Kevin Ruscitti, a Michigan-based poker pro and reigning WSOP Online Michigan Player of the Year (POY), has landed in hot water just days after a career milestone. After taking down his first-ever WSOP Online bracelet in an online $500 No-Limit Hold’em PKO event, Ruscitti’s WSOP.com account has been suspended following allegations of using real-time assistance (RTA), a form of cheating involving solver-based tools.
Ruscitti secured nearly $40,000 from his bracelet win, a mix of $15,125 in prize money and $23,357 from knockouts. But now, instead of celebrating, he’s fighting to clear his name, facing accusations from fellow Michigan players who claim his gameplay during the event matched solver outputs.
The Allegations
This controversy didn’t emerge overnight. According to reports, a group of Michigan online grinders had been eyeing Ruscitti’s play with suspicion for some time. They took their concerns a step further by using GTOWizard’s Fair Play tool to analyze his decisions during WSOP.com tournaments. The tool allows players to check whether in-game actions align too closely with solver recommendations, raising red flags about potential RTA use.
Ryan “MagicJohnson” Hiller, one of the Michigan players leading the charge, mentioned that his suspicions began after hearing Ruscitti allegedly boast about using RTA in private conversations.
Hiller, along with other players, decided to keep their investigation under wraps, running multiple hands through the Fair Play tool and sharing results internally. According to them, the evidence became too strong to ignore, prompting them to submit their findings to WSOP.com around six weeks ago.
Hiller claimed that Ruscitti’s play had changed in ways that seemed unnatural. Other Michigan grinders joined in, collecting screenshots of hands they believed to be suspicious. Mario Arribas, one of the players involved, shared a series of Fair Play check results on Twitter, further fueling the controversy.
Kevin Ruscitti’s Defense
Ruscitti has firmly denied the allegations.
In a lengthy Facebook post, he expressed his frustration at being accused of cheating and insisted that his success comes from hard work, not solvers or real-time assistance. He went as far as to claim that he doesn’t even use a HUD (heads-up display), a common tool among online players.
While Ruscitti insists he’s innocent, other Michigan players aren’t so sure. Justin Pimpedly, initially blamed for starting the accusations, was quick to clarify that it wasn’t just him — it was a larger group that had been quietly investigating Ruscitti for months. The community seems divided, with some players defending Ruscitti and others backing the accusations.
Community Reactions
The poker community, both in Michigan and beyond, has been abuzz with opinions on the matter. Cherish Andrews, who finished as the runner-up to Ruscitti in the controversial bracelet event, expressed her frustration on X (formerly Twitter). She called out WSOP for not acting sooner, stating that it shouldn’t have taken a bracelet win to freeze Ruscitti’s account and start an investigation.
While some players are demanding that WSOP strip Ruscitti of his bracelet and redistribute the prize money, it remains unclear whether WSOP will take such a step. In the past, WSOP has been hesitant to alter results, even in cases where cheating was confirmed.
Meanwhile, poker pros like Matt Berkey have pointed out that Fair Play tools, while useful, aren’t always foolproof. False positives can occur, and there’s a possibility that Ruscitti’s case might fall into that gray area. However, the fact that WSOP Online has suspended his account suggests they’re taking the allegations seriously.
What’s Next?
As of now, Ruscitti’s account remains suspended, but no formal decision has been made. WSOP’s investigation is ongoing, and it could be weeks before a final verdict is reached. If the accusations are proven, it could result in a permanent ban from WSOP.com — though such decisions are rarely publicized. Instead, Ruscitti’s absence from future WSOP Online events might be the only indication of a ruling.
For now, Ruscitti is working to clear his name, submitting documentation to WSOP Online in an attempt to get his account reinstated. His future in the online poker world hangs in the balance.
The Impact on Online Poker
This isn’t the first time cheating allegations involving RTA use have surfaced, and it likely won’t be the last. The growing use of Fair Play tools and solvers in online poker has made it easier to detect suspicious patterns, but it’s also opened the door to debates about false positives and the role of technology in the game.
As the poker community grapples with these issues, one thing is clear — RTA accusations are no small matter. Whether Ruscitti is guilty or innocent, this incident highlights the need for continued vigilance and perhaps more robust methods to ensure fairness in online play.
For now, poker players everywhere will be watching closely to see how WSOP Online handles the situation and what this means for the future of the game.
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