Some of the glitter may have been removed from online and live tournament poker pro Brian Hasting’s two WSOP bracelets won this series following allegations on the top 2+2 poker forum of questionable online conduct.
Several respected players have alleged that Hastings has been playing on another player’s account, and has been using the subterfuge of a VPN (virtual private network) to play in direct contravention of Pokerstars rules.
The allegations are that Hastings used high stakes Pokerstars and Full Tilt accounts opened by Irish player Noel Hayes under the titles “NoelHayes” and “BigNittyBanker.”
Unfortunately, Hastings appears to have been evasive in responding to these allegations, telling enquiring players and media that he will neither confirm nor deny the allegations, and then launching into a long forum post that attempted to take the discussion off at a tangent to talk about the positive promotion of online poker “rather than drag it through the mud.”
His post also digressed to the subject of others feeling sorry for themselves in the difficult and competitive poker world of today, and the importance of a strong work ethic rather than frustration and self-pity.
That didn’t go down too well with some posters, and Hasting’s response to the original allegations remains unclear.
Hastings has been the subject of criticism in the past; Our readers will recall an incident on the former Full Tilt Poker some years ago when Hastings, Brian Townsend and Cole South were accused of ganging up to exchange and analyse data before tag-teaming Swedish pro Viktor “Isildur1” Blom, taking him for several million dollars – much of it going to Hastings in one spectacular online session.