David Baker Criticizes Phil Galfond for Adding “Cheater” Brian Hastings as RIO Coach

Summary

• David Baker called out Phil Galfond for bringing a cheater to RIO’s coaching team
• Baker accused Brian Hastings of scamming him in 2015
• Hastings was involved in other cheating scandals in the past

David Baker has hit out at Phil Galfond for welcoming Brian Hastings to the Run It Once (RIO) team. Nearly seven years ago, Baker accused Hastings of scamming him on PokerStars and he doesn’t appear to have moved on from that incident.

Hastings currently acts as Elite MTT coach for RIO but Baker thinks he shouldn’t be part of the roster as he is a “cheating scumbag“.

In a tweet, Baker called out Galfond for adding Hastings to the site’s coaching line-up and lambasted his arch-enemy for continuously sending him heads-up invitations on the TwoPlusTwo forum, saying it will do nothing to fix his tarnished reputation.

Hey @PhilGalfond I see you’ve added cheating scumbag @brianchastings to the Run It Once lineup. Can you get him to stop sending me embarrassing PMs on twoplustwo asking for a HU match? It’s not going to unstain his soul and it’s a little tacky imo

— Bakes (@DMBakes) April 6, 2022

Baker Accused Hastings of Cheating in 2015

In June 2015,Baker accused Hastings of multi-accounting. Hastings originally played at PokerStars using the name “Stinger 88“, but that account had been inactive since 2013, leading players to believe that Hastings may have taken a break from his online pursuits.

However, unbeknownst to many, Hastings continued to play high-stakes games on the site using another account. Baker claimed that Hastings disguised himself as “NoelHayes” on PokerStars and even played against him in a SCOOP tournament. Baker only found out about it after the game through messages from fellow players. Other players had also come forward with similar claims.

Hastings’ name was also dragged in a previous cheating controversy on the now-defunct Full Tilt Poker site where he was accused of colluding with Cole South and Brian Townsend to cheat Viktor “Isildur1“ out of millions.

On the same day he criticized Galfond for signing Hastings, Baker also lashed out at Isaac Haxton, saying the high roller should just skip conversations about cheating as he was aware of Hastings’ activities but did nothing to help correct them.

Would You Want A Cheater as Your Poker Coach?

RIO’s coaching team also currently includes Jason Koon who recently called for tougher punishments for those continually caught cheating online. Koon said online poker’s worst cheaters should be banned from major live tournaments, saying the move is in the best interest of the whole poker community.

Galfond should have considered Hastings’ cheating background before welcoming him on board. Those who are aware of Hastings’ history will inevitably have trust issues with RIO given its association with a cheater.