When Barry Greenstein was eliminated from the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha event, it was obvious there was tension between himself and the player who eliminated him, Simon ‘Aces’ Trumper. With Greenstein on full tilt over the incident, Trumper responded the following day with a very different version of what actually took place. Who to believe? You’ll have to decide for yourself.

After Greenstein’s very unflattering description of the scene at the table, and in fact of Simon Trumper himself, Trumper has sat down and provided his version of the events. First off, according to Aces, the delay which Barry has characterized as “10 minutes” wasn’t anywhere near that. But instead of offering a time frame of the raise, Simon insisted the tournament director survey the players at the table himself. The tournament director surveyed four other players at the table. Huck Seed, Barny Boatman, Tommy Grimes and Peter Costa all seemed to support Simon’s claim, with each player suggesting the delay was closer to two and a half minutes. Simon also says Barry returned 20 minutes later to deliver some inflammatory rhetoric, allegedly having told Simon that “Players like you who take 10 minutes to re-raise with the nuts should be banned from poker.”

Trumper also insists what Barry perceived as a “slow roll” of his invincible hand was a misunderstanding. Trumper: “At the bottom I have the 10-8 of diamonds, at the top I have the A-8 of spades, but I couldn't remember which order they were in…I turn the top two cards over. It just so happens, the 8 was the first card. It goes 8-A.” This seems to contradict the scene painted by Greenstein which portrays Simon Trumper’s actions as offensive to Poker.

Greenstein was so adamant about his complaint that he brought it to tournament director Johnny Grooms, who spoke about the matter with Trumper. This is what brought about Groom’s conversation with the other players present, where they seemed to contradict Greenstein’s perception of the incident.

While both sides have been heard, it’s unlikely anyone who wasn’t there will ever really be sure what took place. Controversy aside, it’s clear that Trumper made an effective play if Greenstein was willing to push all his chips in. He seems to feel that his acting was part of his read on Greenstein; whether his behaviour was appropriate or not, it would appear that his read was good, because he put Greenstein on a hand that would be very difficult to get away form. Hopefully the two players will resolve their issues, and we can get back to business as usual.