Robbi Jade Lew VS Garrett Adelstein…The #J4GATE scandal is still under investigation

It's been over a month since an explosive cheating allegation took the poker world by storm. A final internal investigation report is now awaited…And the results are likely to satisfy almost no one.

The biggest gambling scandal in years seems headed to an ambiguous conclusion, with no clear answers about what did, or didn't, happen on September 29, when high-stakes cash gamer Garrett Adelstein accused newcomer Robbi Jade Lew of cheating on a $269,000 hand he lost at "Hustler Casino Live."

"To this day, we haven't found any evidence of wrongdoing," Nick Vertucci, whose company produces the popular YouTube poker show, said in an interview Wednesday. “I will never be able to say with 100% certainty that nothing happened,'” he added. “I will be able to say: 100% we did not find anything absolutely conclusive that indicated that there was cheating.”

Vertucci thinks this open result will infuriate the poker community, but it is what it is. For weeks, players around the world have been obsessively following the developments and daily gossip of what has been, by all accounts, a strange episode in poker history.

"It's bad for everyone involved, unless you're someone who likes popcorn and watching a train wreck," said Julie Yorn, a Los Angeles film producer and poker player who has played against Adelstein and Lew. . She is clear that the incident has become a "spectator sport".

Swept up in intrigue and fueled by insatiable 24/7 interest on Twitter and other online platforms, amateur sleuths have been busy, spreading conspiracy theories about Lew and other poker players, Vertucci and his employees, and even card dealers. of the casino (although Gardena Casino and Hustler Poker are separate business entities).

“Everyone wants a pound of meat,” Vertucci said during an interview last week on the “Hustler Casino Live” stage… “It's like, do we want to know the truth or do we want to, you know, reality show?”

The first episode of “Hustler Casino Live” aired on August 3, 2021; It soon became the #1 cash game poker stream. 1 on YouTube, airing every weekday at 5 p.m. Unlike traditional television shows like the annual "World Series of Poker Main Event," where the final table is made up of whoever advances from a large field of tournament entrants, much of the success of "Hustler Casino Live " is due to the strength of its carefully selected player lineup of seasoned pros, recreational players and the occasional celebrity.

Regular viewers credit the show for its alchemy of good No Limit Hold'em poker played at the highest stakes mixed with reality-style entertainment. With big money at stake and significant exposure from being invited to play, the behind-the-scenes politicking for the coveted seats is fierce.

“Hustler Casino Live” is now facing intense scrutiny from gamers and viewers who believe the show's security was breached and have called for filming to be suspended while the investigation continues. Instead, the show has continued as usual, with daily viewership up about 35% since Sept. 29, Vertucci said.

After Adelstein-Lew's hand went viral and racked up millions of views, the company announced it would conduct an investigation. Since then, High Stakes Poker Productions has spent "probably six figures," he said, hiring Canadian cybersecurity firm Bulletproof, Los Angeles law firm Sheppard Mullin and a team of private investigators.

Investigators reviewed the September 29 game show video from start to finish and reviewed Lew's two previous appearances on "Hustler Casino Live." They used the casino's security footage to track the movements of Lew and other "persons of interest" within the property and in the parking lot over several days. They reviewed transactions at the casino cashier, where players buy and cash out their chips, for suspicious activity.

The show's poker table was dismantled and inspected, and an audit of the second-floor control room was conducted. Players and employees have been contacted for interviews, which are still ongoing; Lew said he completed his over the phone on Oct. 27.

It can be extremely difficult to detect cheating in a casino after the fact, according to Mac VerStandig, a Las Vegas-based gaming attorney who represented dozens of plaintiffs in a 2019 civil lawsuit related to a poker cheating allegation at Stones Gambling. Hall near Sacramento. The case was eventually dismissed.

"An investigation can only uncover irregularities in the areas that are being examined," said VerStandig. "If you're running an investigation that's very focused on access to a server, or how the media traveled through the wires, you're not looking at whether or not there was a low-tech version of corruption that visited a game. . And if you're focused on people, looking for low-tech corruption, you may not be as focused on the wires.

"I understand that the idea would be that you could eventually look at everything, encompass the entire universe, but that's almost never feasible."

The state Department of Justice declined to discuss Adelstein's cheating allegation and would not confirm whether its Office of Gaming Control, the law enforcement authority with special jurisdiction over gambling activities in California, was investigating. . Shaun Yaple, general manager of Hustler Casino, said the gaming office was "aware of the situation" but chose not to get involved. The casino has been helping with research into the program and is also conducting its own.

A week after the incident, High Stakes Poker Productions released the first of its findings, saying a video review showed Bryan Sagbigsal, 24, a production employee who was in the control room during filming on September 29. and had access to the players. 'hidden card information, transmitted via radio frequency identification tags embedded in playing cards, removing $15,000 worth of chips from Lew's stack after he finished filming.

Lew initially refused to file a police report, but changed his mind a few days later after the poker community accused them of collusion. Officers with the Gardena Police Department tried to arrest Sagbigsal last week in Long Beach on suspicion of grand theft, but were unable to find him and referred the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.

On Wednesday, a spokesman for the prosecution confirmed that the case had been filed and was under review; prosecutors could take several weeks to decide whether to press charges. Meanwhile Detective Hugo Gualotuna of the Gardena Police Department said he was still "actively conducting an investigation to make an apprehension."

Vertucci has promised to review the program's protocols and safety measures at both the employee and player levels, regardless of what investigators find. Previously, various staff members had access to players' hole card information, which is shown to viewers so they can follow while a hand is being played (games are broadcast on a one to four hour delay). Going forward, Feldman will be the only person allowed such access.

Players have already been banned from bringing cell phones and other electronic devices to the poker table, but personal belongings such as backpacks and keys will soon be required to be placed in signal-blocking canvas bags, which will be sealed during the game and placed in a corner of the room. A dedicated security team has also been hired.

Neither Adelstein nor Lew have waited for the official investigation to take place, and each has embarked on their own vindication campaign.

Lew, 37, has maintained her innocence, saying his controversial jack-high call in the now-infamous hand was due to a combination of misreading his cards and outplaying his opponent. He has participated in numerous podcasts to tell his side of the story and argue with those who have doubts.

In October, the former Pacific Palisades biopharmaceuticals representative scheduled her own lie detector test in Las Vegas, touting her passing results online. Vertucci said Lew was asked by the show's attorneys to take a polygraph test commissioned by the investigation and is awaiting a response; "I feel like I've done all the necessary steps that I can possibly do at this point," he said. “I am sitting here waiting and it feels like my life is at a standstill until the investigation is complete.” Lew has continued to play high-profile poker games, though not on "Hustler Casino Live."

Adelstein, 36, remains convinced he was duped. Since the game, he has retreated from the professional poker scene to conduct his own research from his Manhattan Beach home with the help of friends in and out of the poker community. He has already said, that even if the official investigation concludes without finding any traps, he will not change his mind.

Feldman, the other owner of Hustler Casino Live, said the same will be true for "tons of people who will still be convinced in their minds that something happened." "There are always going to be skeptics forever." Vertucci, his partner, believes the fallout will pass and dismisses notions that "Hustler Casino Live" could suffer in the long run: "Our show will outlast some people who have their reservations," he said, "and you're welcome not to watch it.".