Amid a controversy sparked after a recent poker tournament held by Hustler Casino Live, a former employee of the company was accused of stealing $15,000 from a poker player last month. Officers of the Gardena Police Department tried to arrest the suspect, however, their all-day search on Wednesday turned out to be unsuccessful as they were unable to find the former employee.
The alleged stealing of three chips with a $5,000 domination was discovered thanks to an internal investigation by the YouTube channel Hustler Casino Live. Professional poker player Garrett Adelstein accused rookie player Robbi Jade Lew of cheating during their poker play that was broadcasted by the popular poker YouTube channel on September 29. The ex-Hustler Casino Live employee is accused of stealing from Lew’s stack during the said broadcast.
Investigation into Controversial Hustler Casino Live Poker Game Reveals $15,000 Theft
On the said broadcast, Adelstein lost $269,000 in a poker game against Lew. It was the unusual play of Lew, which sparked the professional poker player’s suspicion, with Lew enjoying an unlikely win after taking a rather strange decision to play all-in when holding jack of clubs and four of hearts.
With the video of the hand in question being watched several million times and Adelstein questioning the integrity of the play, High Stakes Poker Productions, the owner of the Hustler Casino Live channel, was quick to start an investigation into the case.
Adelstein believed that Lew was given insider information during the game, which would justify the unusual move on the J4 hand. Lew denied the cheating accusations, ensuring she beat her opponent even though she misread her hand.
Following the investigation, on October 6, Hustler Casino Live published its first findings. While reviewing the video, the company found that Sagbigsal – a former employee from the production team of the channel – had access to the hole-card information of the two players since he was in the control room during the play. Sagbigsal was seen taking three $5,000 chips from Lew’s stack after the broadcast was over and the rookie player was not sitting on the table.
Lew Changes Her Mind After Initially Pressing No Charges Against Former Hustler Casino Live Employee
When informed about the theft, Lew refused to press charges. High Stakes Poker Productions fired Sagbigsal but informed that there would be no criminal prosecution as Gardena police were unable to take any actions when there were no charges pressed by the victim.
After returning half the pot to Adelstein and declining to press charges against the ex-Hustler Casino Live employee, Lew was accused by some of working together with Sagbigsal. The rookie poker player denied such accusations and then changed her mind, announcing she will press charges against the former member of the Hustler Casino Live crew.
Following the company’s release of the initial findings from the investigation, Lew Tweeted screenshots of messages she had received from Sagbigsal, who was apologizing for stealing from her. Currently, the case is being handled by the district attorney’s office of Los Angeles County. According to lead detective Hugo Gualotuna, prosecutors may take several months to decide whether to file charges.
