The ongoing saga surrounding alleged poker cheat Mike Postle appears to have reached a formal conclusion in the legal sense, as 60 of the 88 plaintiffs in the California lawsuit originally naming Postle, Sacramento’s Stones Gambling Hall, and Stones employee Justin Kuraitis agreed this week to a settlement with Stones and Kuraitis, the two remaining defendants in the case. Postle himself was dismissed as a defendant some time ago on a technicality connected to California’s legal codes, leaving Stones (or, more technically, its corporate parent King’s Casino, LLC), and Kuraitis to settle the matter.
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed in a filing approved by the court on Thursday, September 10. However, there’s little doubt that the settlement was just for a small percentage of the millions in damages asked for in the initial suit.
The list of 60 plaintiffs who agreed to the unpublicized settlement terms includes these poker players:
•Aaron McCormack
• Andrew Hernandez
• Andrew Lok
• Anthony ‘Tony’ Giglini
• Ariel Reid
• Arish S. Nat
• Aronn Solis
• Benjamin “Ehb” Teng
• Billy Joe Messimer
• Blake Alexander Kraft
• Brad Kraft
• Brandon Steadman
• Brennen Alexander Cook
• Brian Michael Raasch
• Brian Olson
• Bryant Miller
• Cameron Smith
• Carlos Welch
• Corey Caspers
• Cris ‘AC’ Manipula
• Dale Menghe
• Dan Mayer
• Darrell Steed
• Dave Crittenton
• David Duarte
• Derick Cole
• Dustin McCarthy
• Eli James
• Harlan Karnofsky
• Harun Unai Begic
• Hawnlay Swen
• Hung Sam
• Idris M. Yonisi
• James John O’Connor
• Jason Markwith
• Jeffrey Sluzinski
• Jon Turovitz
• Jordan Diamond
• Joshua Whitesell
• Kathy Stahl
• Matthew Gouge
• Michael Phonesavanh Rasphone
• Michael Rojas
• Mike Nelson
• Nathan Pelkey
• Navroop ‘Nav’ Shergill
• Nicholas Colvin
• Nicholaus Wooderson
• Paras Singh
• Patrick Laffey
• Paul ‘Bobby’ Lopez
• Ryan Jaconetti
• Scott Schlein
• Scott Sorenson
• Shane Gonzalez
• Taylor Carroll
• Thomas Morris III
• Trenton Sidener
• Tyler Denson
• Zeev Malkin
The 28 plaintiffs who declined to join the group settlement notably include the lead plaintiff in the case, Veronica Brill. Brill, who both played in the “Stones Live!” podcast games centered on Postle and also served as an occasional commentator on the livestreamed action, was the whistleblower who took the cheating allegations public after being rebuffed by Kuraitis, the producer of the “Stones Live!” shows.
Brill posted the following somewhat-cryptic Tweet in the wake of the settlement’s anouncement:
When one of her Twitter followers called this the “Postle 4,” referring to Postle, Kuraitis, and two other Stones employees involved with the “Stones Live!” production, Brill didn’t disagree, Tweeting this:
In the settlement filing, a legal opportunity to continue the case was afforded to Brill and the 27 other remaining plaintiffs. The 28 aggrieved players have until the end of September to file a modified individual or collective claim. It appears, though it has not been stated by any of the plaintiffs, that the settlement was for such a pittance that they simply chose not to participate in it as a moral statement.
“I didn’t sign shit,” added Brill in a separate Tweet.
Should any of the remaining plaintiffs choose to pursue the matter further, they’ll have to retain new counsel. Poker-playing lawyer Maurice “Mac” VerStandig filed his notice removing himself as attorney in the matter on Friday, September 11, just one day after the settlement was approved by the court.
Though similarly undisclosed, it is more likely than not the VerStandig’s legal firm also participated in the settlement by receiving legal expenses. VerStandig himself was also a participant in one of the “Stones Live!” games allegedly befouled by Postle’s cheating, but he instead chose to represent the other players instead of becoming a plaintiff himself, which would have required all the plaintiffs to retain separate counsel.
Given that the related case filed in Nevada against Postle by Marle Cordeiro was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, the settlement in California means an end to the proceedings. It all makes for a quiet end to one of highest-profile legal cases involving poker in recent memory. It’s sad but true that the odds are usually stacked against players who’ve allegedly been cheated and seek legal redress, for a wide number of reasons. We’ve seen that play out here once again.