By Brett Callwood
Gardena Police are searching for a former employee of the Hustler Casino accused of stealing $15,000 in chips from a poker player. As reported in the LA Times, the theft was uncovered during an internal investigation by the livestream show “Hustler Casino Live.”
Police spent last Wednesday, Oct. 26 looking for Bryan Sagbigsal, 24, in Long Beach at his last known address, which is his then-girlfriend’s father’s home. However, Sagbigsal was no longer residing at that address, and he wasn’t answering his cellphone.
According to the Times, “On the show that day, Adelstein lost a $269,000 hand to Robbi Jade Lew, a newcomer to the high-stakes poker scene. Lew’s unusual play — in which she called Adelstein’s all-in bet with the jack of clubs and the four of hearts — led to an unlikely win that has been intensely dissected and debated in the poker community. Video of the hand has been watched millions of times.”
The video in question shows a poker game between veteran player Garrett Adelstein and relative newcomer Robbie Jade Lew, in which Adelstein accuses Lew of cheating during the show due to her unlikely win. Lew ended up giving Adelstein his money back due to his anger, despite protesting her innocence, which angered some of the other players.
The internal investigation uncovered the three missing $5000 chips, leading to the hunt for Sagbigsal.
“On Oct. 6, the company released the first of its findings, saying a review of its video from the game showed Sagbigsal — a production employee who was in the control room during filming, where he had access to players’ hole-card information — taking $15,000 in chips from Lew’s stack after the broadcast had ended and she was away from the table,” read the Times report. “It said Lew, when informed about the missing chips, declined to press charges. ‘Without a victim, Gardena police told us they do not intend to pursue a criminal prosecution at this time,’ High Stakes Poker Productions, which fired Sagbigsal, said.”
The video of the poker match continues to be analyzed by many online.
