Nick Vertucci, famous as one of the main faces behind the Hustler Casino Live brand, has been outed by multiple women as a sexual harasser and general all-round sex pest.
🚨🚨🚨Time to break the silence over @NickVertucciNV using his control over @HCLPokerShow to harass women and keep witnesses from speaking up. I’m posting some receipts. Poker world, please share your stories about #IckVertucci. Let’s stop the harassment! pic.twitter.com/iK6y6lODmr
— Julia from Palmdale (@JuliaInPalmdale) October 5, 2024
Vertucci is the co-owner of High Stakes Production, the company behind Hustler Casino Live, a livestreamed cash game that has had the likes of Tom Dwan, Jungleman Dan Cates and Phil Ivey at its tables.
It is also the show that saw the infamous J4 offsuit scandal involving Garrett Adelstein and Robbi Jade Lew.
However, it is Vertucci’s behaviour towards females both on and off the felt that have hit the headlines this week. Highstakes pro Julia also claimed that one of the HCL dealers lost her job after complaining about Vertucci.
“Have you noticed Lauren isn’t dealing on @HCLPokerShow anymore?,” tweeted Julia. She added: “She reported to @HUSTLERCASINOLA FAR WORSE harassment than the creepy texts I posted. Every witness refused to come forward, the casino sided with Vertucci, and now Lauren has lost her job.”
Julia, known as the Queen of Palmdale, has won over $135k in her 15 appearances on HCL. She also complained that Vertucci was trying to “dig up dirt” on her…
“So this evening Nick has been trying to get the address where I play home games, and dig up dirt on me, saying his actions are my fault because of how I dress. @HUSTLERCASINOLA is this a show runner you want to be associated with?” she tweeted.
Following her revelations, she quickly found support from others in the community, well-known pro Kitty Kuo backing up her claims and revealing Vertucci grossed her out by showing her dick pics at the poker table during Live at the Bike…
Well, it was a true story
Before Covid 19, I played Latb many many times
And this guy was totally right
When nick showed me his dick pics at poker table( live stream), I was very strong and said “ u had a pencil dick”
And he was so mad
I don’t give a shit if I can’t play at… https://t.co/EgIxGYqinK— kitty kuo (@kittykuopoker) October 7, 2024
Other big names were also quick to take aim at Vertucci…
- “Color me shocked. Hopefully he won’t dedicate years of his life in a weak attempt at discrediting you as well. It’s about damn time people stop protecting HCL and Vertucci in particular out of financial self-interest.” – Garrett Adelstein
- “This dude writes texts like a fking late night cartoon character.” –Travis “Dramatic Degen” Darroch
Others focused on support for Julia and the other women allegedly abused by Vertucci…
- “The fact that anyone blames you or criticizes you in this is sad, and sadly, expected. Very grateful for your bravery it putting this out there. I’m sure you’re far from the only one!! – Lily Newhouse
- “I’m so sorry you’ve been subjected to such harassment. And thank you for having the courage to call him out.” – Jennifer Newell
It’s far from the first time Vertucci has been accused of dodgy behaviour, ranging from running real estate scams, to cheating his own games, to blackmailing Matt Berkey.
A 48-page thread on the 2+2 poker forum is dedicated to HCL & Vertucci specifically, and contains multiple references to abusive and sexist behaviour aimed at females on the show.
Meanwhile, neither Vertucci nor his co-founder of HSP and HCL – Ryan Feldman – have responded to this week’s allegations, despite multiple callouts.
