A Former Hustler Casino Live Player Accused of Fraud
Triton and EPT champion Charlie "Epiphany77" Carrel has published a video on his YouTube channel about the scam run by American poker player Lenard "Lucky" Adams. In the clip, blogger and poker pro "GingePoker" talks about how he became one of the scammer's victims.
According to GingePoker, Adams messaged him on social media and gradually earned his trust. Lucky told the blogger that he played private high-stakes cash games, praised his playing style, invited him to Las Vegas for the World Series and offered him backing in cash games.
Adams also name-dropped his acquaintances among popular poker players. Over the summer, he suggested GingePoker bet $5,000 on Belgium's national team at the World Cup, and then talked him into playing a few flips. In the end, the blogger lost $15,000 in those flips.
GingePoker transferred the lost sum to Adams, and shortly afterwards Adams stopped replying. The blogger won the bet on the football match but never received the money. As GingePoker says, after he posted this story on social media, 15–20 people reached out to him with similar accounts. That said, Adams' guilt has not yet been proven in court.
"This is one of the most ridiculous scams you can fall for. People don't want to talk about it because it looks absurdly stupid. And that's exactly why it's such an effective scam.
A lot of people might say: 'It's your own fault, you shouldn't have gambled.' But he skilfully built up the image of a rich, well-known high roller, got inside young players' heads, and then took their money.
When he had money, he played high-stakes games, and that gave him credibility. And high-stakes players might turn a blind eye to the stories going around about him, because he was losing big sums to them. But thanks to those cash games he was able to work on young mid-stakes grinders, promising to get them into private sessions," GingePoker said in the video.
Back in 2017, Adams was arrested on charges of fraud, theft and domestic violence. He gained women's trust by posing as a neurosurgeon and swindled around $70,000 out of his victims under the pretext of charity.
In 2019, Adams was sentenced to 6 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release under a special regime. However, under the terms of his plea deal he served the first 3 years in a correctional labour programme, and the following 3 years on probation.
In 2021, Adams appeared on a Hustler Casino Live stream with Phil Ivey and Garrett Adelstein, where he won $136,000. Management banned him from appearing on the show as soon as they learned about his criminal past.
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According to GingePoker, Adams messaged him on social media and gradually earned his trust. Lucky told the blogger that he played private high-stakes cash games, praised his playing style, invited him to Las Vegas for the World Series and offered him backing in cash games.
Adams also name-dropped his acquaintances among popular poker players. Over the summer, he suggested GingePoker bet $5,000 on Belgium's national team at the World Cup, and then talked him into playing a few flips. In the end, the blogger lost $15,000 in those flips.
GingePoker transferred the lost sum to Adams, and shortly afterwards Adams stopped replying. The blogger won the bet on the football match but never received the money. As GingePoker says, after he posted this story on social media, 15–20 people reached out to him with similar accounts. That said, Adams' guilt has not yet been proven in court.
"This is one of the most ridiculous scams you can fall for. People don't want to talk about it because it looks absurdly stupid. And that's exactly why it's such an effective scam.
A lot of people might say: 'It's your own fault, you shouldn't have gambled.' But he skilfully built up the image of a rich, well-known high roller, got inside young players' heads, and then took their money.
When he had money, he played high-stakes games, and that gave him credibility. And high-stakes players might turn a blind eye to the stories going around about him, because he was losing big sums to them. But thanks to those cash games he was able to work on young mid-stakes grinders, promising to get them into private sessions," GingePoker said in the video.
Back in 2017, Adams was arrested on charges of fraud, theft and domestic violence. He gained women's trust by posing as a neurosurgeon and swindled around $70,000 out of his victims under the pretext of charity.
In 2019, Adams was sentenced to 6 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release under a special regime. However, under the terms of his plea deal he served the first 3 years in a correctional labour programme, and the following 3 years on probation.
In 2021, Adams appeared on a Hustler Casino Live stream with Phil Ivey and Garrett Adelstein, where he won $136,000. Management banned him from appearing on the show as soon as they learned about his criminal past.
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