Mike Sneideman, One of Final 27 in Canceled Borgata Event, Discusses His Experience

Donnie Peters

Feb 25, 2014 2 min read Last updated Sep 06, 2020

"You never know what would have happened if Christian Lusardi hadn’t come to Atlantic City."

Those were the words of part-time poker player Mike Sneideman in response to one of the questions asked by Carlos Welch in an interview for Learn.PokerNews. Sneideman is one of the remaining 27 players in the 2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open $2 Million Guarantee and chatted with Welch about the situation.

As it stands right now, Sneideman's (and the others') payday is in limbo while the tournament remains under investigation by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), and over the weekend The Press of Atlantic City's Jennifer Bogdan reported that a class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of more than 4,000 people.

Sneideman boasts career live tournament earnings of nearly $75,000, but aspires to turn his hobby into more of a profession. "Naturally, like many casual players, I have ambitions to play poker full-time," he said, but his main motivator to become a full-time player might be a little different than you might think.

"I want to be a professional poker player in order to become a better father," said Sneideman. "I know that sounds ridiculous, but my son lives with his mother all the way across the country in California."

In terms of the tournament itself, Sneideman said he received an email from Borgata on Febuary 7 stating that they expect a resolution to happen soon. He also added that he expects "to hear some very good news within the next couple of weeks."

Christian Lusardi, the man responsible for the crime of introducing counterfeit chips into the event, currently remains in jail with his bail set at $300,000, and according to Sneideman isn't the brightest of criminals. "He’s a small-time drifter who, unless you think a Harrah’s toilet is the best place to dispose of hundreds of poker chips, appears to be comically dense," he said.