In a disturbing trend, poker players have become the target of thieves during events held around the globe. These schemes can sometimes be complex and involve sophisticated malware planted on computers in order to access players’ online accounts. Furthermore, it’s not uncommon for poker players to carry large amounts of cash, which can prove irresistible to hotel staff with sticky fingers.

TwoPlusTwo user “OurSurveySays” claims he fell victim to a crime of opportunity during EPT Malta while staying at the €250-a-night Hilton, but received little help from security. The poker pro recounted how midway through the trip, he had put the “Do Not Disturb” sign on his door while he left the room to get a massage. When he came back, he saw that the room had been cleaned against his wishes. While searching for cash to tip on a room service order later in the night, he found that €1,000, which had been left next to his bed, was missing.

He alerted security, who told him that the manager would give him a call shortly, but the call never came. The next day, he found out that two cleaning people had entered the room during the time he was gone. A security official explained that the manager would not be able to work on the case, as he was on holiday, and the aforementioned cleaning staff was not working that day.

OurSurveySays decided to Tweet to EPT Travel, who came to the hotel and set up another meeting with security. He was then told that the key card lock codes could only be seen by the manager, even though OurSurveySays had already been told that two people had entered the room. “This was his very first line to me and was bull****,” he wrote. “I had been shown here two days previously by somebody who wasn’t senior.”

Security officials suggested that perhaps OurSurveySays had spent the cash on his massage or at dinner.

Four days later, he received a call from the security manager, who denied that the cleaning staff had swiped the cash and said he would not be following up on the matter. He told OurSurveySays that he should contact local police, even though he had been told by staff to “leave it with them, they would fix it.”

Apart from the incident, OurSurveySays was quite happy with every other aspect of the accommodations. “The hotel is amazing. I really, really loved it,” he said. “I had great service from the reception… but the security manager and acting managers lied to me and treated me with no respect.”

While it might not be uncommon for hotel guests to believe that money has been taken from their rooms, OurSurveySays is sticking by his story. “I played in over €50,000 worth of tournaments in their casino next door and was playing very high-stakes cash games there,” he said. “I have zero reason to lie and make this up and the money was 100% taken.”

OurSurveySays isn’t the only EPT player to complain of mistreatment at the hands of hotel security. In a bizarre incident, high-stakes pro Jens Kyllonen returned to his room during EPT Barcelona in 2013 to find that his laptop had gone missing. Just 10 minutes later, he went back into the room and find that it had reappeared.

After being effectively stonewalled by security, Kyllonen left the country without any answers. He later took the laptop to a technical specialist, who discovered that a remote access Trojan had been installed on the computer, something that would give an attacker full access to his system.

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