Summary:
Bryan Sagbigsal, who was fired from ‘Hustler Casino Live’ last year, appeared on the ‘PatrickWhatUp’ stream. Sagbigsal said that he was not involved in any scheme to communicate hole-card information to Robbi Jade Lew. The show has admitted that the security on the set was not overly strict.
Accused poker-chip thief Bryan Sagbigsal has emerged from virtual radio silence to begin telling his version of events related to his secondary role in the controversial “Hustler Casino Live” saga and the infamous “J-4” hand between Garrett Adelstein and Robbi Jade Lew last September Sagbigsal, still technically a fugitive from justice and wanted by Los Angeles County authorities related to the theft of chips inside Hustler Casino, appeared on the debut episode of Patrick Curran’s “PatrickWhatUp” twitch stream on Sunday night. The post-Super Bowl stream was a topic of discussion on Sunday.
Sagbigsal’s appearance is intended to promote a documentary on the J-4 scandal, produced by and starring Sagbigsal, which details his role in the HCL saga. The story began with Lew being accused of cheating in a $269,000 pot, and then Sagbigsal was discovered to have stolen $15,000 in chips from Lew’s stack immediately following the September 29 “J-4” game.
Sagbigsal is a former employee of the company. They worked together for more than a year before Curran left the show for what he described as reasons unrelated to the Adelstein/Lew controversy, which occurred a month after his departure. The person who reported to PokerNews last October that Sagbigsal was going to turn himself in to L.A. County authorities was also a friend of Sagbigsal.
Sagbigsal didn’t reappear from public view. That included a day-long search by authorities that came up empty, and Curran verified during his live stream that Sagbigsal was calling in from an unknown location, to “speak my truth,” as Sagbigsal described it, after months of “exercising my right to privacy.”
There was no change in the details of the controversial hand
There were no new or significant details offered about the controversial J-4 hand. He maintained his innocence and said that he was not involved in any scheme to communicate hole-card information to Lew. Sagbigsal doesn’t think that the security on the set was too strict, something that the show admitted to and attempted to address after its internal investigation.
Sagbigsal stated on the Patrick What Up show that they have God Mode when it comes to these cards. When it comes to these cards, we can see the equity percentage, we know the card removal, and we can see everybody’s hands.
That, though, is different from communicating that knowledge or conspiring with the show’s participants to cheat, especially as it pertained to Adelstein’s accusations that Sagbigsal somehow communicated his weak holdings in the J-4 hand to Lew or another player. The worst spot in history, in the biggest game ever, with over 25,000 people watching, is what I would pick if we were to try to assist somebody. Sagbigsal asked a rhetorical question.
Sagbigsal decried some of the theories that had been launched accusing him of being involved in a cheating scheme. He said that Doug Polk’s theory of a black file cabinet being moved to aid the alleged cheating was wrong and that it was false. Polk’s theory was described as “a very asinine take” by Sagbigsal.
There are some details regarding chip theft and discovery
Sagbigsal stole three $5,000 chips from Lew’s unguarded stack after the September 29 live stream ended. Sagbigsal said that there was no intent to steal from Lew specifically, as some conspiracy theorists believed, as a payment for his alleged role in an insider-cheating scheme.
Sagbigsal said that it was a moment of opportunity. As he contemplated the chip grab, he described it as a once in a lifetime shot for him. He said he told himself, “If I could take care of this, I would never do anything again.”
Sagbigsal stated that he was owed a $10,000 poker debt by Billy “DGAF” McNulty. Sagbigsal claimed that he needed to repay the debt. I was on the clock at that time.
After the casino security team reviewed the footage of the September 29 stream, Sagbigsal’s theft was discovered. He was summoned to a meeting in a private baccarat room with one of the casino’s internal investigators, where it became clear to him that he had already been exposed to his theft. He was terminated from his role with HCL after meeting with the investigator and co-owner of the company. The amount of money that was taken from Lew’s stack was later returned to her by the two co-owners.
One matter that was not brought up at any time during Sagbigsal’s appearance was the second charge levied against him, for a separate theft of $5,000 directly from the Hustler Casino itself. The circumstances surrounding that charge have not been disclosed.
Venom was saved for a reporter at the L.A. Times
The Los Angeles Times reporter was the target of Sagbigsal’s harshest criticism. Chang attempted an ambush interview on Sagbigsal while reporting on the Hustler Casino Live controversy, showing up one morning at the home of Sagbigsal’s then-girlfriend’s parents, where he had been living.
Sagbigsal was kicked out of the residence following Chang’s visit, which may have been related to Chang’s interview attempt. His location has never been known ever since.
The show’s audience is probably the biggest cancer, according to Sagbigsal. She is like a blood-sucking mosquito when it comes to reporting. She showed up to my house, knocked on all of the doors, and demanded that I tell her where I am. It was where I did not live at the time. My girldfriend was at the house at the time. It was really weird and disrespectful of her to come there and try to figure out where I am. I didn’t receive any notification, no inquiry, no formal agreement to meet. She was very bold when she decided to take matters into her own hands.
Sagbigsal claimed that in hindsight, he would have agreed to a formal interview. I’m pretty sure that I would have. He added that Chang should get a new job. You are a terrible person.
There are some statements that are open to interpretation
Sagbigsal made other statements that drew questioning commentary from some of the stream’s chatroom observers, as well as his post-confrontation declaration that he might have consented to an interview with Chang had he been approached differently. Whether or not his appearance and upcoming documentary are exercises in casting himself as the victim of the situation are other subjective matters.
At one point, he said, “I got the short end of the stick, where I’m just, like, trying to figure out where I’m going to go with my life.” Lew initially declined to press any charges, and he implied that the theft charges should have been dropped as well. She changed her mind because of the pressure of the public accusations. Sagbigsal said that he thought his meeting with the casino investigator and his bosses would be the end of things.
Sagbigsal was upset with the news reports that focused on his conviction for theft years earlier. At that time, he shared his version of what happened.
I never had any police trouble until I was 18. There was a seven-year gap between the time when I was 25 and the time when I was 35. It is a crazy story that I want to tell the full story about. When I was 19 years old, I was framed for a robbery that I did not commit. It will be addressed in a future story time or video where I will detail it.
At a crazy time in my life when I was young, that happened. They lied and tried to make me take a deal on my situation in order to make it where they were going to give me years. I have been out of that for a while. I had to go to jail because I messed up on my parole.
I am not a career criminal… That was something I learned from and will never do again.
You stole $15,000 in chips and you’re saying the same thing, but then again, we’re back here, where you just stole $15,000 in chips and you’re saying the same thing, but then again, we’re back here, where you just stole $15,000 in chips and How can we believe you this time?
Sagbigsal wanted to shift all of the attention to the documentary that is coming out. Take a listen to what I have to say. Don’t forget to watch it. You should go through everything like that. All of the details behind that are what you don’t understand. I think everybody just takes a record for face value, and they don’t take the time to look at the case and all the evidence, like, have you ever requested all of the documents for the case, and have you looked at the case and all the evidence? You can’t make a claim on what you believe happened if you don’t have the proper context.
Legal counsel retained them as well
Sagbigsal confirmed that he had retained counsel that was negotiating on his behalf with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. He stated that he was dealing with the legal ramifications. I have a legal team that takes care of everything I need on my end.
Sagbigsal downplayed the fact that he was a fugitive from justice. It doesn’t necessarily mean that I have to be in custody, but I have to make sure that the legal representation handles this properly. I have different things that I am working on as far as trying to work on my life as I let the egal people handle what they need to on their end. It does not require me to turn myself in.
It is not known whether his legal representation approved of his appearance on the stream or his upcoming documentary. Sagbigsal plans to pursue a new career in film and documentary once the chip-theft matter is behind him. I will make a lot of documentaries, current events, political stuff. There will be more trailers posted by me. Sagbigsal is going to post the link to his J-4 documentary on Tuesday.