So right now I am busy in New Zealand working on my personal health. I have been doing a lot of hiking, fishing and just in general spending some quality time at the beach.
While spending time on the beach and enjoying the outdoors, I’ve also been putting thought into what’s going on with the big games and some of the controversy going on since Brian Hastings big win of $4 million over “Isildur1,” I have heard some rumblings about a potential controversy and I have to comment on it. From what I understand, Viktor Blom who I am sure is “Isildur1″ is about to process a formal complaint to Full Tilt Poker about his session with Brian Hastings. Blom believes that Brian Townsend and Cole South provided Hastings all of their personal hand histories from sessions against Isildur1. Don’t get me wrong, I think Brian Hastings is obviously a very talented player, and so are Townsend and South. Cole South personally crushed me in the 3rd round of the 25K buy-in PLO heads-up tournament recently, and the way I rate players I would put South and Townsend right at the top, I wish I could have that kind of poker talent.
I was however shocked when Brian Hastings sat down at those tables. It felt like a trap, this is not a regular player at that level of play. Regarding the allegations coming from Isildur1, I would probably say Hastings did probably talk at length with both Cole South and Brian Townsend, and sure it is possible they shared hand histories. I’m sure these things happen all the time, especially when the stakes are as big as they are. I think it is a little bit strange that Hastings did not declare when asked who his backers were, and I think it would go a long way to clearing the air if Hastings made it clear who his backers were and made a firm declaration that he did not use hand histories from either Townsend or South. I really do love the way he plays the game at such a high level, and there is nothing negative from me, I’d just like to know the facts.
Anyway I urge Brian to sit down for another interview with PokerNews to discuss this all and clear the air. Being a Full Tilt Red pro carries some serious weight, and it’s probably natural there is more scrutiny on them than most players. I for one just want the games to be heathy and fair, which I am sure once the details are out we will see that they were in fact just that, healthy and fair. I also urge Isildur1 to sit down with PokerNews for an interview. There are tons of curious people out there that want to hear from you, email our editor at editor@pokernews.com and we will set it all up.
What an exciting world we live in right now. Even I have become an online poker railbird, as I can not even compete with these guys right now. But, that won’t stop me from taking a crack every now and then.
