Postlegate $40,000 Payoff More Than Lawsuit ‘Rake’ Damages

The settlement paid by the owners of Stones Gambling Hall in the Postlegate cheating scandal totalled $40,000 – more than the claimants stood to win had they continued their court case according to some estimates.

The $40,000 to be shared among the 62 players that agreed to settle works out at ‘$645.16 per player before attorney fees’ according to PokerNews’ reporter Chad Holloway.

That, he states, is likely much more than they stood to gain seeking recompense for rake alone had the court case gone ahead, in an amended complaint after the initial versions of the $30million lawsuit were dismissed.

“Assuming the game was raked at $5 per hand, and the games averaged a standard 22 hands an hour during the 68 streams listed in the original complaint, each lasting four hours, as much as $29,920 in rake could have been collected,” wrote Holloway.

Details of the $40,000 settlement were leaked this week, despite a Non-Disclosure Agreement signed by 62 of the 88 named claimants to the long-running lawsuit brought by Mac Verstandig.

The settlement, however, saw Verstandig agree to a wording that specifically clears Stones and Kuraitis from any civil wrongdoing. It reads:

“After reviewing evidence with the cooperation of Stones, my co-counsel and I have found no evidence supporting the plaintiffs’ claims against Stones, Stones Live Poker, or Justin Kuraitis. While Stones has not spoken publicly regarding the details of their investigation during its pendency, its counsel and Mr. Kuraitis’ counsel have been immensely cooperative behind-the-scenes.”

Notably, whistleblower Veronica Brill was among those who refused to settle

In an interview this week, Brill explained:

“I was disappointed that so many people were okay with signing it. But they have their reasons and I’m not going to judge them. For me, as the main plaintiff, I don’t think it would’ve been the right thing to do to sign a lie.” 

With the civil lawsuit all but over, she added:

“I think at this point it would be ideal if a competent law enforcement office would get involved. I think that would make the poker community most fulfilled.”

Justin Kuraitis, who released a four-page statement this week decrying the “Twitter mob”, also stated he had been “voluntarily” co-operating with a California DoJ Bureau of Gambling Control investigation.

Brill and the vast majority of the poker community were involved in lengthy Twitter arguments with Justin Kuraitis following his statement.

Kuraitis, the Stones Gambling Hall tournament director, has been under suspicion since the very first allegations were made against Mike Postle. 

Many believe that Postle must have had help to carry out a believed $250,000 scam using hidden technology during livestreamed cash games.

However, this week he claimed that he would only give interviews to “professional journalists”, refusing this writer’s request for one because of a perceived bias in previous reporting.

If you missed anything connected to the case over the past year, our extensive coverage of the Postlegate scandal can be viewed below: