Mike Postle

In July 2018 Postle started a prolonged poker "heater" (a hot streak where everything seems to be going right for a particular player), winning around $250,000 in mainly $1–3 and $2–5 no limit hold 'em games at Stones Gambling Hall in Citrus Heights, California on their live stream. Over a year later, during a Stones live stream in September 2019, Stones employee Veronica Brill shared her long-held suspicions that Postle was cheating. "It doesn't make sense. It's like he knows. It doesn't make sense. It's weird."[1] One week later, Brill posted an 18-minute-video showing Postle's most unusual hands. She also tweeted out her suspicions.[1][2]

The concern of Veronica Brill and many other poker players, who looked at the footage from the stream, was that Mike Postle somehow seemed to have access to real time information about the other players' hole cards. This allegedly allowed him to always make the correct decision based on his opponents' actual cards, something no poker player can achieve without cheating. During the period from July 2018 to September 2019, when Mike Postle was allegedly cheating, he consistently picked the perfect spots to bluff; called down very light when his opponents were bluffing; made big folds; or just called instead of raising when his opponents had him beat. In addition, Postle repeatedly stared down into his lap, where he often kept his phone, leading to the suspicion he was receiving information about the other players' hole cards on his phone. Prior to July 2018, Postle usually kept his phone on the rail.

On 9 October 2019, 24 poker players filed a $30 million lawsuit against Postle, Stones, and Stones Gambling Hall manager Justin Kuraitis.[3] In June 2020, Federal Judge William B. Shubb dismissed the lawsuit against all three defendants citing California law. The case against Postle was dismissed "with prejudice", precluding a case from being refiled against him.[4]

Three months after the dismissal, 60 of the now 88 plaintiffs accepted a settlement with King's Casino LLC, which owns Stones Casino, and Kuraitis. Veronica Brill was among the remaining 28.[5] Less than a month afterward, Postle filed a $330 million defamation suit against a dozen individuals, including poker celebrity Daniel Negreanu, three-time World Series of Poker-winner Phil Galfond, and ESPN, which aired a segment on SportsCenter about the scandal.[6][7] Postle's attorneys have since filed to remove themselves from the case.[8] On December 8 defendant Todd Witteles filed an "anti-SLAPP" motion to dismiss the suit declaring the lawsuit is "frivolous and a violation of Witteles' free-speech rights." On May 13, 2021, the judge ruled against Postle and ordered him to pay $27,000 for Witteles' legal fees and court costs. [9] On January 13 Brill filed her own "anti-SLAPP" motion. On June 16, 2021, Judge Shama H. Mesiwala ruled in favor of Brill. Because Postle did not appear at the final hearing the order is enforceable and in immediate effect.[10][11][12] On April 1, 2021, Postle filed a request with Sacramento County Superior Court to drop the lawsuit.[13] In September 2021 Postle filed a motion to avoid involuntary bankruptcy.[14]