Garrett Adelstein: “I will not be refunding Robbi any money.”

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you had to hear about the infamous J4o hand played between Robbi Jade Lew and Garrett Adelstein in September last year. Adelstein accused Lew of cheating live on Hustler Casino Livestream, but the independent investigation found no concrete evidence of any wrongdoing.

Half a year later it’s still one of the most talked about topics in poker, and even won a Global Poker Award for the Best Hand of the Year. There has been a lot of twitter talk lately between Garrett and… well, everyone else, especially after it was revealed that he is not welcome to HCL anymoremore than $1.5 million during that time.

Robbi giving a speach after winning the Best Hand award voted by fans.

Apart from a Los Angeles Times column and some twitter feuds, Adelstein didn’t have any public appearances and didn’t do interviews regarding the J4o hand. Still, he remained confident Robbi cheated him. And he double-downed in a recent podcast with Doug Polk.

Polk asked Adelstein early in the podcast what his final thoughts are if Robbi cheated him or not. “In essence, I stand completely by the statement I made on 2+2. I think it’s extremely like that I was cheated in that poker hand. It’s simple as that,” said Garrett. “Everything that came out in the days and weeks thereafter, all of the many coincidences, they only further solidify that belief.”

In the meantime, Robbi has returned to playing on livestreams, including at Live at the Bike and Polk-owned The Lodge Card Club, where Adelstein says she plays very weak poker, completely different than in their J4 hand. “To me, it’s ridiculous, and she has a lot of balls, going back on streams.”

Robbi playing on Poker at the Lodge livestream

After the hand was over, Lew returned the $135,000 to Adelstein because, in her own words, she felt bad and embarrassed about winning with such a bad hand. The question remained, what will happen with the money. Will he give it back to her? “No, I will not be refunding Robbi any money,” Garrett firmly said. “Period. Again, I’m extremely confident I was cheated in this hand.”

When Polk asked him about the future, the high stakes pro said he is more open about returning to poker than he was in the previous 6 months, but he is becoming a father soon, so he doesn’t expect to play much. “But I’m sure I’ll give the fans at least a little. It’s just a matter of when,” Garrett finished the thought.