[toc]Despite the fact that some people would like to see poker as an Olympic sport, most players are happy enough to consider it a game rather than a sport, or compromise by calling it a “mind sport.”
Either way, it’s not the sort of competition in which one sees any kind of serious injury, much less one that results in a lawsuit. However, a Hampton man has filed a lawsuit claiming he was seriously injured during a poker tournament at Rockingham Park, Salem.
What happened?
Justin Tyndaal is suing Rockingham Gaming LLC after suffering injuries in the poker room at Rockingham Park on (seriously) April 1, 2015. The suit was filed just last week in Rockingham County Superior Court.
Tyndaal claims that he was seated at a poker table while participating in a poker tournament when a staff member removed the table’s cash box. The suit claims that the box was dropped, landing on Tyndaal’s left foot and causing injury and disfigurement.
Tyndaal experienced “severe pain” and provided his details before leaving. He argues now that he suffered “serious and permanent injuries” due to the “carelessness” and “negligence” of the employees of Rockingham Gaming LLC.
Tyndaal has incurred medical expenses, loss of earning, “pain and suffering” and “emotional distress” due to his “permanent and partial disability, with disfigurement” according to the suit.
Rockingham Gaming LLC has declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Other poker player injuries
Justin Tyndaal isn’t the first person to have sustained an injury at the poker tables, nor is he the first poker player to have racked up some publicly-discussed medical expenses.
According to a 2006 survey from Paddy Power, 13 percent of poker players claim to have injured themselves while playing. These injuries include falling off chairs, punching walls in frustration, spilling hot drinks and “at least one fist fight.”
The injuries include broken fingers and scalded testicles!
In 2005, professional poker player Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo was at the final table of the World Poker Tour at the Bellagio. He managed to win a large pot with a lucky river card, completing a straight, and during the course of celebrations with his friends and family managed to tear his anterior cruciate ligament, which you can see in the following video:
In 2010, noted television poker personality and WSOP bracelet winner Phil Laak was involved in an accident on an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) that saw him hospitalised during a camping trip in Oregon. He suffered lacerations to his right eye and several broken bones.
