It has been almost a year since Veronica Brill and 24 other plaintiffs filed suit against Mike Postle, live poker director Justin Kuraitis and Stones Gambling Hall citing a total of nine allegations of which included fraud, negligence, libel and unjust enrichment. While many in the poker community took to social media to express their thoughts over the alleged cheating scandal, the case eventually led to a signed settlement agreement for an undisclosed amount for 62 out of the 88 plaintiffs. Since then, Postle has broken his silence along with Kuraitis having addressed the poker community to express his sentiments regarding the year-long case.
Postle files countersuit for defamation
After the recent legal battle for one of the biggest cheating scandals to hit the poker industry, it would seem news of the scandal would die down given a conclusion was already reached. Todd Witteles, however, just revealed yesterday in a Twitter post that Postle has decided to countersue Veronica Brill, ESPN, Joey Ingram, Haralabos Voulgaris, Daniel Negreanu, Upswing Poker, PokerNews, Crush Live Poker, Poker Coaching, Solve for Why Academy, Todd Witteles and Run It Once for defamation.
This will be drowned out by the Trump news, but Mike Postle is suing me, @Angry_Polak, @ESPN, @Pokernews, @PhilGalfond, @haralabob, @BartHanson, @RealKidPoker, @JonathanLittle, @Joeingram1, and @DougPolkVids for defamation.
Suit is obviously frivolous and I will fight it. pic.twitter.com/JiZANp3mWH
— Todd Witteles (@ToddWitteles) October 2, 2020
While more information is yet to be released to the public, the tweet has racked up dozens of responses from the poker community with many saying that the action may possibly backfire on Postle. It has only been a couple of weeks since Stones Gambling Hall has settled its standing poker lawsuit with the plaintiffs’ attorney Mac VerStandig having issued a statement supporting the non-involvement of Stones and Kuraitis in any form of cheating.
“After reviewing evidence with the cooperation of Stones, my co-counsel and I have found no evidence supporting the plaintiffs’ claims against Stones, Stones Live Poker, or Justin Kuraitis,” VerStandig noted. “My co-counsel and I have found no forensic evidence that there was cheating at Stones or that Stones, Mr. Kuraitis, the Stones Live team, or any dealers were involved in any cheating scheme.”
“Based on our investigation, we are satisfied that Stones and Mr. Kuraitis were not involved in any cheating that may have occurred. While Stones has not spoken publicly regarding the details of their investigation during its pendency, its counsel and Mr. Kuraitis’ counsel have been immensely cooperative behind-the-scenes.”, revealed VerStandig in a statement.
Postle breaks his silence
Postle’s participation in the alleged cheating situation was left out in the statement mentioned above leaving poker enthusiasts waiting to hear from the accused himself. After turning down multiple interview requests from media and poker news outlets, Postle finally broke his silence providing a statement via text to The Sacramento Bee saying, “As much as I’d like to say, all I can really say right now is that I have my side of this entire fiasco to tell,” Postle wrote. “It won’t just shock the poker and gambling industries, but the entire world.”
“This all goes way beyond just my innocence, but includes an entire incredible 17+ year story along with it, and what’s happened since the allegations. In fact, it’s such a mind blowing story, that it’s being told to Dave Broome at 25/7 Productions who will be producing a wild documentary for the world to see on it!”
“I’ve been waiting for many, many months on this and I’m anxious for it to finally come out. So to all the detractors and accusers who have asked, ‘Why hasn’t he spoken or provided his evidence of innocence and explanations?’ Well, guess what? Now you know.”
As the poker community eagerly waits for the release of the mentioned documentary, more of the story on how Postle successfully walked away with winning 94% of his poker games and collecting $250,000 in profits amidst the cheating accusations will eventually come to light in the coming months. For now, Postle remains to stand his ground in reaffirming his innocence in this publicized mess.
Kuraitis speaking out for the first time
In addition to the controversies and countersuits, Stones’ tournament director Justin Kuraitis who was alleged to have helped Postle in the said cheating scandal, spoke out regarding the effects of the case and his personal thoughts on the following developments since the news broke out. In a four-page document, he presented himself as a victim of false accusations and internet bullying while justifying his actions and innocence in the whole charade.
“In the fall of 2019, I watched as the ‘poker community’ and wanna-be ‘celebrity’ commentators on Twitter/YouTube falsely accused me of being a knowing participant in what was allegedly the ‘biggest poker cheating scandal in history.’”, wrote Kuraitis in his statement.
“I watched in utter amazement as Joey Ingram devoted hour after hour to ‘PostleGate’. Some of the videos were entertaining and they certainly were great for increasing Ingram’s popularity, but as I watched them it became clear that Ingram was peddling false statistics, cherry-picking hands to fit his theories and ignoring data that did not fit his version of the story.”
“The Twitter mob is real, it is ugly, and it has real life consequences. I have never before experienced so much hatred, ignorance and even threats of violence. All this just because of one person on Twitter and the mob of people who were willing to believe her without facts.”, he further added.
Aside from addressing the poker community’s response, Kuraitis also mentioned whistleblower Brill’s outrageous tendencies in an attempt to discredit and justify his path of action in the said circumstance.
“You see, Veronica has this penchant for making outrageous statements and frivolous claims about people. The irony is she has done this in the past to some of her co-plaintiffs in this lawsuit, who now publicly claim to be her friends. She would often make these claims to me and after a while, it became a lot like ‘the boy who cried wolf’.”, Kuraitis noted.
To end, Kuraitis highlighted his struggles as he faces the outrage of the online poker community for his involvement in the case. While the accused were technically acquitted of the charges, poker enthusiasts remain skeptical of the overall verdict on the situation.
1) You and Postle are innocent in the eyes of the law because the legal system is not fit to determine if you were cheating or not.
2) Gambling debts in court are very difficult to enforce.
3) Please stop insulting the poker community with this complete nonsense. https://t.co/urZkE3pgue
— Doug Polk (@DougPolkVids) September 15, 2020
