Over the years I heard a lot of people describe how they have raised money for the buy-ins that allow them to compete for a WSOP bracelet. For the normal player, the person who has a real job and poker is just their hobby, the most popular method has been to save up the winnings from casino visits, online sessions, and home games to pay the buy-in. .This makes sense; if you can’t win enough playing over twelve months to cover the buy-in, travel, and lodging, you probably don’t belong playing at the WSOP. Of course alternate methods are available. For those with the appropriate physical gifts, and no objection to intimate behavior with ugly strangers, raising the money is possible without ever logging on to a poker site or stepping into a casino. While methods for getting spare cash for a buy-in cover the range from competitive to morally sketchy, I think it is safe to say most people wouldn’t kill for an opportunity to play at the WSOP.
Ernest Scherer III has had money finishes at the World Series of Poker over the last three years. In 2006 he even made the final table at a Limit Hold’em event. Despite some big paydays, he was in a deep financial hole, and needed some quick cash. Unlike other thugs who simply knock over their local convenience store, Ernest is accused of taking the phrase “Home is where the heart is” in disturbing new directions. He has been charged with two counts of murder for the death of his parents. Furthermore, the charges include special circumstances of using a deadly weapon and committing murder for financial gain. Were he not arrested for the crime, he stood to inherit over a million dollars from his parents estate.
If he did this, the timing of the crime is interesting; killing them months before the WSOP. That would give the investigation time to conclude, and free up his inheritance. 1.3 million dollars could cover a lot of buy-ins. It is hard to imagine someone killing their parents for something as trivial as money. If he is willing to do that though, just think of how many ways he would have violated the new code of conduct if he went on tilt.
