A poker player is accused of using a marked deck in a million-dollar home poker game
Nikhil “Nik Airball” Arcot and Wesley Fei, regulars on Hustler Casino Live, have blamed a player by the nickname “Mars” of cheating players out of millions at a Southern California private game.
“Wes Side” Wesley conveyed details of the alleged cheating, including text screenshots, with PokerNews, saying Mars allegedly brought his own deck to a private game in Yorba Linda that he could see through with special contact lenses. Over about a year, he supposedly won about $3 million. All the games in question were played at a private residence, not in a Hustler Casino Live event.
The games are mostly $25/$50 and $50/$100 blinds among recreational players and several HCL regulars like Airball, according to Wesley. At those stakes, how does a player win so much money? “Cheating,” answered Wesley.
Wesley invited Mars to his $400,000 Caesars Palace suite during the Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 15 to talk about the allegations. He tried getting a confession, but Mars constantly denied any misconduct.
Wesley says that Mars proposed bringing his own deck and suggested others get a dealer to the game, which they play 2-3 times weekly. He says he’s down about $1 million and that Mars has won about $1.6 million, “and the player he brought — two guys — one guy called Peter and an Australian guy called Bruce and three others. So, his group is up $3.1 million.”
Mars continues to deny cheating but admitted the deck was marked after being faced with the evidence, says Wesley. “Mars said, ‘Maybe you’re losing and you don’t want to pay, so you’re changing the deck,'” he said of a conversation with Mars. “If we are cheating, how can we lose?”
Mars has so far not publicly acknowledged or denied the allegations.
Editor at the Big Blind, is a rising star in gambling journalism with a decade of experience, focusing on clear and accessible communication for a diverse audience.
