A South Florida lawyer has taken legal action against US poker pro Maurice Hawkins, claiming the player owns him just a little under the sum of $23,000 after he chose to back out of a staking deal the two of them had made. According to the Tallahassee attorney Hal Lewis, he and Hawkins had agreed on a deal back in 2016 whereupon Lewis staked his personal funds to back the professional player.
Hawkins was supposed to use the money to buy his way into various tournaments in 2016. Under the terms of the agreement, all winnings Hawkins were to generate had to be divided equally between the two parties. The US poker player, however, experienced a change of heart and decided to pull out of the deal.
Lewis argues that the well-known poker pro failed to honour the terms of their agreement and did not return the entire sum he owes him. The attorney went as far as to comment on the issue during the 2017 World Series of Poker Main Event.
Lewis claims that the poker pro has returned over $120,000 in tournament profits after the two first met back in 2016 in a Jacksonville casino. The attorney, who also deems himself a low to mid-stakes poker specialist, shared with Florida media outlets that he had transferred different amounts in cash directly to the bank account of the poker player’s spouse. These sums, claims Lewis, were to be used by Hawkins to pay for his entry in the tournaments.
Following the staking agreement, the professional player endured a pretty bad summer in terms of tournament results. Hawkins cashed in a single event only, the WSOP $565 No-Limit Hold’em Colossus, for the humble amount of $896. This is when the player decided it would be in his best interest to quit using the services of his backer Lewis. Consequently, the two parties reached a mutual agreement to part ways.
In his complaint, Lewis explains that his former partner expressed his desire to end their agreement while there were still $22,788 remaining in unused entry fees. In Lewis’ words, he never saw this amount of money returned to him.
According to the information in Lewis’ lawsuit filing, the poker player called him after they had agreed to end their professional relationship just to inform him he would be unable to return the remaining $22,788 he owed him because he had gambled the money away at the blackjack tables. The player then promised to return the sum he had allegedly lost at blackjack. Moreover, the attorney insists he has text messages from Hawkins to back up this claim.
However, Hawkins begs to differ, arguing that he had returned the entire amount left in unused tournament buy-ins. According to Hawkins, he had sent the attorney a cashier check for the sum of $10,000. The player also claims he used the remaining amount of money to buy his way in various poker tournaments, which was actually part of the terms the two parties had agreed upon. When contacted by local media, the poker pro responded he is more than willing to meet Lewis in court because the truth will eventually come out.
Staking agreements are not something new in the world of live tournament poker, and even some of the most successful players commonly do not play with their funds, but have backers to invest in them. Sometimes, things may not go as planned due to the volatile nature of live tournament poker, where there are bigger buy-ins as well as travel and accommodation expenses to cover.
That being said, Hawkins is among the most successful tournament players in recent years and certainly has the financial resources to recover the sum of $23,000 to his backer. Over the course of his professional poker career, Hawkins has accrued nearly $2.9 million in live tournament earnings. He has also won more WSOP Circuit rings than any other player in history, which is ten. With his latest cash in from the 2017 WSOP Monster Stack in June, Hawkins has added $213,591 to his live tournament winnings.
- Author
Harry Evans
