As 2015 officially begins, we take a look back at five of the biggest poker news stories of 2014. At the end of the article, let us know what other headlines you thought were memorable this year.

5. Christian Lusardi Causes Havoc at Borgata with Counterfeit Chips

Tournament organizers at Borgata’s Winter Poker Open in January were forced to cancel the event after finding that several bogus poker chips had been introduced into play. Christian Lusardi (pictured) of Fayetteville, North Carolina was quickly identified as the culprit and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Lusardi had made out well in the tournament, winning $6,814 with the help of his homemade chips. Authorities caught a break when the staff at Harrah’s Atlantic City found even more of the phony chips clogging the pipes of Lusardi’s bathroom. After the tournament was shut down, some players were unhappy with the Borgata’s settlement and filed a lawsuit against the casino, accusing it of negligence.

Lusardi is charged with rigging a publicly exhibited contest, criminal attempt, and theft by deception.

4. Phil Ivey’s High-Stakes Baccarat Escapades

Last year, Phil Ivey (pictured) went on the heater of a lifetime, winning $12.5 million playing Punto Banco at the posh Crockfords Casino in London. Crockfords, however, refused to pay the 10-time bracelet winner, claiming he had used a prohibited method called edge-sorting to illegally win the cash. Ivey filed suit against Crockfords and asserted that the controversial technique didn’t break any laws.

In October, a judge sided with Crockfords and ruled that Ivey’s manipulative behavior during the baccarat sessions would be considered “cheating for the purpose of civil law.” Ivey himself is being sued by Borgata, which also claims the 38-year-old cheated using edge-sorting to pocket $9.6 million.

3. Gus Hansen’s Epic Losing Streak

High-stakes pro Gus Hansen will not be ringing in 2015 on a high note, at least in regards to poker. The “Great Dane” reached the grim milestone of surpassing $20 million in online losses to become the biggest loser in online poker history.

Before Black Friday saw Full Tilt Poker shut down, Hansen had been in the midst of a $7 million upswing. When the site reopened, however, he lost all of it back, plus $10 million more, as he stubbornly refused to move down in limits. Hansen spoke about the losses in an interview, saying, “I can’t keep losing… At some point, I have to quit.” Hansen and high-stakes legend Viktor Blom were recently stripped of their sponsorship deals with Full Tilt Poker.

2. Dan Colman Wins Millions, Refuses to Promote Poker

With over $22 million in winnings in 2014, Dan Colman (pictured) had a year about which most could only dream. The young pro started the year strong, pocketing $2,127,398 for his first place finish in the EPT Monte Carlo Super High Roller Event and followed that up with a third place finish for $111,942 at the WSOP. But those big wins pale in comparison to the $15,306,668 Colman banked for besting the tough field in the $1 Million Big One for One Drop.

To the chagrin of the poker media, Coleman refused to give interviews or even take pictures after the massive win. Choosing instead to make a statement on 2+2, Colman called poker “a very dark game” and said he didn’t “owe poker a single thing.”

He later unleashed on Phil Hellmuth, calling “The Poker Brat” a “whore” and a “cancer” who would promote anything for money. Seeing his comments quickly spread through the poker world, he issued somewhat of an apology to Hellmuth.

1. Amaya Gaming Buys PokerStars and Full Tilt for $4.9 Billion

By far the biggest poker story of the year was Amaya’s surprise acquisition of the online gambling giant PokerStars. Rumors of the sale first began to swirl in August, with the all-cash $4.9 billion deal confirmed in June.

The purchase helped to elegantly solve the company’s issues with breaking into the regulated US i-gaming market. PokerStars was denied a license to operate in New Jersey due to the continued involvement of founders Isai and Mark Scheinberg in the business. The sale to Amaya allowed the father and son to cash out, while allowing the company to present a cleaner image to US regulators.

PokerStars has recently begun to make some controversial changes, like cutting loose nonproductive affiliates, raising rake, and reducing its sponsor player roster. It has still yet to break into the US market.

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