The WSOP School of Poker appeared to be affiliated with the WSOP. From what I can tell, it wasn't. However, it is unclear whether or not they had permission to use the WSOP name, as it was reported to me that they were holding classes in casinos right before WSOP Circuit events.
The WSOP does indeed have an official poker training program called "WSOP Academy", but that service has not been involved in any scandals, and is separate from this.
WSOP School of Poker seems to be a private business, run by a guy named Arthur McFarland.
It had an impressive list of poker pros teaching for it, via a brand called "Zen Poker Mentoring".
Andy Bloch
Annette Obrestad
Antonio Esfandiari
Brian Rast
Dutch Boyd
Elliot Roe
Jeff Madsen
Jennifer Harman
Joe Cada
Kenna James “Cowboy”
Kristy Arnett
Layne Flack
Maria Ho
Mark Gregorich
Mark Stephen Edwards
Melanie Weisner
Owais Ahmed
Tom McEvoy
Tom Schnieder
Vanessa Rousso
While some (Melanie Weisner, Dutch Boyd, Layne Flack) have checkered pasts, most of these people have good reputations in the poker world. I do not believe that any of these pros were involved in the scam, and were probably victims of the whole thing, as well.
Zen Poker Mentoring appears to have been a joint venture between Brian Rast and Arthur McFarland, according to this 2015 Pokernews article.
It is unclear to me if Zen Poker Mentoring and the WSOP School of Poker are the same thing, or if they were simply associated. However, McFarland was definitely part of both.
There were actual classes held.
A guy named Matt contacted me and told me that he had purchased lessons with Brian Rast through the site, but never received them.
Here is what Brian wrote to him, after a long delay:Hi Dan Druff,
I talked to a nice guy at Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore, Scott, about a month or so ago and he said you might be able to help me out. I paid for a Poker class on November 27th 2016 for a Poker prep class to be held at Horseshoe Casino on April 27th 2017. I paid $297 and the payment was processed by Zen Poker Mentoring. As the day approached, I was excited to take my class. I looked on their website and it was nowhere to be found. I called them several times and finally the day before the class, Arthur "Ace" McFarland, called me back to tell me that it was cancelled due to the MD gaming commission wouldn't allow the class to go on unless it was free to the public. He offered me a free class in vegas or a free in home session with a pro at their home in vegas. He said he would email me after the call, I got no such email. Since then the website has shut down and Zen poker mentoring's site has shut down. Zen poker mentoring was owned by Brian Rast so I have sent him 3 emails through his website. I have not gotten a response. I also tried to call my credit card and they said it has been too long since the initial transaction to dispute the charges.
Can you help me at all? Thanks. I can email my receipt to you if that will help.
Matt S****
Ouch.Originally Posted by Brian Rast
I believe Rast, for what it's worth. However, the $297 is a small amount of money, and given that Rast seems to have owned the company (or at least Zen Poker Mentoring) with McFarland, my opinion is that Rast should just pay the guy back, even if it wasn't his fault.
Anyway, the WSOPSOP website (wsopsop.com) has gone down, and in fact the domain expired.
It does appear that Arthur McFarland has flown the coop.
I will be doing some research whether the WSOP actually gave him permission to use that name, and will post my findings here.
Anyone else scammed by McFarland -- whether a pro or a would-be student -- may post here or contact me directly with further info.
If Arthur McFarland is reading this, please contact me so we can get this squared away with the alleged victims, and I will remove this post when everyone appears to be made whole.
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