Garrett Adelstein: why is he accusing Robbi Jade Lew of cheating?

One of the most recent poker scandals, and also the most talked about in a long time, is the one involving Garrett Adelstein and Robbi Jade Lew, who at a HUSTLER CASINO LIVE table, played what has been called the most "INSANE Hero Call" in history (don't you know what a Hero Call is?). Play that you can see in all its glory here.

A few days after this great game, the possibility of a curious method being used to cheat in the chess world came to light. Rumors even spoke of the use of sex toys to be able to receive illicit indications through Morse code by means of these utensils, or of the possible participation of the casino staff in the plot. All this has caused the poker world to be convulsed by the possible scandal.

Garrett Adelstein's accusations against Robbi Jade Lew are along the same lines. But why sex toys? According to some experts, because they would be undetectable in the controls, because they would allow to evade any kind of examination and because they are capable of sending precise signals that would reveal the play.

There is evidence to believe that this possibility could indeed have occurred. A sudden defeat against all odds, continuous visits to the bathroom, suspicious movements... even Elon Musk has been able to create his own controversy in this regard by adding fuel to the fire with tweets suggesting that this option could be possible.

Adelstein vs Jade Lew: what is the origin of the controversy?

Garrett Adelstein is considered one of the best cash game poker players in the world. When he was defeated by Robbi Jade Lew after going all-in on a very unconvincing hand, Adelstein's alarm bells went off and the controversy began, with accusations of cheating and disbelief among the audience.

The game was being televised from the Hustler casino in Las Vegas. At one point in the round, Adelstein has the 7♣ and the 8♣. At that point, Jade Lew was playing with J♣ 4♥.

The flop exposed three cards: 10♥ 10♣ 9♣. Adelstein bet high because of his chances of making a straight, even opting for a straight flush on the river. It was then that Jade Lew surprised everyone by calling the bet and pushing the pot up to $269,000. A move that even raised the laughter of some of the opponents who were present at the table.

The situation was confusing at times. Even the commentators began to wonder if it was possible that his hand was being misinterpreted in the graphics that were being shown.

The river was played twice, bringing nothing to either player. Lew ended up winning the $269,000 pot with jack-high. At that point, Adelstein gave what was described on television as a "withering look" as he said aloud that he didn't understand what was going on. Here you can see an analysis of the play.

Despite the improbability of the hand and the result, the truth is that the Hustler casino did not see anything suspicious at first. However, with the passing of the hours it communicated that it would initiate its own investigation to try to clarify if there had been any irregularities. In fact, the casino itself has stated that it might even make use of a lie detector to try to shed some light on this story, which could be one of the biggest poker scandals in recent history.

What is the current status of the case?

The investigation is still ongoing, but another crime related to the controversy has come to light that does not involve either of the two protagonists. It involves the misappropriation of $15,000 in poker chips by one of the casino staff members from Robbi Jade Lew.

The culprit of this chip theft would be Bryan Sagbigsal, who apparently snatched those chips when Robbi was not at the table. Despite this revelation, Jade Lew did not press charges for the benefit of all parties to avoid an escalation of tension among the other parties involved.

Adelstein remains convinced that his opponent did not play a legitimate hand. In an attempt to calm things down, Lew has returned the $269,000 he won in the hand voluntarily. There are those who see in this gesture a feigned altruism, trying to exonerate herself for fear of being discovered, although the truth is that for the moment nothing has been said about the player's guilt.

But this return, according to Garrett's statements, was offered by Robbi herself, in a private conversation with one of the casino partners and Garrett, who confronted her with the fact that this hand was going to be online and that it was going to be seen by millions of people and would not go unnoticed.

Garrett says she took the money because she has no doubt that she was somehow cheated, and she adds to the tension by stressing that, after the hand, she began to receive threats from another player at the table, Robbi's partner, and that she finally decided to get up and go home. Garrett claims that in his 20 years of profession he has demonstrated a love of poker and the good game and that there is no way he would have accepted his money back if he thought it had been won in a fair way, even if it was a "bluff".

In addition, to add more morbidity and meat on the grill, someone has realized that the records of the players in The Hebdon Mob had been mixed with that of another player, resulting that Robbi Jade Lew has been playing as a pro for less than a year, with earnings of less than $66K in total, which makes many wonder how it is possible that with a profile like hers, has been able to access tables where people like Phil Ivey and other masters of the High Stakes sit. Not to mention that at those tables they play at levels far above the usual for Jade Lew.

However, even with all of the above still "hot", Robbi Jade Lew has challenged Garrett Adelstein to a face to face after what happened.

While Garrett has written an "open letter" laying out his side of the story, Robbi has said on Twitter that she felt "coerced" by Garrett to return the money, as he cornered her - and these are her words - in a "dark hallway," as well as giving her furious glances across the table.

To add more tension to this bizarre story, an employee of the MGM Casino where the High Stakes tables were played under the WPTGlobal brand, and broadcast on the HUSTLER CASINO LIVE program, has confirmed that it was Garrett who demanded Robbi to return the money lost in the bet.

At the moment, pros like Daniel Negreanu, blogs like Zero's Poker or Joei Ingram are giving their opinion, while the Hustler Casino announces that it is preparing measures, such as the possibility that employees and players will have to go through a lie detector.

On the other hand, the prospect of a bad game is gaining ground, supported by the fact that Robbi has been playing for less than a year, and that his economic status is quite high. All this added to some unfortunate details.

Two possibilities collide: that of a trap with accomplices, or that of a simple bad game. Professional and amateur poker are divided, with polarized opinions.

Also, unfortunately, this whole issue has begun to be approached from a gender perspective, since, in networks, some activists have begun to approach the problem from the perspective of Man vs Woman, putting feelings before the possible realities behind the case.

Voices are already raised accusing Garrett of having a violent, overpowering and misogynistic attitude towards Robbi, for the mere fact of having been defeated by a woman.

Even UTBH has entered the topic! Indeed, the controversial influencer and youtuber UTBH "A Straight White Guy" has addressed the issue, explaining his point of view and correctly analyzing the play from the poker point of view.

The latest news of the case brings more murky data: the producer of the event, when reviewing the audiovisual materials, detected that one of its employees had taken 15K of Robbi's chips, but after communicating it to the professional player and faced with the possibility of being able to make a complaint or file charges with the authorities, Robbi, mysteriously, had given up reporting the theft, despite the fact that her own husband is a lawyer. Curiously, she also failed to report the theft of the 15K to her chips during the night of the game.

The shady part of it is that the employee, a certain "Bryan", is one of the people she trusts, who has access to the cameras and card sensors during the game. The production company, although Robbi did not press charges, has proceeded to fire the employee.

Misogyny? misunderstood feminism? exposed machismo? cheating in the game? We don't yet know all the details of this affair, but it has become an issue that has grown outside the poker world to flood opinion columns and social media outside the realms of the game.

At the moment, Garrett Adelstein seems more focused on the litigation that is currently still open than on accepting the rematch. And is that, if the suspicions of the beaten player are confirmed, it could be one of the most controversial poker games that Las Vegas has hosted. It is not the first example of cheating that the poker world has seen, but it is being one of the most mediatic in the recent history of poker.

The controversy is still going on. Read it on this article.