No Winner Crowned: Millionaire Maker Controversy Ends with Split Prize and Lifetime Bans

The Millionaire Maker Hands That Raised Suspicion

If you somehow missed the Twitter storm that followed the final table stream, here’s the short version of why this became the WSOP’s biggest scandal of the summer.

Photo Credit: Austin Currington

Yaginuma started heads-up play down 9:1 in chips but quickly turned things around. And it wasn’t the comeback itself that got people talking — it was how the chips changed hands.

Carroll made a number of unorthodox moves:

• Raising to 13,000,000 preflop with 6♦3♠, then barreling 17,000,000 on a jack-high flop with no pair, eventually losing a huge pot to Yaginuma’s J♣8♣.
• Later, Carroll opened to 23,000,000 with 8♠3♣ over an 8,700,000 open, only to fold when Yaginuma four-bet shoved with 8♥7♠.
• Another hand saw Yaginuma three-bet with 9♦8♠, forcing Carroll to fold Q♠6♣ preflop.
• And finally, the tournament ended when Carroll’s A♠10♠ lost to Q♥3♣, wrapping up a string of curious confrontations that prompted immediate accusations of chip dumping.

The fact that Yaginuma stood to win a separate $1 million bonus from ClubWPT Gold if he took first place only fueled the outrage.

WSOP Makes Its Call

While the poker world speculated and debated, the WSOP conducted an internal investigation. Their decision, announced in a tweet, was blunt:

The split meant that both Yaginuma and Carroll walked away with $1,133,750 apiece — essentially averaging first- and second-place payouts. For Yaginuma, that sum was still augmented by the ClubWPT Gold bonus, bringing his total haul to over $2.1 million.

The complete statement is below:

ClubWPT Gold Stands By the Promotion

Unlike the WSOP, ClubWPT Gold wasted no time confirming that the bonus would be honored regardless of the controversy. The company even leaned into the drama on social media, making tongue-in-cheek references to how Yaginuma would only get to spend “half of it” — a nod to the widespread assumption that the two finalists had arranged a private deal.

In a short interview for ClubWPT’s content channels, Yaginuma reflected on the bizarre turn of events, describing the final days as “surreal,” like an “out-of-body experience.”

Lifetime Bans Handed Down

And the fallout didn’t end with the bracelet decision. According to reports first confirmed by PokerOrg, both Yaginuma and Carroll have been banned for life from Caesars properties, including the WSOP in Las Vegas.

While the WSOP itself did not address the bans in its official statement, sources indicate that the decision came directly from Caesars and Nevada Gaming regulators. As GGPoker ambassador Daniel Negreanu noted in his vlog:

Although the ban is technically lifetime, there is a possibility it could be appealed down the line. No details have been provided on whether it also applies to WSOP Paradise or other non-Caesars WSOP events.

Silence from the Players

At the time of writing, neither Yaginuma nor Carroll has issued a formal statement about the investigation or their bans. The poker world, meanwhile, remains divided—some believing the evidence of collusion was overwhelming, others arguing that the hands alone were inconclusive without proof of an explicit deal.

One thing is clear: the Millionaire Maker will forever be remembered as the event where no champion was crowned, no bracelet awarded, and two poker careers were potentially derailed in one of the strangest finales in recent memory.