Maurice Hawkins Sued For $22,788 as Staking Deals Turns Sour

(Photo: WSOP.com)

Depending on who you speak to, Maurice Hawkins is either a hugely talented cardplayer, or a rude douchebag at the table, often being described as both in the same sentence, and now ‘cheater, angles-shooter and bully’ have been added to the list – a South Florida lawyer-turned-poker staker claiming Hawkins is refusing to pay up on his winnings and has filed suit against the poker pro.

An open letter to the 2+2 forum relates Hal Lewis’ version of his dealings with Hawkins, Lewis stating: “I am a partner in a Law Firm Fonvielle Lewis Messer & McConnaughhay in South Florida and a poker aficionado. I wanted to let the poker community know how much of a scumbag Maurice Hawkins is,” linking in a recent newspaper article covering the same story.

Lewis relates how he met Hawkins last year, initially finding him “a very likeable guy” who “was charming and would offer me poker tips.”

(Photo: Shrtpoker.com)

“Unfortunately there was a hidden motive,” states Lewis, who recounts how Hawkins eventually proposed that the lawyer stake him in tournaments, the pair agreeing on a ”50/50” deal.

“As soon as he felt he could, he asked me to stake him in tournaments. I have never done this before but he showed me his results and they seemed impressive."

Lewis admits that he could have taken greater responsibility and checked out Hawkins’ reputation, claiming:

“Later I found out he had been trespassed out of pretty much every Florida casino. He is a cheater and an angleshooter and a bully.”

The reason for Lewis’ hard-hitting statement? Apparently after Hawkins started making scores, “he had excuse after excuse as to why he couldn't pay me" – allegations which Hawkins denies.

After Lewis filed suit last week, claiming he is owed $22,788 from last year’s broken staking deal, Hawkins told the Miami Herald news site that he had ‘repaid $10,000 via cashier’s check, used the rest for entry fees in accordance with their agreement — and yielded more than $120,000 in winnings to Lewis before that.’

“Numbers are numbers, and numbers don’t lie,” claimed Hawkins.

For Hawkins, some numbers are excellent news – for example, the record-breaking 10 WSOP Circuit rings he has won, and the $270,000 or so in winnings from this year’s WSOP proper – a small part of his $2,881,691 lifetime tournament winnings.

Lewis, however, says when he asked Hawkins for the money Hawkins told him it would be ‘impossible’.

“I was shocked and angry and disgusted,” says Lewis, adding: “I have text messages where he claimed he owes me but gambled blackjack and lost. After I kept pressing, he had the nerve to call me a bully and claim he owes me nothing. He is a piece of **** and just an awful, awful human being.”

Lewis claims he just wants to “let everyone know what he did and to never loan this guy a dime. I talked to three people the other day who told me that Maurice owes them over $80,000 between them.”

Hawkins for his part has commented little on the claims, but a cryptic tweet yesterday may be a response to the latest story.