Two-and-a-half months after one of the most infamous hands in recorded poker history, Hustler Casino Live‘s independent investigation revealed no cheating done by Robbie Jade Lew or anyone else involved in the live-streamed cash game on Sept. 29.
In a press release dropped on Wednesday, as well as a more in-depth summary published simultaneously, an investigation conducted by Bulletproof found that there was no compromised technology, there was no collusion between players and staff and no communication of hole card information of any kind.
“The investigation we conducted was extremely thorough and we found no evidence of wrongdoing in the September 29 hand. We cannot say with 100% certainty that no wrongdoing happened, just that we found no evidence of it,” said Nick Vertucci, co-owner of High Stakes Poker Productions, which owns the Hustler Casino Live poker stream. “We promised to conduct a thorough investigation and that we would release the findings publicly, no matter what is found. That is what we are doing today.”
“Our cybersecurity team found a number of areas we could improve,” Vertucci continued, “And we have followed that guidance to significantly improve the security of our stream. We are confident with the measures now in place that our stream is among the most secure in the industry. Players and fans of ‘Hustler Casino Live’ should be extremely confident that our games are safe and secure.”
On the hand in question, Lew made an improbable call with jack-four offsuit in spot where it was almost never good against seasoned high-stake cash game player Garrett Adelstein. Adelstein quickly accused Lew of cheating, and Lew soon gave Adelstein his money back shortly after the hand.
In the aftermath, Adelstein levied serious accusations against HCL, Lew and several players in the game. The story hit the mainstream, including outlets like the New York Times, and the poker community was largely divided between those who thought Lew had cheated and those that thought Adelstein had bullied Lew into giving back the money.
Despite not finding hard evidence of cheating, HCL has implemented new, stricter security protocols across the board – and that news was received positively by Adelstein.
https://twitter.com/GmanPoker/status/1603141695704424448?s=20&t=MZX5CRk_PNG63qCCoid0dw
While Adelstein has yet to return to the tables since the incident, Lew has been actively traveling to play a variety of poker tournaments, including the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Open and WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas.
In a statement to PokerNews, Lew expressed her desire to keep moving forward in her poker career.
“As you can imagine, I am relieved and looking forward to finally putting this behind me,” Lew said. “I cannot stress enough how incredibly grateful I am to all of my supporters and friends worldwide who have stuck with me through this grueling process. You have all been my strength when I needed it most. I’m excited for the next chapter … and any positive changes this incident may implement in the gaming industry! Now it’s time to go play poker.”