondered why Elezra continues playing poker, sometimes even scoring large cashes, but still refuses to pay off his debts.
Few 2+2ers came to his defense in what turned out to be an 11-page thread consisting of several hundred posts.
People there sure are mad about debts that aren’t owed to them.