Former Stones Live Commentator Veronica Brill, who was the whistle blower on the Mike Postle cheating allegations, along with 24 other poker players who were affected by playing with Postle, are taking their case to court.
According to the lawsuit filed Tuesday afternoon by Mac VerStandig and his legal team, which also includes poker pro and lawyer Kelly Minkin, those 25 poker players are seeking damages of more than $30 million from Postle, King’s Casino, the owner of Stones Gambling Hall, Tournament Director and Stones Live Poker Production Manager Justin Kuraitis, and any unnamed co-conspirators in the alleged scam.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of California. It accuses the defendants of nine counts of racketeering, fraud, negligence and libel.
In the suit, VerStandig and his team detail the findings from the collective investigative work done by the poker community.
It highlights Postle’s absurdly high win rate, which is more than six times what some of the top players expect to earn, and resulted in more than $300,000 in estimated profit. The infrequency and timing of his losses, the supposed RFID malfunctions on the stream, and the peculiar body language Postle displayed while constantly checking his phone is also mentioned.
While laying out the case that he cheated, VerStandig’s legal team made it clear that statistically, these results were more than just a heater, as Postle’s apologists have claimed.
“Analytical observation reveals Mr. Postle’s exponential winnings cannot be explained through finely-honed abilities to ‘read’ opponents, as myriad optimal plays made by Mr. Postle required not merely an analysis of his opponent’s self-perceived strength or weakness in a poker hand, but rather the precise composition of such hand; while such may be anecdotally attributed to guess work in a vacuum, Mr. Postle was continuously correct in making such assessments over a period of time in excess of a full year,” the lawsuit read.
The document went on to allege that Postle also likely committed wire fraud if it is his cell phone that allowed him access to the hole cards of the other players.
The suit also accuses Tournament Director Kuraitis, who runs the live stream, of aiding in an initial cover up of the alleged cheating. Individuals approached Kuraitis about the situation as early as March, but Kuraitis brushed off all the concerns brought to his attention, and even cleared Postle of any wrongdoing after an apparent internal investigation.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages of $10 million from Postle for fraud, another $10 million from Stones Gambling Hall for being negligent in their duty to ensure a fair game, and $10 million from Kuraitis on a fraud count for his potential cover up of the situation.
Veronica Brill is seeking an additional $1,000 on a libel count against Stones after they tweeted that the allegations she brought to light were “completely fabricated.”
Shortly after the suit was filed, poker pro Matt Berkey, who owns RFID technology and was one of the first to bring to light that those RFID errors were not possible, released a YouTube video detailing how one person with access to the stream, could send the hole cards of the other players to a single player in real time.
The video showed a blue screen that could be sent from the production area to a cell phone.
Ok, I may have stumbled onto something HUGE!!! Just made a quick video demonstrating just how easy it would be to have perfect real time info with the help of someone from the control room. This may also explain the crotch staring & stuffed hat. https://t.co/sVYIjdaMDn
— Matt Berkey (@berkey11) October 8, 2019
In response to this video, one member of a poker forum tweeted a link to a picture of Postle holding his phone on the broadcast. The phone’s screen was also blue.
It is important to note that the photos posted on the forum have not been verified, and that Berkey’s video was not the reason the lawsuit was filed.
Postle has not responded publicly since appearing on a podcast over the weekend and challenging Doug Polk to a heads-up match.
If these pics can be authenticated, this may be the smoking gun https://t.co/XYPzogc1R7
— Matt Berkey (@berkey11) October 8, 2019
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