button in SafariPoker Player at WSOP in Hot Water Over Sex Toy Card Protector
A player in the WSOP $1,000 Super Seniors has found himself in hot water after bringing an X-rated card protector to the table.
Andrew Martin, who was competing on Day 2 of the event, told PokerNews that WSOP floor staff instructed him to remove the silver card protector after deeming it inappropriate for use during the tournament.
According to Martin, staff also issued a warning on his WSOP account and informed him that any further use of the item could result in a more serious penalty.
The Brit said he was unaware of any specific WSOP rule prohibiting the use of an anal sex toy as a card protector and claimed he had been unable to find anything in the tournament rules that explicitly justified the ruling.
In a video captured by PokerNews, Martin could be seen balancing the pleasure toy, which appears to be the same item that recently appeared in a ClubWPT Gold skit, on a large pyramid of chips:
What is the WSOP Ruling?
Unsurprisingly, the WSOP's Official Tournament Rules for the 2026 series do not specifically address the use of explicit card protectors.
Rule 112, which governs foreign objects at the table, states: "There will be no foreign objects on the table except for a maximum of one card cap (also known as a card protector). Card caps can be no larger than two (2) inches in diameter and no more than one-half (1/2) inch in depth."
However, tournament officials could point to Rule 40(d), which states: "All Participants are entitled to expect civility and courtesy from one another at every table and throughout the WSOP area... Participants who violate this rule are subject to penalty in accordance with Rules."
"All Participants are entitled to expect civility and courtesy from one another at every table and throughout the WSOP area."
Under that interpretation, staff may have determined that placing a sex toy on the table, even as a card protector, falls short of the standards of civility and courtesy expected during WSOP events.
Meanwhile, Martin, now short one card protector, has over 300,000 chips in the Super Seniors as per the WSOP Live app at the time of writing, with around 200 players remaining from the 3,323-entry field.
With $355,263 up top for the winner, you can follow all the action from 2026's $1,000 Super Seniors with PokerNews live reporting by clicking the link below:
