WSOP poker depression for Brazilian pro Fernando Macedo as language barrier costs him dearly

No habla Inglés? Not speaking English isn’t usually a problem in the cardrooms of Las Vegas, but for Brazilian pro Fernando Macedo, it cost him 8 hours and a $500 buy-in when he mistakenly thought the Casino Employees event was open to all!

Fernando MacedoMacedo is far from new to the World Series of Poker, but this year he decided to kick things off early. Too early, however, as he entered event #2, the traditional Casino Employees event, thinking the word “employees” meant “some sort of king”.

Eight hours later, the man known as “poker depression” on Instagram was living up to his nickname, after finding out he wasn’t entitled to any of the $499,380 prizemoney up for grabs. Nor the gold bracelet!

Macedo explained on his Insta account: “Best tip I’ll leave you with in life. Do English!”

“I just dropped out of a tournament … I abandoned my chips on the table. I registered for a tournament here and it was only for casino employees.

Macedo added: “I’ve been playing this tournament for eight hours… I’ve just doubled and received the official information that this tournament is for those who work in casinos.”

Unfortunately for Macedo, the Portuguese word for “employees” is “funcionários”, not even close for someone who doesn’t speak English. The Spanish version, “empleados”, might have been a bit of a hint to some, but Brazilian Portuguese isn’t the same.

Ver esta publicação no InstagramUma publicação partilhada por Fernando Macedo (@fernandopokerdepressao)

“The bill when it’s not good… do English. But also, what a difficult word,” he exclaimed, while wondering: “Why didn’t they ask me anything when I registered… if I was a casino employee?”

“There’s a word I won’t forget… employees,” ended Macedo, a smile on his face despite the waste of time and money.

Meanwhile, it doesn’t appear as though Macedo was the player Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler had in mind when he tweeted about non-casino employees entering the event.

I hate to be a rat, but I want a fair playing field on day 2 of the casino employees event.

Poker reporters who interview players and do updates in the casino would obviously qualify.

Does a professional poker player who’s been a guest co-host on a few episodes of a poker…

— Allen Kessler (@AllenKessler) May 29, 2024

The person in question seems to be Mike “BrockLesnar” Holz, who has averaged 35 cashes a year for the better part of the past decade.

The Maryland pro has earned more than $675,000 playing mostly mid-stakes live Vegas-based and WSOP online tournaments according to the Hendon Mob database.

Holtz, who holds a WSOP bracelet and is the reigning WSOP Online Player of the Year, finished in 11th spot in the Casino Employees event for $4962. Four players will return tomorrow to decide the winner.

The rules for the Casino Employees event states “Must be a Casino Worker” at the top of the WSOP’s own structure sheet, but that rule doesn’t seem to have been enforced, nor have a tight definition.

WSOP Casino EmployeesNaturally, X (formerly known as Twitter) soon picked up on the situation, with some useful ideas as to how to prevent pros picking up an extra payday…

Many tweets about the Casino Employee at the WSOP. When I inquired about it last year, I was told it was open to gaming industry employees. This suggestion would make it crystal clear who can play. https://t.co/lADXHp8u1g

— Maureen B. (@mjbloech) May 30, 2024

Poker photographer Rachel Kay Winter had a similar idea: “Honestly, you should be required to show an active casino/cardroom employee ID or a gaming badge to qualify for the “Casino Employees” bracelet event. Yes, I realize this would disqualify me as a poker industry person. I said what I said. The lines are way too blurred.”

What do you think? Should Macedo get his buy-in refunded for an honest mistake? Should the rules be tightened to avoid situations like Holtz? Answers on our social media please!

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