Logan Paul Confirms What We All Suspected About His $3.5 Million Pokemon Cards
Over the last month, Logan Paul fans have been taken on a bit of a rollercoaster ride of hype. The YouTuber and boxer made waves back in December when he announced his purchase of a box of "Pokemon" cards for $3.5 million. The box – which allegedly contained 11 first edition base set trading card boxes – was poised to be the latest jewel in Paul's collection, alongside his prized first edition Charizard. At the time of the purchase, Paul boasted that the box he'd procured was the only one of its kind in the world — a fact that was disputed by notorious trading card collector Gary "King Pokemon" Haase Unfortunately, King Pokemon wasn't the only person to take issue with the expensive find, as more hardcore "Pokemon" experts realized something was off about Logan Paul's Poke-purchase almost immediately.
Upon learning that the box he'd bought might not be legit, Paul immediately made plans to fly to Chicago and get the box authenticated. Since then, fans have been waiting on pins and needles to find out the truth. Although Paul teased an incredible discovery on his Twitter account on Wednesday afternoon, it wasn't until he posted a brand new video to his YouTube account on Thursday that he confirmed what fans had feared: The multi-million dollar box was a phony.
The moment of truth for Logan Paul's Pokemon cards
Paul began his latest video by acknowledging what a huge deal the case of cards truly was, showing off a series of clips of people reacting to the purchase and doubting the box's authenticity. With that out of the way, it was time to answer the $3.5 million question: Were these cards legit, and if not, how did they get past the authentication process in the first place?
Paul met up with Matt Allen, the investor and collector who originally purchased the box for $2.7 million before reselling to the YouTuber. Despite the nerves wrapped up in the meeting, the two were all smiles at first, sharing a drink as they discussed what to do if the box turned out to be a fake. It was at this point, however, that Allen revealed his doubts concerning the person who originally sold him the box, saying that there were numerous "inconsistencies" in the seller's story — something that seems like it should have come up before millions of dollars were exchanged.
As the video continued, Paul and Allen were joined by Steve Hart, the owner of BBCE, the company that originally authenticated the box. Paul was initially thrilled to learn that the authenticators believed the case had only gone up in value since he had purchased it. Things seemed to be looking up as the owner of BBCE explained that the box showed no signs of tampering and that the tape appeared to be the right age. Unfortunately, that excitement did not last for long.
The fake cards are revealed
Upon cracking open the box, the group was dismayed to see that the packs of cards had a "puffy" look to them, which didn't match up with other sealed first edition sets. The card boxes began to sag immediately after being pulled out of the Wizards of the Coast package, and giving each a light squeeze made it seem clear that there were no "Pokemon" cards inside.
Closer inspection revealed even more problems, including the fact that the card packs didn't even say "first edition" on them. Allen finally cut open one of the packs to reveal dozens of "G.I. Joe" cards inside. In disbelief, Paul repeatedly shouted "G.I. Joe?!"
The owner of BBCE expressed his frustration at being "duped," while his colleague referred to the box and its subsequent sale as "the biggest fraud in the entire history of 'Pokemon.'"
Allen expressed doubt that the person who'd originally sold him the cards knew they were fake, acknowledging that he'd never have bought them if he'd been aware of the truth. For his own part, Paul was seemingly devastated by the discovery, sharing with the camera, "I'm a super positive person, and I'll always be the one to look at the bright side. And I'm trying, but this is hard."
It is unclear how Logan Paul will proceed from here, but he quipped on Twitter that people needed to watch his video of the events in order to help him "get [his] money back."