Extremely sad, but I will say: that Star Wars vid is pretty fucking LOL. Almost makes up for the dealer misery.
Extremely sad, but I will say: that Star Wars vid is pretty fucking LOL. Almost makes up for the dealer misery.
This is my first time really reading a thread in the Poker Fraud Alert forum, and I'm stunned at how high the signal-to-noise ratio is here.
Haley's assessment is accurate.Originally Posted by haleylh
Jay Newnum is one of my closest friends in the poker community, and I've known him since 2006. I've tried to be clear in stating my lack of objectivity in this matter when I've posted on 2+2, but I've still received plenty of accusations that I'm somehow trying to cover up this story or convince people that Jay is innocent.
I don't know anything about the situation beyond what's already been reported on Facebook and Pokerfuse. I have confirmed via text message that Jay is alright, but that's it. And I'm not trying to convince people of anything other than the fact that I'm a sports reporter, not a news writer. (My role in the poker media has nothing to do with stories like this.)
If I were a wise man, I would have remained silent and not posted anything at all about this on Twitter or on 2+2 (or here). But as Haley can probably also attest, I am not a wise man.
I have nothing interesting or relevant to add to the discussion at this point, but I'll be following along from this point forward. I'm amazed at how on-topic and reasonable this thread has been, and hope my presence doesn't disrupt that.
EDIT: I'd also like to state for the record that I have never attacked the Union President who initially released this story to the public. I would also never downplay the significance of the theft as described as not being a big deal or "only $700."
I am supporting Jay as a close friend in a bad situation, but that doesn't mean I would ever excuse or ignore what happened.
Last edited by BJ Nemeth; 01-13-2014 at 08:15 PM.
He has been there since the early days, so what are the chances that he is being caught on his first try? Who knows how long he has been doing this, so it could be significantly more than "only" $700...
No excuse but this whole tipping scene for tournament dealers is antiquated, unfair to the dealers, and unfair to the players. The whole idea of pooled tips is ridiculous in any environment. If I have a shitty experience with one dealer and a great experience with another why do both benefit the same? Why do people that I didn't deal with get to steal a part of the tip I directed at someone else?
The fact the tips were unsecured enough to tempt someone that had no right being near them to steal them was a security failure that Union Boss Billy-Bob should be equally disturbed about. That is at least something in his realm of control yet not a word about it.
Just charge a fair rake, pay the employees what they are worth, and abolish the tips. If dealers start doing a lousy job then fire them.
I agree with this, but the reason I think the union guy (Shea) hasn't followed up with more info yet is because they're still investigating whatever might have happened on the 9th or 14th. As Shea intimated, if there is more, then there is the possibility that WhoJedi is recharged. And this is the area where no one is talking right now.
Nice article, Haley. http://www.flushdraw.net/news/embarr...r-media-split/
Best line: "... WhoJedi has gone and shit his own virtual bed, that being the poker world from which he reports."
BJ, you'll find the signal to raise ratio in the Scams, Scandals, Shadiness forum excellent with a lot of well-known posters dropping in on relevant issues. Which is why I have 1,600 posts here and 20 at 2+2. Although you may want to avoid the Flying Stupidity forum if noise is not your thingThis is my first time really reading a thread in the Poker Fraud Alert forum, and I'm stunned at how high the signal-to-noise ratio is here.
Haley's assessment is accurate.
Jay Newnum is one of my closest friends in the poker community, and I've known him since 2006. I've tried to be clear in stating my lack of objectivity in this matter when I've posted on 2+2, but I've still received plenty of accusations that I'm somehow trying to cover up this story or convince people that Jay is innocent.
I don't know anything about the situation beyond what's already been reported on Facebook and Pokerfuse. I have confirmed via text message that Jay is alright, but that's it. And I'm not trying to convince people of anything other than the fact that I'm a sports reporter, not a news writer. (My role in the poker media has nothing to do with stories like this.)
If I were a wise man, I would have remained silent and not posted anything at all about this on Twitter or on 2+2 (or here). But as Haley can probably also attest, I am not a wise man.
I have nothing interesting or relevant to add to the discussion at this point, but I'll be following along from this point forward. I'm amazed at how on-topic and reasonable this thread has been, and hope my presence doesn't disrupt that.
EDIT: I'd also like to state for the record that I have never attacked the Union President who initially released this story to the public. I would also never downplay the significance of the theft as described as not being a big deal or "only $700."
I am supporting Jay as a close friend in a bad situation, but that doesn't mean I would ever excuse or ignore what happened.
The discussion stays extremely meaningful and on topic here.
I write things about poker at my Poker Blog and elsewhere on the Internets
This sheds light to another issue with poker media, they are often very bias and in favor of certain poker players. I always found it odd so many "media" types were of the very same community as the players.
Maybe down the road media or companies like WSOP/Borgata will be made up of actual reporters, and not ones with media bias, and being given an edge by a bunch of poker players (who want their name in the media, ALOT)!
Statement from Jay here:
http://www.whojedi.com/2014/01/a-sta...nt-events.html
First, let me say that it hasn't been easy to stay silent.
The Foxwoods Mega Stack Challenge ended early in the morning on December 16th. After flying home that same day, I agreed that I would not discuss anything with anyone.
I have honored and will continue to honor that commitment, but in light of third-party reports and the subsequent reactions, I wanted to make this limited statement.
I would like to address the negative reaction against certain third parties, particularly Billy Shea, the union president who originally posted the story.
I want to state clearly that any negative reaction against him or attacks against his character has not been condoned by me.
Yesterday, I called Mr. Shea personally. We spoke at length, not about what he had posted, but instead about the reactions from the community. I hold no ill will against him, as he simply did what he felt he needed to do as union president. It was a great conversation with Billy and I do appreciate him taking the time to speak with me.
I have spent a decade as part of the poker community, and have truly come to appreciate this game and the family of people in it.
That being said, it seems for the best that I step away from the poker world indefinitely. I do want to say thank you to my family and my friends, both inside and outside of poker, who have been incredibly supportive during this time.
Finally, even though I won't be a part of the poker world for now, I'll still be rooting for the industry to continue to grow, expand, and improve, in all the ways that we know it can.
Jay Newnum
"The Foxwoods Mega Stack Challenge ended early in the morning on December 16th. After flying home that same day,..."
Wasn't he also arrested (and released) that day? He totally leaves that out.
"... I agreed that I would not discuss anything with anyone."
He agreed with whom? His attorney? He totally leaves that out.
"We spoke at length, not about what he had posted...."
This phrasing is odd... about what Billy posted? How about what he did or has been accused of doing?
"...has not been condoned by me."
LOL. As if his condoning anything or his opinion about the public's reaction to any of this matters at all in this mess that he has created!
The entire "statement" makes no apologies or even acknowledges ANYTHING. IMO, he'd have been better off staying silent and letting Billy post about their conversation. This makes him look very bad.
Jay's statement sucked.
It lacked an apology to anyone but Billy the Union President.
Let's break down the statement here...
The above seems to imply that his silence has not been due to any advice from his lawyer, but rather some "commitment" to unknown third parties that he wouldn't discuss anything with anyone.First, let me say that it hasn't been easy to stay silent.
The Foxwoods Mega Stack Challenge ended early in the morning on December 16th. After flying home that same day, I agreed that I would not discuss anything with anyone.
I have honored and will continue to honor that commitment, but in light of third-party reports and the subsequent reactions, I wanted to make this limited statement.
He almost wants us to be impressed that he "honored and will continue to honor that commitment" to stay quiet, but is somehow doing us a favor to make a limited statement.
Huh? I don't understand "honoring a commitment" that involves keeping quiet about your own crime. Who does he hurt by not keeping quiet? This all sounds like a lot of BS.
Also, regarding him having a lawyer, you need to understand how lawyers work in reality. It's easy to picture Matlock tirelessly spending his days working on his client's case. In reality, lawyers are expensive, and in most cases they put very little time/effort into minor cases like these.
Jay says that he flew home on December 16th, which was the same day he was arrested. He likely hired a cut-rate Connecticut lawyer specializing in processing AR pleas. It's even possible he had no lawyer, and simply learned about his rights to AR through the police, who encouraged him to confess and explained AR as a reason to do so. It's also possible he was appointed a public defender.
Remember, the man was stealing $700, not $700,000. Guys stealing $700 (even if it's not the first time) rarely have enough to hire much legal representation when caught.
In any case, the AR process, which occurred on December 24, dismissed the charges to where it is no longer on his criminal record. Legally, it was over.
Yes, now the union is attempting to get him charged for possible additional thefts on December 7th and 14th, but I doubt he hired a lawyer regarding that. He has not been questioned or charged regarding those dates. He's not even in the same state anymore. Those have nothing to do with the December 16th situation. They have him on record confessing to the December 16th crime, and while he does not have a criminal record anymore for that incident (as it has been sealed), the fact that he confessed could be used against him if he were caught for other thefts in Connecticut.
Bottom line: Admitting to what occurred on December 16th would not hurt him legally at this point. That matter is closed, and he already confessed to Connecticut authorities to it. He cannot suffer further legal penalty by publicly admitting to it, nor would he be more likely to be arrested for other crimes by admitting to it.
This was the only decent part of Jay's statement, telling people not to resent Billy Shea for breaking the story.I would like to address the negative reaction against certain third parties, particularly Billy Shea, the union president who originally posted the story.
I want to state clearly that any negative reaction against him or attacks against his character has not been condoned by me.
Yesterday, I called Mr. Shea personally. We spoke at length, not about what he had posted, but instead about the reactions from the community. I hold no ill will against him, as he simply did what he felt he needed to do as union president. It was a great conversation with Billy and I do appreciate him taking the time to speak with me.
Missing from the above niceties are any sort of apology to the victims.I have spent a decade as part of the poker community, and have truly come to appreciate this game and the family of people in it.
That being said, it seems for the best that I step away from the poker world indefinitely. I do want to say thank you to my family and my friends, both inside and outside of poker, who have been incredibly supportive during this time.
Finally, even though I won't be a part of the poker world for now, I'll still be rooting for the industry to continue to grow, expand, and improve, in all the ways that we know it can.
Jay Newnum
He could have said something like, "I deeply apologize to all affected by this situation, and feel terrible about what occurred", without even being specific, but even a statement like that was not present.
He also says that he's "stepping away from the poker industry", as if it's his choice. Really lame. That's just insulting to the reader, as if he's making a concession that in reality is being forced upon him as a consequence for his actions.
He thanks those supporting him, and then posts a strange message about "rooting for the industry", as if he will be watching from afar and smiling every time poker itself grows, despite his inability to be part of it.
Basically, any statement without an apology to the victims -- even a cryptic one -- is unacceptable.
If I had to guess, Jay's friends/family first advised him to do his best to keep it quiet and continue his career normally, and then when Billy posted the situation to Facebook, he was advised to still keep quiet, so the long history of the internet would not contain any statements of guilt that could be used against him later when going for future employment.
For example, let's say Jay is applying to be a photographer for a non-poker-related website in the year 2018.
His potential boss googles his name and finds this thread (or, alternately, one of the articles about the situation).
Jay can simply say something like, "Oh, that was a big misunderstanding. I was leaving Connecticut early and was just trying to retrieve the percentage of tips that were mine, and someone thought it was me stealing from the tip jar. I was advised by the police that pleading guilty and doing their AR program was the quickest way to make this misunderstanding go away, so I did that, not realizing that someone would post about it on the internet and make a big deal over it."
Without any statements from Jay, the potential employer MIGHT believe him, provided he sold it well enough.
If he tried to post the same thing on 2+2 (or on his blog), he would be ridiculed and the story picked apart. By saying nothing, future employers will never get to see HIS statement about the situation, meaning he can morph it over time according to what info remains on the internet.
Thank you for coming here to explain your side of things, BJ.
I always like having poker media people participating in this forum, and I'm glad you found this thread to be high on content.
I actually make sure that this section of the site is free of trolling, junk, and foolishness, as I want these threads to be useful and easy to read. The "Flying Stupidity" part of our forum is very different, and more of an "almost anything goes" sort of place.
I will be discussing this matter at length on tonight's radio show, which takes place around 7pm PST.
Pokernews now reporting on this, but they don't put an author's name on the story. It's by "Pokernews Staff", even though almost all other stories are associated with a name.
http://www.pokernews.com/news/2014/0...heft-17229.htm
Only 2 stories in December were credited to "Pokernews Staff": http://www.pokernews.com/editors/pokernews-staff/
(You will see 6 listed, but 4 are just podcast descriptions, which obviously doesn't count as an article.)
He deleted his two December 19th tweets about wanting the Pokerstars Social Media Manager job.
Some idiots on 2+2 still believe he was "joking" when he started the #HireWhoJedi campaign on that day, and believe it was "a joke".
Where was the joke?
That he applied for a job in another country, for a position that corresponds to exactly what he's been doing for work for the past 10 years?
Yeah, hilarious.
It's not like he was encouraging people to have the LA Lakers hire him to replace the injured Kobe Bryant on the floor.
This was a realistic position at a respected company in the industry. The only complication was the location of the job, but plenty of people have temporarily or permanently relocated for work.
Obviously there was no "joke" in this, and anyone who believes that story is probably also gullible enough to believe that Howard Lederer didn't know about the fact that Full Tilt was broke until April 9, 2011.
This is from Foxwoods. It's not a poilce report.
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