The World Series of Poker (WSOP) just dealt controversial poker player William Kassouf a harsh hand by banning him for the rest of 2025.
In a nutshell, officials booted the 43-year-old Englishman from all WSOP events after he got eliminated from the No-limit Hold’Em World Championship in Las Vegas. His string of behavioral issues ruffled feathers at the Horseshoe Events Center, the New York Post reported.
Kassouf, a lawyer by trade, has built a reputation for using stalling tactics and unleashing relentless table chatter—annoying many at the WSOP Main Event more than a bad beat.
During the tournament, which runs through Wednesday at the iconic venue, opponents, officials, dealers, and even attendees grew fed up with his deliberate delays—a strategy that often had the clock called on him.
It’s one thing to play mind games, but when you’re holding up the table as a “tactic,” it starts to look less like strategy and more like a childish stunt in a game that demands respect.
By Day 6 of the Main Event, officials had enough and slapped a 10-second shot clock on Kassouf for every decision, a move that predictably sent him into a tailspin of frustration.
Day 7 delivered more drama when officials called out Kassouf for a shot clock violation right out of the gate. He claimed they didn’t give him a fair shake to make his move.
He didn’t just react with irritation—he escalated the situation by verbally abusing an opponent. Officials responded by giving him a one-round penalty and warning him to clean up his act or face a ban.
Did he listen? Of course not—Kassouf kept clashing with players and even locked horns with Jack Effel, the senior vice president of poker operations for Caesars Entertainment and WSOP.
After his elimination on Saturday, the hammer finally dropped—tournament director Dennis Jones delivered the news of the ban, and security escorted Kassouf out of the venue.
His parting words to the table were anything but gracious: “Disgrace. You’re all pathetic.”
“I’ll see you next year. I’ll remember your faces,” he added, a line that sounds more like a movie villain than a poker pro, and it’s hard to see how such bravado wins friends in a game built on composure.
In a statement to PokerGO, Kassouf doubled down, saying, “I’m here to play my game my way.”
“If everyone wants to sit there in silence, say nothing, headphones, hoodies, sunglasses on, that’s their prerogative,” he continued, painting himself as a victim of a poker culture too rigid for his colorful style—though one wonders if respect for others’ time isn’t also part of the game.
Despite the ban and the drama, Kassouf walked away with $300,000 in winnings from the event, a hefty sum for a player who seemed more focused on theatrics than teamwork at the table. Let’s be real: while individuality has its place, poker isn’t a solo act, and alienating everyone around you isn’t exactly a winning strategy in life or cards. In a world obsessed with bending rules for personal expression, sometimes the old-school values of decorum and mutual respect still hold the highest chips.
