Thieves caught on video at Worlds, TPCi does nothing

[Lil_Magma]

I'm very disappointed with how TPCi has chosen to go about this and everyone should be a little uncomfortable with how inconsistent this decisions is with how they've handled things in the past. Please see reason everyone, we don't want to have to deal with dishonest players at our tournaments and we need TPCi to help defend us.

 

[homeofmew]

Swordfish1989 - I Said that right? Either way it's pretty obvious he stole something.
Also it seemed the other guy Jon did cough up Mees cards and sent it to him but Gino is totally denying the computer was stolen.
From what I understand he's claiming only the cards where taken. But yeah, they (Gino and Jon) did Steal.
Yes I agree with you it doesn't matter the worth amount, it's just that I know there's a lot of Drama just over the computer.

Vegeta ss4 - Well you understood my logic of the fact that it looks like Mees won't be getting the computer back.
I also find this situation to be odd. I'm not saying Gino and Jon shouldn't be punished, but this was outside of event.
But yet again who knows there's been so many out of event issues that have resulted in a ban.
Personally I think the big issue is that it happened in Canada, ie not in the US, that may have something to do with it.
Doesn't Canada have their own LD? Not sure

 

[Vegeta ss4]

To me, its NOT about Pokemon, it is about right and wrong. For Gino to not be banned because it happened in Canada is a joke...I guess South Park was right(reference alert).

I would like clarification from a higher up(Dave) to give us legitimate information as to why he is not banned. I know they "CAN" and "WON'T" disclose the true reason, and no that was not a typo.

I also know if we are NOT a fan of decisions being made by the company, we do have the right to make a change whether or not the leaders of the company are worthy and or adequate for the job. Im not saying lets sign a petition, we are not there yet, but they are walking a fine line in my opinion.


...wait for it

 

[Chairman Kaga]

If he feels he has a case and pursues it, he CAN sue Pokegym, disregard what a mod will say, he can.

Actually, no, he can't. PokeGym has safe harbor immunity under 47 USC § 230. A provider of an online forum can't be sued for the comments of its users.

Thought I'd save Gino some time and money there, since I'm a naturally nice guy.

 

[Bilbo Baggins]

My point is you can't tell what's in the bag, sure he took the bag but you can't tell if its the computer or the cards.
Stealing is wrong either way, and I do believe Mees, I'm just stating from the pictures you can't tell WHAT of Mees Stuff they took.

If the bag Mees had stolen was the laptop bag, then the odds are highly in favor the laptop is in the bag. Would Gino really take the laptop out of the bag and steal only the bag? Then again, he is foolish to steal in the first place.......

 

[Envoyofduels]

Gino has a facebook post saying he's pursuing legal action against the pokegym because this thread has stayed open. Oh well.

this is funny


1717171717

 

[Tankgrowth]

The lack of action by TPCi makes me little sad. People spend a lot of money on their products and on travel to play in these tournaments and should feel safe in the environment of the tournament. I just hope TPCi does the right thing now rather than later. That being said I wish this type of problem never occurred on a scale like worlds. I could see it happening at small local tournaments but really, not at a prestigious event like worlds.

 

[sickoftheft]

Being that Dave and those in charge of the game we all love so dearly have been so quick to ban anyone who have stepped on various toes throughout this particular year, but have hardly bothered taking notice (seemingly) of this happenstance is disgusting. If people are being banned this year for the acts they have been, based on arguably less evidence and/or less severity than this instance, but this fairly obvious actual crime is not, then I think there is a lot us as a community can draw from the respect we get from those at TPCI/P!P. What the higher-ups decree as ban-worthy is spotty, inconsistent, and damaging to the player-base at its best.

It's not the theft, the poor decisions, the reduction in prize support, or many other things the player-base complains about that will ultimately cause people to leave this game; P!P's reluctance and inability to communicate with their player-base (i.e. customers) that will. This lack of communication to explain why x, y, or z is taking place accents these incidents of theft, poor decisions, etc., in a way that I suspect will cause Pokemon Organized Play to only go downhill from here.

C'mon, guys. Get it together. For the sake of our happiness and your wallets. Please?

 

[ARMondak]

It is a complete and utter disgrace that Pokemon does not have the common sense to remove criminals from our game. For as much as they promote the game as "family-friendly", looking the other way when crime happens at one of their events completely goes against this mission. If I were a parent, I sure as heck would not take my child to a tournament where the "Poke-thug Life" is not only accepted but looked up to.

Do the powers that be OWE us an explanation? To be honest, they do not. Anything they say or do other than condemning and removing the scum from this game would be both damaging to the brand and their careers. However, Pokemon DOES owe it to us to create and foster a safe, family-friendly environment that highlights how excellent this community truly is.

So with the powers that be unwilling to take appropriate action, I turn to you, the community, for help. I have never seen a community, gaming or otherwise, so tight-knit and willing to help out others in need. In the past, we have weeded out cheaters/other undesirable characters from the game. These people have a lot of influence and admiration for some reason when in reality they are a detriment and are a poor role model for young and impressionable children. This garbage has no place in our community.

 

[k-psycho]

I've had some time to think about how this situation should be handled, in my opinion at least. When I was at the Pan Pacific this August, it was clear that Jon and Gino had taken the items in question. Players deserve to feel safe at and around Pokemon events, and this is how we go about that? Letting them go when the evidence, eye witness reports, and track record is right in front of us?I feel that Jon is worthy of a 6-month ban for his involvement, and that Gino has earned a life-time ban. Along with this situation, Gino has actively encouraged cheating in the community with his group of friends. He made the mistake of inviting Rahul Reddy into this group, because he shed light on this after he was caught (and disqualified) in the Last Chance Qualifier at Nationals this year attempting to "Palm" for the 2nd match in a row. Rahul boasted of this, bragging about how he fooled his opponent the first time in the LCQ, and started to share with us how Gino had been sharing all of his secrets with him. Gino cheated on multiple levels in the World Championships this year, and I'm sure this wasn't the first time (after hearing from judges in the New England area).

- Palming: Probably his more infamous trick, where he reaches across the table to check the opponent's discard pile and, simultaneously, moves a card from his discard pile into his hand while the opponent is distracted.

- Altering Deck List: He was changing his decklist in the middle of the event at the World Championships, adding in an Exeggcute to his Blastoise deck when he knew his opponent wasn't using Plasma.

- Stacking: Along with the questionable 4 pile and no riffle, Gino is notorious for stacking in the bathroom between swiss rounds.

- Hand Signals: Yeah.. I know, hand signals. He has a system down with friends that are adjacent from his match. These signals are used to help Gino determine if he should "N" his opponent's hand away or use another supporter.

This is a game for Gino, he loves to see what he can get away with. Lets put an end to this right now.

 

[ChubbyChilupa135]

Hmm =| that is really unfortunate..It definitely doesn't set a good example for people who do this kind of thing in the future.
It almost encourages it. Its definitely a bad move on Pokemon's part not just for the media attention but, for setting standards at their tournaments. Not to mention, this kind of response is just a slap in the face to Mees. It almost discredits Pokemon's healthy reputation of a good, honest player base. It's unfortunate but, a few bad apples can spoil it for the rest of us. Because, now people know what the true expectation and the consequences for partaking in these actions. It's really frustrating to see situations like this happen but, it's even worse to see them being handled in the completely wrong way. I'll use an example that I know best, in the restaurant business.
A guest leaves my restaurant with a satisfied experience. As this guest is approaching the car, someone comes up and steals the guest's purse. I'm able to see what happens, so the guest runs back in and asks me if I can do anything to help. I tell the guest there is nothing I can do because it didn't happen in my restaurant and I assure the guest that the cops will deal with it. However, I don't call the police for this guest and we don't have enough hard evidence that the cops can go off of to look for this person who stole my guest's purse.. Now, as a business, how does that make you look? You invite someone to come into your business and you do nothing for the guest when they need help.. From a business standpoint, that doesn't seem like very good customer service to me.

 

[CRIMINAL]

Mees, I'm truly sorry for what you went through. I've had a few things stolen from me at Pokémon events over the years, so I can definitely appreciate what you're going through. Losing valuable items that can't easily be replaced is one thing, but when someone takes it upon themselves to take it from you and claim it as their own after you spent your money is just plain disgusting.

Guys, put yourselves in Mees' shoes. If you know, without a doubt, that someone (in this case Gino) stole from you at Worlds and have the evidence to prove it - would you really willingly attend another event that this person is set to attend? This is what I can't get over.

I sincerely hope things get changed, Mees.

 

[Mystery Thing]

Intentionally singling out one single phrase, because that's as far as I care to get involved in this at the moment:

Do the powers that be OWE us an explanation? To be honest, they do not. Anything they say or do other than condemning and removing the scum from this game would be both damaging to the brand and their careers.

Why? Do you make decisions about whether or not they keep their jobs?

If you think it would call into question the reputation of the brand, that's your opinion and it's an opinion you have full right to. But to say it would cause issue with their career is really, really stretching it. I certainly don't claim to have any inside knowledge of what happened to lead up to this decision (because I don't, duh), but for all we know, maybe legal told them that this is how it was going to be. It's not like the OP team is the be all, end all of things like this.

 

[The Ralts]

Having heard a couple sides of the story, my own personal conclusion is thus: I do not at all believe Jon deserves the wrath he has incurred here, yes he made a mistake, but he more than made up for it. I do however think Gino has overstepped his boundaries far too many times, and I know tpci is aware of it, they just haven't had enough proof I guess. This should be what they've been looking for, so I do not know why they have for choosing the warnings as opposed to a ban. I assume they have their reasons though.

 

[emmalovato]

This is very scary to me! Not only will these guys be able to continue to play, but if something like this happens again (knock on wood), TPCi is setting a very lenient precedent for dealing with this kind of behavior. I think they should generally take more responsibility for players, especially ones who have earned trips to travel to tournaments. Even if nothing happens with these two guys, TPCi should take this opportunity to lay out some cleaner rules regarding player behavior both in and out of the strict tournament area.

 

[CardKaptor]

From someone who used to date a lawyer - he has no case

This is my favorite part of this thread. What does this even mean?


Also, maybe I've just been reading this thread wrong, but has Jon really been getting a lot of heat in this thread? It seems to me like it has almost exclusively been targeted at Gino.

 

[JandPDS]

I don't get why Pokémon is not taking any action, it is not like they have not issued a ban to past National Champion before. They have indeed done so why are they refusing to act in this case? What is it about Gino that makes his so special?

 

[Swordfish1989]

This is my favorite part of this thread. What does this even mean?


Also, maybe I've just been reading this thread wrong, but has Jon really been getting a lot of heat in this thread? It seems to me like it has almost exclusively been targeted
at Gino.

It means that unlike most people in this thread, I spent day after day for 3 years hearing everything there is to know on all facets of the law, from jurisdiction to wills, trusts, & estates. A year of that consisted of criminal law, where I got to hear about all the cases where criminals tried to sue their victims, and why some actually succeed in suing their victims and why others get thrown out with a laughing judge. I may not have JD, but I have a LOT of knowledge of our legal system. It also means I have access to a lot of lawyers that I can easily text 'hey, x event happened and the guy says he's going to sue, does he even have a chance?' And they can give me their view, which of course, I already asked

 

[losjackal]

If I were a parent, I sure as heck would not take my child to a tournament where the "Poke-thug Life" is not only accepted but looked up to.

This is an interesting point. Many people are invoking the Fear argument, claiming people won't feel safe.

Assuming that nothing changes, does anyone want to publicly state that they aren't coming to Nationals anymore?

I'm a parent, and we still are. It's because I know plenty of dumb things happen among players already, so this one extreme incident is not going to detract from our enjoyment of the tournament and weekend.

 

[Moss Factor]

This is an interesting point. Many people are invoking the Fear argument, claiming people won't feel safe.

Assuming that nothing changes, does anyone want to publicly state that they aren't coming to Nationals anymore?

I'm a parent, and we still are. It's because I know plenty of dumb things happen among players already, so this one extreme incident is not going to detract from our enjoyment of the tournament and weekend.

Just because the basket of pros outweighs the basket of cons for attending US Nats in your case doesn't mean that a) your basket of cons should have 1 extra item in it if it can be fixed, or b) you should even have to sit there and consider whether this tips the balance to not attending. Add in enough criminals and the balance eventually tips to not attending for most people. With everyone having a different tipping point and TPCi having zero positive in incentives for allowing these people at their events, what is your incentive to keep him around? Because maybe some people will bite the bullet and go anyway? That doesn't sound like a positive strategy.