Some of the plaintiffs in the Mike Postle cheating case have reached a partial settlement with the casino — Stones Gambling Hall. Other plaintiffs, however, refused to accept the deal, and that includes Veronica Brill, the whistleblower.
Postle was accused by Brill of cheating on Stones Live streams last September. He allegedly used some sort of device to gain access to his opponent's hole cards. The Northern California poker pro immediately denied the allegations and promised the poker community he would reveal contradictory evidence. Nearly a full year later and everyone is still waiting for that promised evidence.
Still, Postle has mostly avoided legal issues. He was never arrested or charged with a crime, although he was sued for $10 million by 88 plaintiffs. However, attorney Mac Verstandig was never able to convince the court that he cheated. So, the plaintiffs and the defendant reached a minor settlement, which equated to pennies on the dollar of what they were seeking.
The casino involved — Stones Gambling Hall (parent company, King's Casino) — and Stones tournament director Justin Kuraitis were still on the hook for a separate $10 million lawsuit.
Plaintiffs settle with casino
Once again, a partial settlement was reached on Wednesday, court documents reveal. And similar to the lawsuit against Postle, the settlement amount was reportedly low, although the exact amount hasn't been publicly released.
Many of the 88 plaintiffs — 28 in total — refused to accept the agreement. As a result, Verstandig has dropped them as clients. That includes Brill, who is responsible bringing the cheating allegations to light in the first place.
In the September 9 filing with the United States District Court Eastern District of California, the document explains that Verstandig advised the non-accepting plaintiffs he will no longer represent them in court. Judge William B. Shubb must accept the removal of counsel.
The Motion to Withdraw as Counsel must be filed with the court no later than September 11. The remaining plaintiffs will then have an opportunity to amend their complaint, and that must be filed no later than October 13.
The court document also briefly mentioned a partial settlement has been reached. It's unclear the exact amount or how much each of the remaining 60 plaintiffs will receive. Defendants King's Casino and Stones Gambling Hall employee Justin Kuraitis have accepted the deal.
In the civil suit against Postle, the settlement was for a low, undisclosed amount. Poker Fraud Alert Radio host Todd "Dan Druff" Witteles was given the specific amount by an unknown source. He revealed on his show recently that the payout when divided among 88 people, is an "insignificant amount." It's likely the settlement with the casino and Kuraitis is in the same ballpark.
Postle continues to deny cheating, although many poker players aren't buying it. He also continues to deny the poker community the supposed evidence he has that he promised to reveal months ago.
Featured image source: Flickr
