Frugal Allen Kessler Turns Down a $10k Poker Freeroll

File this along with pigs flying and Hell freezing over as things too implausible to believe. Allen Kessler turned down a $10,000 freeroll opportunity to play tournament director Matt Savage heads-up.

The WPT executive tournament director took to social media on Sunday to report that he offered Kessler the $10,000 freeroll to play him this week in a “grudge match” at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

But, according to Savage, the notoriously frugal Kessler turned down the offer “because he think’s he’s +EV in poker tournaments.”

“How Insane is This Guy?”

It isn’t just Kessler who is missing out on a chance at $10,000, apparently because he would prefer to spend his time grinding the World Series of Poker (WSOP). The money was being put up by ClubWPT Gold, meaning Savage lost out on $5,000 in equity “and likely more because no shot I lose to Allen Heads Up in No Limit!”

“That’s why I’m so pissed, I would have crushed him so he likely gets zero but he had a 10% chance at a free $10,000,” the veteran tournament director wrote on X.

Many on social media were skeptical that Kessler would turn down a five-figure freeroll opportunity, with Poker Boom personality Andy Bloch calling it “fake news” and one X user saying there was “no chance he turned down a freeroll.”

But Kessler confirmed to PokerNews on Monday that he indeed turned down the opportunity.

“It’s all on Twitter,” Kessler told PokerNews when asked about the situation.

Kessler’s frugality is well documented. In 2024, he treated PokerNews to a comped steak dinner at Venetian Las Vegas after a comped Las Vegas Raiders game, but not before stopping by the Orleans across town to use up his comps there.

The would-be heads-up match would have taken place during WPT Presents: The Victor, a three-day cash game festival taking place June 4-6 at the Palms. It is branded as an event “where poker rivalries will be settled on the felt” and will feature heads-up matches like Ryan Depaulo versus content creator “TheTrooper97” and Kelly Minkin against Lily Kiletto.

Back at Horsehoe and Paris, Kessler, who earlier this year said he would win a bracelet this year, is still looking for his first cash of the 2026 WSOP. He is currently playing his second bullet in Event #14: $1,500 Mixed: Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, “Big O.”

Connor Richards is a Senior Editor U.S. for PokerNews and host of the Life Outside Poker podcast. Connor has been nominated for three Global Poker Awards for his writing.