Stones Gambling Hall Suspends All Poker Broadcasts Following Alleged Cheating

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Oct 03, 2019 6 min read

Stones Suspending all Live Streams

Stones Gambling Hall has suspended all poker broadcasts with immediate effect following the Mike Postle cheating allegations.

A tweet sent by the venue’s official Twitter account states a detailed and thorough investigation is to take place.

Joey Ingram, who took it upon himself to launch the investigation of Postle’s alleged cheating via a couple of YouTube live streams, pleaded with Stones to not let the same team who initially investigated claims of cheating, conduct this latest investigation:

“Please don’t let this be the same “team” that investigated the last allegations. They might be the worst investigation team in the history of investigations for finding 0 evidence.

I found greater than 0%> possible evidence in 20 minutes w/a bottle of water & my laptop.”

Ingram then gave Stones some pointers into how the investigation should unfold, including looking into which member of the live stream team was absent on June 17 when Postle apparently ran "like a regular player."

Suspicious Activities

It seems Postle has done some scrubbing of various social media accounts as some tweets and LinkedIn accounts have reportedly been deleted in the aftermath of the allegations being launched.

Others have wondered about the involvement of any Stones employees, with some members of Two Plus Two and viewers of the Ingram live stream bringing up Justin Kuraitis, Stones' tournament director, social media manager, and sometimes commentator on the Stones live stream. While Kuraitis' involvement in alleged cheating by Postle is considered speculative at this point, plenty have pointed to associations between the two and some potential timeline suspicions that include Postle playing less on streams and running like a "normal person" during Kuraitis' absences.

Kuraitis himself tweeted back in May why his favorite poker player is Postle, embedding a link to a hand where Postle open-shoves with nine-high on a king-high flop against a player making a move with ace-jack.

Meanwhile, others on Two Plus Two have pointed out that if the cheating allegations are found to be true, that Postle could have potentially cheated one of the poker community's heroes Kevin “Racks” Roster during one of the live streams.

Roster was a terminally ill poker fan who was given mere weeks to live this summer when he decided to spend the last of his days at the WSOP and among fellow poker players. His story touched the hearts of the poker community and on July 26, Roster took the brave step to end his fight with sarcoma via the use of medical aid in ending his life.

TwoPlusTwo member "DonWon" posted on Oct. 3, "He cheated Kevin Racks!” In his third live stream, Ingram reviewed several sessions of Postle, including one where Racks was playing.

More Potential Clues Submitted

It did not take long for Doug Polk to offer his thoughts on the Postle cheating saga. Polk created a 28-minute video on YouTube looking into the cheating allegations that included going through dozens of the live streams.

He concluded that Postle had been making approximately $1,400 per hour or $56 per hand, a win rate that is highly unlikely even in the short term for the stakes being played. While he warned the figures might not be exact, he believes them to give a good ballpark idea.

As the poker community conducts their own investigation into the allegations, some have come forward with potential clues to help with the case. One contributor is Steve Gustin, who tweeted a series of images that he suggests shows something hidden by Postle’s hat. Three images show Postle while playing on the stream with a bulge down the left side of his hat which is not present during his in-booth interview, as Gustin points out.

Another eye-brow raising observation was recently presented by Live at the Bike's Ryan Feldman, who is very familiar with technicalities of using RFID technology in his role at The Bike. He pointed to one particular hand that has been examined by Ingram where he felt something wasn't adding up.

In the hand, the graphics show Postle holding eight-six offsuit and his opponent with six-nine suited. Both players missed straight draws on the river and Postle bet, got raised, and moved all in with his opponent having relatively little money behind.

While the hand was playing out on the delay for the audience, commentators were apparently notified by production that the graphics were wrong for Postle's hand and that he actually had nine-eight of spades for the nut straight. After the river card had come out, Postle's hole cards were changed on the screen, a fact that Feldman calls a red flag. Feldman pointed out it would be impossible for the graphics person to know the cards were being shown incorrectly live as the action unfolded.

What's Next

Many have begun to wonder if and if so, what forms any legal action on the matter will take and it now appears that a civil suit is being pursued. Lawyer Mac VerStandig, who has penned several legal articles here on PokerNews, tweeted that he was looking for players affected with plans to take legal action underway.

Social Media Memes Mock

As this story continues to pick up steam and attention, many have taken to social media to poke fun at the situation through a variety of creative memes and videos.

Ingram retweeted a rather funny video someone had made for him that depicts Ingram and Doug Polk in the Hollywood blockbuster Casino.

Another meme uses the long-running parody of Adolf Hitler.

The ever-growing thread on Reddit's r/poker is filled with memes referring to the Mike Postle situation. Some examples can be seen here, here, and here.

While some may joke, the story is not a laughing matter to many and still many questions remain. You can count on PokerNews continuing to provide coverage as developments unfold.

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.

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