Neverwin Poker's Bryan Micon Rolled for $12,000 in Loan Scam

Neverwin Poker's Bryan Micon has admitted to being scammed for $12,000. (Image Courtesy of PokerListings.com)

There seems to be kind of a lull in worthy poker news right now. The gap between the WSOP Europe and the EPT, WPT and APPT events that are starting this week has left us with precious little to write about. So, we've been reduced to trolling the 2+2 forum, specifically the NVG (News, Views and Gossip) section, looking for things to write about that may hold some sort of interest to you our readers. We failed. However, we did find a ridiculous story about Neverwin Poker's "King of All Degenerates," Bryan Micon.

In excruciating detail on the Neverwin Poker forum, Micon has explained how he was taken for $12,000 by some guy who was hanging out with one of the members of the ill-fated and best-forgotten boy band, O Town. In brief, Micon was playing poker at Red Rock Casino in Vegas and saw this guy, "Justin Smith", who was throwing money around, getting comps, on a first name basis with the pit bosses, hanging with an F-list celeb and just generally being a "baller." After a conversation, Smith reveals that he is heir to the Chase banking fortune and lives in a ridiculous house in Beverly Hills, etc... So, at the end of the night when he asks Micon for a $5k loan to be paid back the next day with $20k, Micon readily agrees.

The next day, "Smith-Chase" calls Micon and asks for another $7k which will be paid back the next day with $100k. Again, Micon agrees. The next day came with no payback and another phone call for an additional $10k, with a $1 million return, and Micon then becomes suspicious. Why it took so long, he doesn't even know.

Needless to say, Micon goes to the police, who couldn't help him. So, he turns to the forums and posts video, voicemails and pictures to back up his story and the gives out the guy's cell number, asking loyal forum readers to harass "Smith-Chase" until Micon gets his money back. Things escalate and someone puts up a YouTube video of "Smith-Chase" claiming he's a pedophile and giving out his cell number. The con man's "business manager" gets on 2+2 (bad decision #462) and tries to argue to get the video pulled down and promises a $1,000 wire to Micon as proof of eventual payback.

Anyway, there are some genuinely funny moments in all of this, as well as scary evidence of how much information is available about people on the Internet. So, go read the Neverwin thread and the 2+2 thread because we aren't going to update you on this sordid tale because pretty soon now we're hoping there will be real poker news on which to report.