An item in the Las Vegas Review Journal caused a minor jaw-drop at PTP this morning.

The LVRJ quizzed Simpsons co-creator Sam Simon on his feelings regarding regulation for an article published today.

Before lobbing bombs at the Reid Bill, the TV legend and High Stakes Poker alum Simon dropped a different sort of bomb – a story about a high-stakes pro being cheated out of over $4 million online.

When you see “cheating” and “million”, your mind might go to the CEREUS scandals, right? Well, this cheating may have happened on CEREUS – who knows – but wherever it happened (if it actually happened), it wasn’t the fault of the room.

Read the whole article here.

Anyone have any idea who this story involves? Or if it’s the slightest bit true?

On the first count: We don’t, but the number of people who have lost $4 million playing high stakes online isn’t exactly a long one. Given poker the company Simon keeps, you might expect the list could be even further winnowed to live pros.

On the second count: Sounds like a “friend-of-a-friend-of-a-business-partner” story, no?

A 2+2 thread on the issue has a variety of reactions. The most common: Simon is just repeating an inflated rumor / pokerurban legend involving PokerStars pro Johnny Lodden (as the victim, not the perpetrator).