The participant who attacked Maurice Hawkins final month throughout a personal recreation in Florida instructed PokerNews the incident stemmed from a debate over the poker professional’s nationality, and admitted to retrieving a weapon in self-defense after the combat.
Eugene Castaneda, a veteran poker participant, landed a slew of punches on the World Sequence of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) ring record-holder on Nov. 26. Hawkins gave his aspect of the story in a short interview with a poker supplier, and it differed from that of Castaneda. He claims the assault was unprovoked.
“Principally, a man obtained mad as a result of I stated that I used to be African-American, that was my nationality, and he came visiting to sneak one by way of,” Hawkins stated within the interview with Pedro Inexperienced on YouTube. “He needed to beat my a**.”
However there is a discrepency within the accounts, and it would not seem many throughout the poker group are siding with Hawkins given the previous scammer accusations and a courtroom order issued for $115,000 to a former backer he by no means repaid.
PokerNews reached out to Hawkins through textual content and e-mail for touch upon this story however have not but obtained a response.
The Backstory
Castaneda first met Hawkins early in his poker profession, lengthy earlier than the scammer accusations had been made public. He stated the polarizing professional was impolite to him from the start and he “did not perceive why.”
“I at all times remembered that,” Castaneda stated of his first interactions with Hawkins on the poker desk, some 17 years in the past.
The 2 poker gamers had confronted one another numerous occasions on the felt through the years. No bodily altercations had occurred and Castaneda stated he did his finest to restrict interactions with the Circuit crusher. However earlier this yr, Castaneda stated an aged gentleman named “Rusty” started enjoying of their Wednesday personal recreation in Stuart, Florida.
Rusty, he stated, “was the nicest particular person ever,” however he wasn’t superb at poker. Hawkins, Castaneda claims, “reveals up and have become pleasant with Rusty after discovering Rusty was successful at sports activities betting.”
Hawkins, per Castaneda’s account, borrowed $20,000 from Rusty “and by no means paid it again.” Rusty finally stopped displaying as much as the poker recreation.
Castaneda, previous to the notorious $5/$5/$25 pot-limit Omaha recreation final month, had taken a break from the personal recreation, however he was “shocked” to search out out Hawkins, who has been accused a number of occasions of failing to pay his backers, had been invited to play. Hawkins, Castaneda stated, is the one participant within the recreation who is not permitted to play on credit score “as a result of his historical past.”
“Maurice is not superb in money video games like he’s tournaments,” Castaneda stated.
The sport runner instructed Castaneda he ought to need Hawkins within the recreation, contemplating he apparently is not a terrific money recreation participant. However he nonetheless wasn’t thrilled to have him within the recreation, however determined that would not deter him from enjoying some playing cards.
Former Backer Says Maurice Hawkins Nonetheless Hasn’t Paid
Poker Participant Explains How Struggle Broke Out
Castaneda sat in Seat 2, Tray Rock, who recorded the combat video, was in Seat 3, and Hawkins was in Seat 7. A dialog, Castaneda stated, began between Seat 9 and Hawkins over Hawkins’ nationality.
“I am black-American,” Hawkins stated.
“You are black-American?” the participant in Seat 6 sarcastically requested.
“That is proper, white boy,” Hawkins responded.
Castaneda, a U.S. citizen who’s of Cuban descent, intervened: “Simply so you recognize, black-American isn’t a nationality.”
“Sure it’s, white boy,” Hawkins fired again.
“No it is not, and you recognize I am not white,” Castaneda instructed the event star.
Castaneda then defined to Hawkins of his ethnicity, and instructed him that Cuban-American isn’t a nationality. The argument continued and an irritated Castaneda used Google to show his rival was incorrect.
“Why you so offended, buddy, buddy, buddy?” Castaneda recollects Hawkins asking.
“To start with, you should cease calling me buddy,” Castaneda knowledgeable Hawkins. “And second, as a matter of reality, I’m removed from being your buddy.”
“So, what? Why are you so offended? You wish to field about it?” Maurice responded
“F**okay sure.”
Castaneda then stood up from his seat, walked across the desk and commenced punching the seated Hawkins. He landed a number of punches earlier than each gamers had been separated.
“He f****d with the unsuitable dude,” Castaneda stated.
Hawkins, surveillance footage obtained by PokerNews reveals, then walked outdoors the home to his automotive about 100 toes away. At this level, the gamers confirmed concern that the state of affairs was going to additional escalate, Castaneda stated, after which acknowledged he additionally went to his truck to get safety.
About 10 seconds lapsed from the time Hawkins entered the automotive till he exited the automobile and returned to the home entrance door the place he was greeted by a participant within the recreation who urged him to “go for a stroll” as an alternative of going again inside the home.
That request was denied, as Hawkins went again into the house to confront the participant who had attacked him, in search of an apology. Castaneda, within the full video launched by Rock, walked again into the poker space and stood face-to-face with the Circuit champion.
“You stated you needed to field, so we boxed,” Castaneda, who refused to apologize, stated upon re-entering the room.
“Strive me now,” Hawkins fired again earlier than making a motion along with his proper hand in his pocket, a gesture that Castaneda stated involved him that Hawkins could have had a gun. No weapons are seen within the surveillance footage, nevertheless.
Castaneda stated he solely reached for his gun to let him know that he was not the one one holding a gun at this level, and “I used to be not going to be scared into an apology.”
“You suppose you are the one one with weapons right here?” Castaneda instructed Hawkins as he took one step again and reached for his glock.
A number of folks within the room urged the poker gamers to settle down.
“I ran to my automotive to guard myself as a result of gamers turned fearful that he went to his automotive to get one thing,” Castaneda stated.
Rock, within the video she recorded, is heard telling one other participant, “bro, all of them obtained weapons.”
The argument ended with Hawkins repeating a number of occasions, “bro, I am simply enjoying.”
Castaneda stated Hawkins is fortunate the combat was damaged up as a result of “if he would have stayed up, you most likely have an thought what would have occurred.” He stated he did not proceed punching the mid-stakes event grinder as he’d already gotten his level throughout. He additionally stated, out of precept, he will not hit somebody who’s being held again.
Hawkins, when requested by Inexperienced within the temporary YouTube video about Castaneda “wanting to drag a gun on you,” he responded: “It is simply loopy that after I can see him face-to-face now he do not wish to swing on me and attempt to whoop my a**.”
Castaneda did not initially wish to converse publicly in regards to the incident and solely got here out to share his story after seeing Hawkins on social media “falsify the story. I felt the necessity to make clear what occurred.”
The sport continued a short time after the combat, and it lasted for hours. Hawkins ended up successful $7,000, whereas Castaneda turned a $2,300 revenue after having been down $3,000 earlier than the fisticuffs.
However Castaneda, who continued enjoying along with his gun in his pocket, stated the desk largely remained silent in the course of the sport and nobody introduced up the incident “out of worry that it’d spark again up.”
