ShareThe two players at the epicentre of the Hustler Casino Live cheating scandal have responded to the Investigation Report released by High Stakes Poker Productions.
With no cheating found by investigators, Robbi Jade Lew stated that “the results were as I expected,” while Garrett Adelstein said: “if/when I do decide to play again, I’m open to playing on HCL.”
The report – commissioned by Hustler Casino Live (HCL) owners High Stakes Poker Productions (HSPP) – was highly-anticipated by the poker community.
Ten weeks in the making, the report states that “no direct evidence of cheating was found” although it makes multiple recommendations for tightening up security for the popular livestreamed cash game.
Lew, who was accused of cheating by Adelstein after an incredible river call with only jack-high for a $269,000 pot, described the process she had been through as “treacherous” and welcomed the report’s conclusions.
Describing the results as being “as I expected”, Lew added: “I am obviously now entering another stage of this journey, as there are still loose ends that need to be resolved.”
She revealed: “There will be subsequent commentary and statements issued by my legal team shortly,” having hinted at Garret Adelstein’s next move determining her own response.
Adelstein, who made multiple serious accusations against Lew and others involved in the HCL livestream, players and staff included, has been silent on the issue over the past few weeks.
However, he took to Twitter last night to respond to the report’s findings, though he didn’t apologise to Lew or others for the uproar his accusations caused.
In addition to our lead tweet above, he stated: “I’ve surprised myself with the peace I’ve felt being away from all things poker in recent months. But if/when I do decide to play again, I’m open to playing on HCL.”
Hustler Casino Live also revealed that Adelstein’s return is an option they would consider...
The poker community, however, is still split on the issue of Lew’s cheating, though many now believe Adelstein should simply apologise for his claims.
The HCL Cheating Investigation Report
The report, which looked into every aspect of the show’s setup from tables and chairs, to the cards and chips, to the players and the backroom production area, didn’t completely exonerate HCL, HSPP, or others involved in the infamous September 29th livestreamed cash game.Bulletproof, the cybersecurity company brought in to investigate, stated: “While no direct evidence of cheating was found, Bulletproof found that cheating with the Sept. 29 setup was possible.”
Although an HSPP statement read: “The investigation found no conclusive evidence of wrongdoing in the J4 hand, or any other hand played that night,” show producer Nick Vertucci stated: “We cannot say with 100% certainty that no wrongdoing happened, just that we found no evidence of it.”
Vertucci’s co-owner of HCL, Ryan Feldman, added: “There’s no way to 100% prove that nothing happened. But I think a lot of people will be satisfied by this and see that we did everything we could to try to figure this out. We are ready to move on.”
The internal investigation did take issue with Lew's relationship with another player in the game, Jacob “Rip” Chavez.
“The undisclosed financial relationship between Ms. Lew and Mr. Chavez creates the appearance of collusion between the two players,” the report stated. “Such conduct is widely considered unethical in the poker community and is prohibited in ‘Hustler Casino Live’ games.”
Meanwhile, there was an update in the case of Bryan Sagbigsal, the HSPP staffer who was caught on camera stealing $15k in chips from Lew’s stack at the end of the show.
The investigation found that HSPP did not conduct a pre-employment screening of Mr. Sagbigsal, who had a prior criminal record, including for theft.
However, according to Sagbigsal’s arrest warrant he also stole $5k from Hustler Casino on the day of the show, with Poker Fraud Alert’s Todd Witteles asking the pertinent question...
HSPP states that, going forward, they will hire a professional agency to perform background checks on prospective employees, as well as periodic financial background checks.
The “Scandal of the Year” may have become less scandalous with the report’s release, but it’s likely the ramifications will continue for quite some time.
