Does Audio Reveal that Mars Cheated in Private Poker Game?
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PokerNews has obtained a phone conversation between Wesley Fei and the poker player he accused of cheating a private game out of millions, Tony Mars.
During the 17-minute chat (video below), the Hustler Casino Live regulars and former friends had a heated discussion, which included subtle threats of violence and Mars dancing around the idea that he cheated a Southern California private game out of more than $3 million.
This is the first of two audio clips we've obtained, and will release Part II this weekend, which includes additional juicy content.
Mars Denies Cheating Poker Home Game
Subtle Threats of Violence Made
The conversation, which took place after the accusations were made, is in Mandarin between the Chinese poker players, but it has been translated in English subtitles using ChatGPT.
"I’m calling you right now to discuss something. It’s not important whether I win or lose, and I want to explain the situation to you. I’ve already talked to the boss about this. I don’t want any more overly aggressive actions. I can’t control the boss anymore, and I will come back tonight to meet you at the Luohan Temple and discuss this with you," Mars states at the beginning of the call.
Wesley has mentioned on Twitter multiple times recently that Mars and his group of alleged poker cheaters have threatened his life over the accusations. The audio clip backs up that claim, with threats of "blood shed" and harm done to Wesley's mother made.
"It’s not about how to discuss, just that I don’t understand. There’s no need to escalate this any further. You… because I can’t control it now. I can’t control the boss anymore. Tonight, I’ll come back and meet you to discuss the remaining issues," Mars continued.
Wesley asserts that Mars and a few others in the Yorba Linda, California home game used a special marked deck to cheat the game. He claims Mars brought in a dealer named "Mike," apparently French pro Arnaud Mattern, who has $2.5 million in The Hendon Mob results.
According to the accuser, the group of alleged cheaters have been cheating other poker games out of money. Wesley alleges that it's a widespread cheating ring involving Mars, Mattern, and a few others, including a Yorba Linda player who uses the name "Bruce" but is apparently Shane Hennen, a convicted felon from Pennsylvania.
On the Poker Cheating Issue
Much of the discussion involves threats and arguing over how much money the two feuding poker players have. Mars, in the call, said he's broke except for expenses despite allegedly scamming poker games out of millions. But what does the audio clip indicate in terms of the cheating allegations? That all comes down to how the conversation is interpreted.
Wesley attempted to get Mars to straight up admit he cheated and that all the allegations are true. That didn't technically happen, but there also was no denial, and he gave off hints that Wesley's and Nikhil "Nik Airball" Arcot's accusations may be, at the very least, partially true.
"I don't care about this matter anymore, whether this call is recorded or not," Mars tells Wesley after being confronted about cheating the game. "This matter is now about you losing, you winning, whether I cheated or not, whether I admitted it or not. I really don't care anymore. I don't want this matter to escalate further."
Following the initial allegations, Mars issued a statement with PokerNews, denying having cheated the poker game in question. But he wasn't in denial mode during his phone conversation with the accuser. Instead, he made physical threats in hopes of convincing Wesley to delete some tweets and to stop publicly accusing the group of cheating poker games.
The following segment within the call is perhaps the most important as it appears Mars is concerned Wesley's public outcry will prevent the alleged cheaters from finding new games to cheat.
"But what about the money owed? The con team also made money, right?" Wesley asked.
"It's no longer about the money for them now," Mars responded."
"Why would they do this then?" Wesley questioned, referring to the threats made against him. "Why would they want to mess with people after taking the money?"
"Because you've blocked their future path," Mars answered. "The money they earned here, is not their big money."
"They still have to go to other card games, right?" asked Wesley.
"Anyway, I think you shouldn't push them too hard," Mars responded, ducking the question.
The full 17-minute conversation is below:
During that chat, Mars hinted that he'd delete his tweets and return to China. He has since deleted his Twitter account altogether. PokerNews will have a separate phone recording between Mars and Wesley this weekend.
