In a week that has seen multiple women come out accusing Vertucci of sexual impropriety, Hustler Casino Live made a light statement and promptly received condemnation from the poker industry as players and fans alike demanded more be done.
One Week Tears Apart HCL Reputation
The announcement, when it came, was short and to the direct point. Hustler Casino Live, a Nick Vertucci production had parted with the man himself.
“Effective immediately, Nick Vertucci will no longer be involved with High Stakes Poker Productions. We look forward to continuing to deliver the best high stakes poker content to the community.”
The parting of the ways – which may prove difficult due to Vertucci’s ownership of part of the Hustler Casino Live brand – came on the back of sexual misconduct allegations made by a previous player on HCL, Julia McBride. She accused Vertucci of sending her explicit and inappropriate text messages to her cell phone, two images of which appear to make that incontrovertible.
Having also alleged that Vertucci made unwanted sexual advances on her, McBride went on to detail how Vertucci blocked her appearing on the show because she wasn’t interested in him in that manner. The text messages go way beyond flirtatious and solicited if the images are proven to be – as they look – wholly undoctored.
Following McBride’s accusations, other woman came forward to detail their own similar experiences and HCL took the decision to leave Vertucci behind. Poker pro Kitty Kuo alleged that Vertucci showed her explicit images at the poker felt while in 2019, Sashimi complained of ‘sexual harassment’ at the HCL felt when Vertucci tickled her ear without her permission.
Brill and Adelstein – ‘I Told You So’
“Many are asking me if I’ll play on HCL now that they have supposedly ‘cleaned house’.” ~ Garrett Adelstein
After the admissions of McBride et al, the poker community has reacted as you might imagine, with shock and revulsion. Veronia Brill Tol Poker.Org about her own experiences of being around Vertucci.
“Julia’s tweets came out and I was at Nick’s place and I remember him being pretty stressed out all weekend,” she said. “I remember in the back of my mind thinking ‘Why is this guy so stressed out? Why is he acting like such a nervous wreck? If it’s just some disgruntled employee I’m sure the casino will help him deal with it.’ In hindsight, anytime I would question him he just [told] me what I want to hear, but Julia’s tweets come out and I was, like, ‘Oh, these texts are pretty bad.’”
Brill probed Vertucci on the legitimacy of the tweets but he initially denied any wrongdoing and said that they had a flirtatious relationship over the phone. Brill admits that she made a mistake in believing this to be true at the time.
Another poker player who has a sharp axe to grind with Vertucci is Garrett Adelstein. Yes, he of the jack-four and Robbi Jade Lew. Pilloried by the community, Adelstein has never wavered from his belief that cheating was afoot when Lew made a once-in-a-lifetime hero call.
To say Adelstein was happy about Vertucci being served – in some people’s view – his just desserts would be an understatement.
“It’s been pretty amazing hearing several brave women come forward and seeing Karma quickly take shape,” Adelstein wrote on X. “By doing so, they have protected countless others from future harassment or worse. Many are asking me if I’ll play on HCL now that they have supposedly “cleaned house” by removing Vertucci. The answer to that is a resounding hell no.
The house is far from clean. There should now be a microscope on those who knew about Nick’s behavior and did nothing or worse. This is [jack-four] repeating itself all over again in my opinion: People in positions of unchecked power doing and saying whatever they need to do to protect their business interests.”
Poker Industry Demands More from Streaming Hosts
Adelstein’s belief that more should be done is a sentiment echoed around poker. HCL are still co-owned by Vertucci, so presumably, any advertising deals that are still in place for HCL streams would further line the pockets of a man accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct. That’s not a good look for any brand hoping to nail down a reputation as a global leader in hosting fair and balanced poker cash games.
Vertucci’s alleged misconducts amount to serious crimes against multiple victims and while he is obviously complicit in them as the person allegedly making those acts, he might not be alone in facing retribution. Others who cut feeds, sat back and allowed it to happen because they were employed by Vertucci or joined in with the misogyny on display might find themselves suffering as a result of doing nothing about his behaviour.
In an age where integrity in both poker sites, poker streams and behaviour at the poker table is under such scrutiny, one questions surely remains. How could a situation such as this be allowed to develop and what measures should now be put in place carte blanche to ensure that any sort of misconduct is unable to happen again?
The lessons from previous scandals such as the Mike Postle case point to a laborious process if anything goes to a court of law.
Poker, however, may not be able to afford to move so slowly.