Scrabble world ‘abuzz’ after player kicked out of tournament for cheating

The unidentified player was caught sneaking in blank tiles at a Florida tournament

Some people will do whatever they can to win. Belarus shot putter Nadzeya Ostapchuk was just stripped of her Olympic gold medal after she was caught doping, U.S. figure skater Tonya Harding conspired with her husband to hit rival Nancy Kerrigan in the knee and even Scrabble players have their own way to cheat.

One of the top Scrabble players in the U.S. was kicked out of a national championship tournament in Florida after it was discovered he was hiding blank letter tiles.

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The cheater, who has not been identified by name because he's a minor, was spotted by a player at a nearby table, reports The Associated Press. The player saw the cheater conceal a pair of blank tiles by dropping them on the floor. Blank tiles can be used as any letter in the alphabet and are considered very valuable even though they don't carry any points. The unidentified player fessed up immediately after being confronted by tournament organizers.

"It does happen no matter what," said Executive Director of the National Scrabble Association John D. Williams, Jr. to AP. "It's the first time it's happened in a venue this big though. It's unfortunate. The Scrabble world is abuzz. The Internet is abuzz."

According to Williams the cheating player was competing in Division three which puts him on par with "any great living-room player out there."

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So what's the motivation for cheating in a game usually just played by couples in their living room? One guess may be money. The winner from that particular tournament receives $10,000.

Williams said players are usually good at self-policing the game, but people have tried similar stunts at small tournaments.

"It gets pretty deep. We're one step away from drug testing," Williams joked to AP. "But no steroids so far."

(Atlantic Wire image)