Accused poker cheat Mike Postle's recent seventh-place finish in the main event of the Beau Rivage's Million Dollar Heater series has reportedly been frozen by the casino pending the receipt of a garnishment order filed on behalf of Veronica Brill. Postle owes Brill a significant amount of court-ordered legal fees in the wake of Postle's failed $300 million defamation lawsuit against Brill and other notable poker figures and entities in 2021.
Postle currently owes Brill at least $27,785, which would soak up nearly all of the $32,703 Postle's finish was worth. However, Postle's winnings were frozen by MGM, the parent company of the Beau Rivage, after being notified of the lien attempt being filed in Mississippi on Brill's behalf. Postle also owes a similar amount in legal fees to Poker Fraud alert owner Todd Witteles. Witteles subsequently filed his own garnishment attempt after learning of Brill's filing and would likely be eligible for any remaining funds.
Evert Caldwell, the owner of RounderLife and a longtime friend of Postle, broke the news on Twitter regarding Postle's winnings being frozen by the Beau Rivage. "BREAKING: @BeauBiloxi is holding Mike Postle’s winnings, Caldwell posted. "@RounderLife, and its owner Evert Caldwell were banned from covering and attending the final table of the 2023 Million Dollar Heater main event."
Caldwell offered no additional information on why he was banned from the Million Dollar Heater final table, and at least one rumor surfaced that Postle was indeed able to collect his winnings, though that matter is likely to remain uncertain into Wednesday. Whether or not Postle ultimately collects the winnings or they are relinquished to Brill and Witteles, the garnishment filing itself will make Postle unable to play poker anywhere in Mississippi, his former home state, until he makes full restitution.
Separately, PokerOrg verified on Thursday afternoon that Brill was the party behind the garnishment attempt. As reported here when news first broke about Postle's deep run, Mississippi attorney Rogen Chhabra contacted Brill and offered to file garnishment paperwork free of charge. PokerOrg has also learned that Brill's defense attorney in Postle's $300 million defamation lawsuit, Marc Randazza, also assisted the garnishment-filing process by notifying MGM's corporate offices about Postle's pending Mississippi payday and the California court-fees order already existing against him.
After learning of Caldwell's Twitter post regarding Postle's frozen payday, Brill publicly acknowledged that she was indeed behind the garnishment attempt and the freezing of Postle's winnings, even if it is not for sure yet that the garnishment attempt will be successful. "Lean on your friends. Lien on your enemies," Brill wrote.
PokerOrg will provide additional reporting on this developing story.
Featured image source: Haley Hintze
