Nothing personal

It looks like Garrett Adelstein won’t be appearing on Hustler Casino Live again any time soon, despite being a very popular player on the show. The owners of the show have made a “business decision” regarding Adelstein’s participation, further fallout from last year’s scandal in which he accused Robbi Jade Lew of cheating during a live-streamed session.

Despite reports that said otherwise, co-owner Nick Vertucci reiterated on Twitter that Adelstein isn’t banned from appearing on the live-streamed cash game:

The owners have decided that Adelstein should not appear again for the time being. Vertucci emphasized that this decision is not personal and that the co-owners have no hard feelings toward him.

Major “cheating” scandal

Adelstein courted controversy in September when he accused fellow player Robbie Jade Lew of cheating during a Hustler Casino Live session. Neither of them has played on the show since then.

The poker professional accused Lew of cheating him out of a $269,000 pot after she called a six-figure bet from Adelstein on the turn with only Jack-high. Lew ended up winning the hand, which led to Adelstein protesting and ultimately leaving the show. Lew offered to repay Adelstein and he accepted. Adelstein subsequently took to forums and social media to share what he believed was evidence of the alleged cheating.

they ultimately found no proof of cheating

The show’s production company hired third-party investigators to look into the matter, but they ultimately found no proof of cheating. Lew went so far as to take a polygraph test to try to prove her innocence.

No change of stance on the horizon

Vertucci had considered having Lew and Adelstein back on the same show, naturally believing that it would generate a lot of attention. His fellow co-owner Ryan Feldman wasn’t a fan of the idea. Feldman is in charge of selecting the line-ups; he does not plan to invite either player for the foreseeable future.

Adelstein was generally quite successful on Hustler Casino Live, appearing 53 times and finishing up more than $1.5m across those sessions. He does not appear to have any immediate plans to return to live-streamed poker any time soon. In a recent tweet, Adelstein said that his life “has been awfully blissful” after not appearing on any poker streams over the last six months.