After the scandal involving ghosting in an online game, Dan Cates may walk away from poker
All throughout poker history, there have been a few mysterious players who have displayed great talent and aggressiveness while playing poker. For instance, there’s Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom, who played online against the best pro players before blowing up his cover in his first live event. But Dan "Jungleman" Cates has been one of a kind in the poker world since his beginnings. However, his presence could be coming to an end. Based on recent events that put him on the spot for alleged cheating at an online poker game, he might be ready to retire from the poker scene for good.
Last week, Cates was accused of engaging in a private poker game taking place in a mobile app where Bill Perkins was one of the players seated at the virtual felt. Cates was using another player's account to beat Perkins under a false name. He confessed his wrongdoing on his social media account and promised to "make things right." He got some praise for what he did, but also received harsh criticism, as well.
Now, it seems like Cates is taking advantage of the momentum created by this recent incident to share his thoughts regarding his participation in the professional poker scene. "In spite of a few pretty messed up things happening, I’ve been fortunate to be able to work on my career, personal life, and have a few tales to tell,” Jungleman says in a blog post. "[I] got screwed over a bit in new ways and in a scandal somehow despite having the tiniest role. So, I got something possibly worth more than money: life lessons and experience!" said Cates.
Besides that, he has been wanting to develop other talents in other areas of his life. "Poker no longer satisfies my ambitions," Cates goes on to say. "I have largely been working on a new career path. One where I will hopefully be able to align my crazy ambitions and selfish motives towards what is better for doing good in the world."
