Nearly a year after an alleged cheating scheme at Stones Gambling Hall in Citrus Heights rocked the poker world and spawned a $30 million lawsuit, the case has been settled for an undisclosed amount and lawyers in the case agree Stones was not involved in any cheating.
“A number of my clients chose to settle the case with the casino,” attorney Maurice “Mac” VerStandig said in a telephone interview Monday. “It’s an amicable settlement that we’re happy to enter into.”
The terms of the settlement were not disclosed, although a Stones source said the payment amount is “nominal” and being made to “show good will.”
The lawyer for Justin Kuraitis, Stones’ live poker manager who also was sued and accused of not taking other players’ complaints about the alleged cheating seriously, went even further.
“I would characterize the settlement as a complete vindication,” attorney Richard Pachter said.
And, in an unusual twist, VerStandig provided a statement as part of the settlement that says flat-out that neither Stones nor Kuraitis were involved in any sort of cheating.
“After reviewing evidence with the cooperation of Stones, my co-counsel and I have found no evidence supporting the plaintiffs’ claims against Stones, Stones Live Poker, or Justin Kuraitis,” the statement says. “My co-counsel and I have found no forensic evidence that there was cheating at Stones or that Stones, Mr. Kuraitis, the Stones Live team, or any dealers were involved in any cheating scheme.
“Based on our investigation, we are satisfied that Stones and Mr. Kuraitis were not involved in any cheating that may have occurred. While Stones has not spoken publicly regarding the details of their investigation during its pendency, its counsel and Mr. Kuraitis’ counsel have been immensely cooperative behind-the-scenes.”
Late on October 2nd, Stones tweeted it was 'suspending all broadcast of poker play' while it conducted a 'multifaceted investigation with outside experts,' - seemingly the second investigation. STONES LIVE puts real poker action on a worldwide stage. Every Monday and Wednesday and Satuday at STONES GAMBLING HALL, poker cash games are streamed on YouTube and Twitch. It’s your chance to show off your skills to the world. Viewing is free, and anyone can sign up to play.
Stones Gambling Hall in Citrus Heights, Calif., has opened an outdoor casino with poker. Gaming tables and restaurants are housed under a large tent to conform with state guidance. Poker will be 8-handed on tables with Plexiglas dividers. Masks and temperature checks are mandatory.
The statement does not mention the main player in the casino drama — poker player Michael Postle — whose winning streak at Stones drew accusations of cheating by other players and led to the lawsuit.
But Postle broke his silence for the first time late Monday, proclaiming his innocence in a text message sent to The Sacramento Bee.
“As much as I’d like to say, all I can really say right now is that I have my side of this entire fiasco to tell,” Postle wrote. “It won’t just shock the poker and gambling industries, but the entire world.
“This all goes way beyond just my innocence, but includes an entire incredible 17+ year story along with it, and what’s happened since the allegations. In fact, it’s such a mind blowing story, that it’s being told to Dave Broome at 25/7 Productions who will be producing a wild documentary for the world to see on it!
“I’ve been waiting for many, many months on this and I’m anxious for it to finally come out. So to all the detractors and accusers who have asked, ‘Why hasn’t he spoken or provided his evidence of innocence and explanations?’
“Well guess what? ... Now you know.”
Postle declined to be interviewed beyond the statement he provided.
A federal judge in Sacramento earlier dismissed the lawsuit against the casino, Kuraitis and Postle on the grounds that California law does not allow for lawsuits to recover gambling losses, but the judge agreed to allow for a refiling of an amended lawsuit against the casino.
Instead, court papers say the case has been settled on behalf of most of the plaintiffs, who alleged that Postle racked up an astounding series of hands that amounted to him winning 94% of his poker games and collecting $250,000 while playing at Stones from July 2018 through September 2019.
VerStandig said 61 of the 88 poker playing plaintiffs have signed settlement agreements in the case and that some others have indicated no desire to pursue the matter further.
The original lawsuit alleged that Postle had a communications device hidden inside his ball cap and had his cellphone under the table during web broadcasts of poker games that somehow allowed him to see opponents’ hole cards.
“While playing in Stones Live Poker games, Mr. Postle has won more money than any other participant, in total, and had oftentimes been the winningest player on the show on any given night in which he is a participant,” the lawsuit claimed. “Mr. Postle’s winnings on the Stones Live Poker broadcast, and his correlative play of poker, have been so exceptionally outstanding as to lead the commentator to note his seemingly mystical abilities on numerous occasions, and to lead Stones (Live) Poker to produce various graphics portraying Mr. Postle as a deity-like individual imbued with omniscient powers (with one such graphic conflating an image of Mr. Postle and an image of Jesus Christ).”
The accusations created an international uproar online in the poker community, which analyzed videos of Postle’s poker play, and led to poker websites such as cardschat.com and pokernews.com calling it one of the biggest poker stories of last year.
The allegations also led to Stones and state regulators launching their own investigations, and to Kuraitis being tarred online as somehow involved.
Now, Kuraitis is speaking out for the first time about how the scandal affected him.
“In the fall of 2019, I watched as the ‘poker community’ and wanna-be ‘celebrity’ commentators on Twitter/YouTube falsely accused me of being a knowing participant in what was allegedly the ‘biggest poker cheating scandal in history,’ ” Kuraitis wrote in a four-page statement obtained by The Bee. “The allegations against me were false.
“However, the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Gambling Control still conducted an investigation with which I completely and voluntarily cooperated. Because of the investigation and then civil litigation, I was counseled to remain silent and let the process play out without making public comment. I did so, all the while wondering if the record would ever be set straight, if the poker community would ever take me back and if those that falsely accused me would ever apologize or if they would just go on to the next effort to collect clicks and followers.”
Kuraitis said he found himself facing an online “propaganda machine” that resulted in threats against him.
“The Twitter mob is real, it is ugly, and it has real life consequences,” he wrote. “I have never before experienced so much hatred, ignorance and even threats of violence.”
Kuraitis is still with Stones, but whether Postle is still playing poker is not clear.
VerStandig said he had not heard of Postle playing anywhere.
“Courtesy of COVID, live poker has been virtually on hiatus,” VerStandig said. “I imagine that my phone would ring if he were seen playing somewhere.
“The poker world is small and insular. My phone has not rung.”
———
©2020 The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.)
Visit The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.) at www.sacbee.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
It’s rare that mainstream media reports on poker, but last week’s news bombshell about an alleged cheater who had infiltrated a low-stakes, live-streamed cash game has captured the attention of even casual gambling enthusiasts.
Mike Postle, a former casino employee, has been accused by insider whistle blowers of cheating the Stones Live Poker game in Northern California out of upwards of $250,000, rarely playing above stakes of $5-$5 no-limit hold’em for the last couple of years.
Although charges have yet to be filed, the developing story was picked up by ESPN, who ran a segment with Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter, explaining the allegations.
Van Pelt, who admitted he was just a poker novice, ended his reporting with a question that has been on the minds of many poker players since rumors of cheating began to surface.
“If you show up to play pick up basketball, and you never, ever miss a shot, for a couple of years, wouldn’t you go play in the NBA? If you are some sort of poker god, who almost never loses, who makes the right call or fold virtually every single time… If you were [that] good, why would you be playing in games only with a video feed… at a $1-$3 table at Stones Poker Room? Why wouldn’t you be in Vegas winning all the money in the world?”
Although innocent until proven guilty, in the court of public opinion, at least on social media, there are very few players standing in Postle’s corner. Poker Hall of Famer and 2003 WSOP main event winner Chris Moneymaker initially came to his longtime friend’s defense, but after reviewing the evidence has changed his mind, saying, “I think he did it.”
In addition to hand breakdowns down by poker personalities like Joe Ingram and Doug Polk, numerous other players have come forward to say that Postle is guilty, including Daniel Negreanu, Jason Koon, Matt Berkey, Scott Seiver, Christian Harder, Haralabos Voulgaris, Sam Greenwood, Bart Hanson, Dan Shak, Phil Galfond, Brandon Shack-Harris, and Ryan Riess. Matt Salsberg summed up the poker world’s thoughts best.
Made a vlog analyzing the Postle situation. pic.twitter.com/TT24y5rmBP
— Salty (@msalsberg) October 1, 2019
The initial sign of trouble for the show came from Veronica Brill, a frequent commentator on the stream who first noticed the suspicious play from Postle.
Stones Poker Scandal
This was the last show I did commentary on for Stones Live Poker. A lot of what @Mike_Postle was doing didn't make sense. It was after this show i decided that i wanted to take it to the MF streets.
This clip shows how confused I was by his play
https://t.co/fTJ9gyZlod
— Veronica 2.0 (@Angry_Polak) October 4, 2019
Brill’s concerns were quickly brushed aside by management, who assured her and others that the games were on the up and up after an internal investigation “found no evidence that any cheating had occurred.”
The lack of accountability has led some to believe that Production Manager and Stones Live Poker Tournament Director Justin Kuraitis is also involved in the scandal. Internet sleuths have discovered that Kuraitis was present for most, if not all of Postle’s winning sessions. In fact, a two-month stretch where he was in Las Vegas lines up well with a small downswing and limited playing schedule from Postle.
Questions sent to Kuraitis’ Twitter account went ignored. Postle plans to release a statement on Mike Matusow’s The Mouthpiece podcast Friday night.
Stones opted to run one more live stream game the night after the allegations went viral, even including Postle’s brother in the line up. The casino announced another show the next day, before social media pressure forced a cancellation. The Stones Live Poker Twitter account even changed it’s profile photo to one of their logo behind bars, in an attempt at poking fun at themselves that many called tone deaf.
Stones has since announced they are halting the live-streamed games and use of RFID playing cards while they conduct another investigation. But despite claims that the fact-finding team would be independent, it took less than an hour for disappointed poker players to discover that the team’s leader, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Lipman, is also the Stones Casino owner’s personal defense attorney.
Stones Poker Atlas
While most of the poker world agrees Postle cheated, what they can’t agree on is how he allegedly carried out his scheme. Theories range from an accomplice signaling him with a buzzer tied to his leg, to an RFID reader in his keys. Some believe he was using bone conducting headphones sewn into his hat to listen to cues, while others are convinced he had a video player in his lap tuned to the live broadcast.
Comments are closed.