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.