After more than a year away, following one of the most infamous hands in poker history, high stakes superstar Garrett Adelstein took to social media on Saturday morning to announce that he’s ready to make his return to poker.
For the most part, Adelstein has kept a low profile in 2023. His social media feed finds him focused on his family, including the birth of his first daughter Sienna in early April. By his own account, Adelstein hasn’t played a hand of poker since that October night in 2022.
But that hiatus looks to be coming to an end sooner than later and now it feels like it’s just a matter details as to when he’ll back in action. However, his current options to reemerge may be limited. On his podcast, Hustler Casino Live co-owner Nick Vertucci has made it known that Adelstein is not welcome back leaving The Lodge Poker Club and Bally Live Poker as the only two streams that regularly offer stakes high enough for Garrett.
When reached for comment, Adelstein says security is one of the things that will be at the forefront of his mind for where he chooses to make his return.
“Without question, part of the reason I have avoided streaming poker stems from a serious concern about game integrity. What I’m hoping for most, and something several streams like Bally’s and The Lodge have incorporated, is a nearly trustless system where the real-time hole cards are not seen by anyone, including ownership,” Adelstein said. “When a streaming company has a multitude of low-paid employees with this access—especially if they are, say, lifelong criminals—it’s only a matter of time before we see the next Robbi or Postle scandal.”
As much as Adelstein may ready to move on from the Jack-Four hand in terms of getting back to playing the game, when it comes to the situation itself he’s not about to forgive nor forget. On the anniversary of the hand, Adelstein took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to simply remind everyone that this is not over.
But now, drama aside, it seems like Adelstein is ready to get back to doing what made him the face of high-stakes cash in the first place. When asked about how long he things it will take him to find his game once he does make his return, Adelstein seems more than ready to find out.
“No doubt, I will be very rusty when I hop back in the mix. But I love this shit, I’m built for it, and I’m confident I’ll get back into form soon enough. Rest assured, I’ll be in there swinging for the home run ball and ready to put on a show on hand #1.”