Poker Livestream fires its founder after sexual harassment allegations

After allegations of sexual harassment and bullying surfaced earlier this week against Hustler Casino Live co-owner Nick Vertucci, the company announced Wednesday that he would no longer be a part of the streaming cash game show.

The news came after show regular Julia McBride posted text messages from Vertucci in which he made several advances toward her, including unwanted requests for photos. The controversy surrounding the issue quickly led to more players sharing their experiences, leading the series to cut ties with Vertucci.

“As of today, Nick Vertucci will no longer be involved with High Stakes Poker Productions,” Ryan Feldman, co-owner of Hustler Casino Live, noted on the company’s Twitter account. “We look forward to continuing to bring the best high-stakes poker content to the community.”

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Hustler Casino Live has been one of the most popular streaming gambling games with 364,000 subscribers on YouTube and 190 million total views, but controversy quickly embroiled the company after McBride posted the message on Twitter on Monday . She said she received numerous unwanted advances from Vertucci and was ultimately banned from appearing on the show.

“Hey, baby men who say I should have been straight with that guy in the texts I posted: I told him ‘no’ at least five times before he sent those texts,” said McBride said on Twitter. “I didn’t want to get banned from his stream, so I was nice every time. He kept asking why, as if I needed to justify my position. I said because he is married. Other times I said because I had a boyfriend. Always with a smile. This guy ended up banning me anyway.

Poker pro Kitty Kuo later told her own story in which Vertucci unsolicitedly showed her a photo of his genitals while he was playing at the tables.

“I don’t care if I can’t play @HCLPokerShow,” Kuo tweeted. “But it happened to me.”

Player voice assistance

Several well-known poker players came out to express their support for the women involved, including Doug Polk, owner of the Lodge Card Club livestream.

“Using a place of power to make unwanted sexual advances toward women is horrific,” Polk noted. “It’s not just about being a scary guy. Anything less than removing him from the series completely is completely unacceptable.

McBride also said a dealer named Lauren no longer appears on the show after experiencing even worse harassment. The dealer ultimately lost her job, according to McBride.

Nikhil ‘Airball’ Arcott, arguably the most notable series regular currently, has said he won’t appear on the Hustler show until Vertucci is removed.

“I am appalled by Nick Vertucci’s behavior and deeply troubled by the additional allegations that continue to come out,” Arcott said. “His gross misconduct towards Julia, Lauren and other women is inexcusable.”

While some applauded the decision to dismiss Vertucci, others criticized HCL for allowing his behavior to continue for so long, only responding once the allegations were made public. Before he started live streaming with Feldman, Vertucci was reportedly a police officer and ran a real estate academy.

Although he is no longer involved in day-to-day operations, it is unclear whether Vertucci will remain part owner of the company. A report of Poker fraud alerthowever, indicated that he had agreed to sell its stake. Vertucci has yet to respond to the allegations and his Twitter account was deactivated this week.

Hustler Casino Live recently faced another setback, including a week-long ban on YouTube and some restrictions on their advertising.