Poker Cheater Banned from Hustler Casino Live Streams
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Hustler Casino Live took immediate action and banned a player named Julio "Skillsrocks" Cedillo who appeared to have peeked at his opponent's hole cards during Wednesday night's livestream.
The incident took place late in a high-stakes no-limit hold'em game in a pot the apparent cheater lost, but he made an unusually tight laydown, which made even the commentators question what was going on.
Wednesday's entire stream was one worth checking out and not just the main hand we're going to focus on in this article. According to some viewers, "Skillsrocks" peeked over at his opponent's cards on multiple occasions.
The opponent in question was Barry, a popular and respected regular on Hustler Casino Live, a livestreamed poker show at Hustler Casino in Los Angeles. One hand in particular forced HCL to completely ban "Skillsrocks" for good.
Diving into the Most Controversial Hand
The hand began with a player named Antonio raising to $1,200 with A♠4♣ on the button. "Skillsrocks," holding 9♣7♣, called from the small blind, and then Barry made the call from the big blind with 10♠8♦. Before we go any further, it should be noted that these three players had been jawing back and forth for a while, and that Barry was concerned that "Skillsrocks" was acting a bit shady.
After the action flop came out A♣7♦9♥, giving everyone a little something to remain interested, the blinds checked to Antonio, who bet out $1,000 and both players called. The turn was the 6♠, completing Barry's straight, but he again checked it over to the button. As you can hear in the following video, Antonio bets $2,400 after saying that "Skillsrocks" kicked his foot.
With two pair, it would be difficult for "Skillsrocks" to fold, especially considering he was getting better than 3:1 odds. As he pondered his move, Antonio again mocked his opponent for kicking him and appeared confused as to why he did it.
"Are you all kicking each other?" an understandably irritated Barry asked his opponents.
"No, no, I'm moving my f*****g foot," responded "Skillsrocks."
Upon a brief pause, "Skillsrocks" found a fold despite holding a very strong hand in a three-way pot on the turn. Barry, with the stone-cold nuts, called to see the 5♥ on the river. Antonio, after having it checked back to him, attempted to turn his top pair into a bluff and moved all-in for $4,000. Barry snap-called with the nuts and took down the $19,440 pot.
But there's far more to this story than Barry winning a nice pot. Many viewers accused "Skillsrocks" of peaking at Barry's cards, hence why he may have folded on the turn. This wasn't the only hand he supposedly looked at Barry's hole cards. As viewers pointed out, there are a few other times during the session in which it appears he may have done so. Time stamps to watch are at 4:14:14, 4:15:56, and 4:18:00.
Hustler Casino Live Responds
Less than 24 hours after the stream concluded, Hustler Casino Live had already made its decision on what they'd do about the alleged poker cheating incident. Co-owners Nick Vertucci and Ryan Feldman sent out a joint Twitter statement informing fans of the show that "Skillsrocks" has been banned from HCL.
Our statement on last night’s show https://t.co/FzpZz8M7Ul
— Hustler Casino Live (@HCLPokerShow)
"We at Hustler Casino Live think that protecting the integrity of the game is absolutely paramount. We won't stand for things like what happened last night on HCL," the statement read.
Watch Nick Vertucci Win an Insane Pot on Hustler Casino Live
When PokerNews covered Phil Ivey's appearance on Hustler Casino Live back in October 2021, Vertucci gave us the tour of the broadcast booth and showed us the steps they take to ensure their livestream doesn't fall victim to another alleged Mike Postle-like incident.
Hustler Casino Live commentators are not permitted to have cell phones on them while in the booth, and the players must keep their phones in a locker away from the table.
This rule, in place to protect the integrity of the game, didn't go over well with Ivey, who was more interested in his sports bets than the poker game. The Poker Hall of Famer eventually bolted from the game so he could focus on his sports betting action.
Hustler's staff refused to budge and make an exception to allow a poker celebrity to access his cell phone while at the table. The rules are the rules.
Per the show's public statement, "Skillsrocks" acknowledged his actions were inappropriate and accepted the ban from both the show and Hustler Casino in Los Angeles.
