Adelstein immediately accused his opponent of cheating and conspiracy theories began to fly. Some suggested that Lew had colluded with another player in the game, Jacob "Rip" Chavez. But, as the investigation into the matter concluded, there was simply never any definitive evidence, only suspicions.
High Stakes Poker Productions, the producer of Hustler Casino Live, released a detailed report of his findings on Wednesday, which can be viewed here. They also presented a summary version of the report here.
Hustler Casino Live co-owners Ryan Feldman and Nick Vertucci hired Bulletproof, a security company, to audit livestream operations and procedures. Vertucci, on his podcast The Nick Vertucci Show, made it clear that he welcomed an unbiased investigation into everyone who works for HCL, including himself.
"Bulletproof was given full access to the Hustler Casino Live facilities, including its production room, poker table, stage, and all equipment used to produce the show," the final report read.
The most important conclusion of the report was the overall conclusion, which stated that "the investigation found no conclusive evidence of wrongdoing in the J4 hand, or any other hand played that night."
Other findings from the investigation include the Deckmate automatic shuffling machine, which sparked some conspiracy theories on social media. In the report, cybersecurity researchers determined that "the Deckmate shuffling machine is secure and cannot be compromised."
"It is extremely unlikely that any card reading device stored in a water bottle, jewelry, or tabletop items intercepted a card signal," the investigation report states.
Although the investigation determined that there is no evidence of cheating on September 29, Hustler Casino Live promised to take steps to further ensure the security of the game. Since the incident, the world's most popular live-streamed poker show has already begun making changes, according to the report, starting with reconfiguring the production room so that only one monitor shows hole cards.
A new wall and door have been installed in the production room, which is kept closed and locked during live broadcasts. Only High Stakes Poker Productions employees have access to the room and Hustler Casino employees cannot enter.
Another major area of concern among those questioning the security of the Hustler Casino Live stream is that Vertucci admitted that he had not previously checked his employees' backgrounds. This became a problem when production crew member Bryan Sagbigsal was found to have stolen $15,000 in casino chips from Lew's stack after the show on September 29.
Sagbigsal, 25, has a criminal record, which has many poker players wondering why they signed him in the first place. Since then, Lew has pushed for charges, and the Gardena Police Department has issued a warrant for his arrest on felony robbery.
According to the investigative report on the jack-four saga, High Stakes Poker Productions will now conduct pre-employment background checks on "all prospective employees."
Robbi Jade Lew has always denied wrongdoing and was pleased with the result. She "had full faith and confidence in what the investigation would reveal and in Nick Vertucci, Ryan Feldman and HCL regarding the thoroughness of the investigation that was conducted."
"As you can imagine, I am relieved and excited to finally put this behind me. I cannot stress enough how incredibly grateful I am to all of my fans and friends around the world who have stuck with me through this exhausting process. You have all been my strength when I needed it most. I'm excited for the next chapter…and whatever positive changes this incident may bring to the gaming industry! Now it's time to go play poker."
Adelstein, who has long been one of the most popular high-stakes players in the game, has mostly avoided commenting on the incident, aside from occasional statements reiterating his belief that Lew cheated.
However, she posted a Tweet after the final investigation report. In this she was happy to know the details about various security measures that HCL has implemented, and at the same time opened the possibility of returning to the program:
“I've been surprised at the peace I've felt being away from anything poker in recent months. But if/when I decide to play again, I'm open to playing in HCL."
The regular Hustler Casino Live and Live at the Bike has not appeared on any broadcasts since the incident and it is unclear if and when it will return to action.
Original Hustler Casino Live Post about the investigation.
Robbi Jade Lew's Return to Hustler Casino Live (VIDEO)
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