Brian Hastings thriving amid controversy

When Brian Hastings’ memoir is written years from now, there will be an entire chapter about the summer of 2015.

Depending on what happens over the next few days, it could take up the entire book.

Hastings won two bracelets at this year’s World Series of Poker — not to mention a few high-profile side bets — and sat behind a skyscraper-sized chip stack Friday on Day 3 of the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Texas Hold ’em World Championship at the Rio Convention Center.

Yet, even as Hastings positioned himself for another deep run in the Main Event, the 27-year-old professional poker player living in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., can’t seem to steer clear of controversy.

Hastings, who famously won more than $4 million in one session online, was recently accused by a fellow pro of “multi-accounting” at an online poker site, and the controversy has added an extra layer of intrigue as the tournament reaches the halfway point.

“I don’t think it should (take away from his accomplishments) but people can take in all the facts and interpret what they want, I guess,” Hastings said. “I’m really proud of myself for just coming into this World Series and just being like, ‘Hey, I’m going to risk all this money, and I’m going to come into the World Series of Poker, and I’m going to show up at the Rio for 80 hours a week. And if you guys can do that better than me, then good for you. You deserve it.’

“I think I’ve come here every day and played my ‘A’ game probably 95 percent of the time this summer, and I’m really proud of myself.”

Hastings was the unofficial leader with approximately 1.1 million chips at the 10:45 p.m. break with one level of play remaining. The Main Event continues at noon today with Day 4 and runs through Tuesday. The nine remaining players return Nov. 8 at the Rio’s Penn &Teller Theater for the final table.

The tournament pays the top 1,000 places, and all the remaining players are guaranteed a minimum $15,000 prize.

Hastings rose to prominence in December 2009 when, at age 21, he won a reported $4.18 million playing heads-up $500/$1,000 Pot-limit Omaha online against Swedish phenom Viktor Blom. In an ESPN.com interview afterward, Hastings said he and fellow pros Brian Townsend and Cole South shared hand histories and compiled a database of Blom’s hands to analyze his game, a violation of Full Tilt Poker’s terms and conditions.

Hastings was cleared of any wrongdoing, though Townsend was suspended by Full Tilt for using “data mining” software to collect hand histories from games he didn’t participate in.

“I was grateful to my friends who helped me study poker, basically. That’s all we were doing is studying the game,” Hastings said. “And then, I used some words that weren’t even accurate to describe the situation and it got blown all out of proportion. I mean, I think even Viktor himself realizes there was no foul play.”

In June of this year, pro David Baker accused Hastings of using a virtual private network (VPN) to illegally play in a PokerStars’ Spring Championship of Online Poker event under the name “NoelHayes.” Playing anonymously under multiple accounts can give skilled players a major advantage over unsuspecting opponents and is considered a breach of etiquette at high stakes.

Hastings has not denied the allegations and declined comment this week. PokerStars has not issued a public statement on the matter, and an email sent Friday to PokerStars seeking comment was not returned.

“I’m aware of the allegations, but at this time I have nothing to add to the conversation publicly,” Hastings wrote on the TwoPlusTwo.com poker forum on June 25. “I stopped caring what strangers on the internet (sic) said or thought about me many years ago; otherwise I probably would’ve jumped off the deep end by now. What I do care about is something like this being a major story in the poker world at a time in which the WSOP is in full force and we should be trying to promote and grow the game of poker, rather than drag it through the mud.”

Hastings ran over the final table to win the $10,000 buy-in Seven-card Stud Championship on June 11 and added the $1,500 Ten-Game Mix title a week later for his third career bracelet. He also finished 11th in the $111,111 buy-in High Roller for One Drop and cashed in six tournaments this summer for a total of $742,331.

That doesn’t include the side bets he won for more than $300,000, including one bet with pro Jason Mercier that Hastings wouldn’t win a bracelet.

“You have to think a little bit more outside the box in today’s poker economy, ways to maximize profits,” Hastings said. “I felt like coming into the summer, I think some people weren’t really respecting me like I thought they should, and that’s how side bets happen. Two people have a difference of opinion over one’s skill level.”

Hastings finished 64th in the Main Event last year and was the first player to surpass the 1 million-chip mark on Friday. With his ultra-aggressive style and plenty of ammo, he will be a difficult player to contend this weekend.

“I’ve worked on my poker game a lot over the last year,” Hastings said. “I’ve talked to some really smart No-limit (Hold ‘em) players. I think it helped me think about the game in a much broader fashion.”

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ.