Jay "WhoJedi" Newnum: Tip-stealing sociopath, or victim of a cruel prank?

In almost all of the situations I've seen where a poker player or media member is accused of malfeasance, they end up being either guilty or most likely guilty.

This is one rare case where I have no idea.

Tonight the following was reported on The "UAW Local 2121" Facebook page, which is purported to be "exclusively for the Assistant Supervisors & Dealers whom are part of our UAW Local 2121".

From what I can tell, the page is authentic, and has been around for a long time.

Quote:

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Attention All Poker Dealers:

What I am about to inform you all is highly disturbing and very upsetting to me and all who have been involved with this process.
First off I would like to thank George, Eric and Angela for all their hard and diligent work in taking care of the Poker Dealers concerning this issue.

We had a theft in the Poker Room of tournament tip money by Jay Newmun. He was hired by Foxwoods sometime back as a live video blogger to cover daily poker tournaments. He was caught just before Christmas after video coverage was reviewed and subsequently arrested and charged with the crime of theft after he confessed to the crime.

After meeting with a lead investigator at Foxwoods it was determined that Mr. Newmun on both Dec. 9th and 14th was observed with similar behavior on these dates consistent to the behavior the day he was caught. Last week he was presented in court and applied for Accelerated Rehabilitation AR for the theft of $700 of dealer toke money. In the State of Ct you are given one free pass in regards to crimes such as this where if you have no prior criminal history you are eligible for the AR Program.
We have requested a review of the film to see if the toke box on both the 9th and 14th is visible on camera to see if indeed money was in the box and either disturbed or taken by Mr. Newmun. If we can find evidence of this behavior we will proceed to contact the State Police again and ask for this case to again be reviewed for the possibility of him being rearrested for this crime.

This individual has been barred by both the Ct State and Mashantucket Police. I can assure all that this person will never again step foot on Foxwoods property. Also a letter is being drafted by the lead investigator of which will be forwarded to the World Poker Tour WPT. Mr. Newmun has been employed by the WPT and its imperative that they be informed of his actions and subsequent behavior. Further this information will be processed through Griffin Investigators whom will notify all casinos of these actions.
The money has been returned to the Poker Tournament Pool as George, Angela and Eric took care of this on Monday.

Please be assured that we will keep you informed of any updates concerning this despicable behavior.

Thank you / Posted by Billy

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https://www.facebook.com/Local2121

Aside from the odd misspelling of the name as "Newmun", this looks fairly real at first glance. They mention the specific three people taking care of the matter ("George, Angela, and Eric"), whereas a fake report would likely not name any, or perhaps just one. It mentioned the authentic-sounding steps of reporting it to Griffin (a casino security firm) and the intricacies of the Connecticut legal system.

So it would seem that Newnum, who was otherwise well-respected and liked throughout poker (despite being a media member and not a player), literally was caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

... or was he?

Notice that it says he was caught "just before Christmas".

Now look at his Twitter: https://twitter.com/WhoJedi

He was consistently tweeting every day in the weeks before, during, and after Christmas, mostly about Star Wars geek stuff. You would have thought he would have vanished from Twitter for at least a day if this really happened.

The odd thing is that the first extended period of being MIA from Twitter is right now. He hasn't tweeted since January 5, which is unlike him. However, that doesn't correspond with the timeline described in the Facebook post.

It's possible that someone who dislikes him knows that he's gone/unavailable, and is using this opportunity to slam him.

It's also possible that this is true, and he's enough of a sociopath to keep tweeting about Star Wars geekdom as if his whole career isn't crashing down around him, but who knows...

So weird.

Pretty much 3 possibilities here:

1) The Local 2121 page was hacked and this was a prank on Newnum
-or-
2) Someone at Local 2121 was given bad info and is foolishly passing it on without checking
-or-
3) It's true


I really don't know what to say.

Here is Jay Newnum:

http://media.cardplayer.com/assets/p...ge_whojedi.jpg

Looks guilty. Case closed.

10 hours in and still no denial from Newnum, a close friend of his, or anybody speaking on behalf of Foxwoods;

I'm inclined to think this is gonna turn out to be true.

Off topic but looking like that he could be in line to be Annie Duke's next boyfriend. He has that Joe Ugly look about him.

http://media.cardplayer.com/assets/p...ge_whojedi.jpg

http://news.sportsinteraction.com/wp...nt_8343330.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

In almost all of the situations I've seen where a poker player or media member is accused of malfeasance, they end up being either guilty or most likely guilty.

This is one rare case where I have no idea.

Tonight the following was reported on The "UAW Local 2121" Facebook page, which is purported to be "exclusively for the Assistant Supervisors & Dealers whom are part of our UAW Local 2121".

From what I can tell, the page is authentic, and has been around for a long time.

Quote:

---

Attention All Poker Dealers:

What I am about to inform you all is highly disturbing and very upsetting to me and all who have been involved with this process.
First off I would like to thank George, Eric and Angela for all their hard and diligent work in taking care of the Poker Dealers concerning this issue.

We had a theft in the Poker Room of tournament tip money by Jay Newmun. He was hired by Foxwoods sometime back as a live video blogger to cover daily poker tournaments. He was caught just before Christmas after video coverage was reviewed and subsequently arrested and charged with the crime of theft after he confessed to the crime.

After meeting with a lead investigator at Foxwoods it was determined that Mr. Newmun on both Dec. 9th and 14th was observed with similar behavior on these dates consistent to the behavior the day he was caught. Last week he was presented in court and applied for Accelerated Rehabilitation AR for the theft of $700 of dealer toke money. In the State of Ct you are given one free pass in regards to crimes such as this where if you have no prior criminal history you are eligible for the AR Program.
We have requested a review of the film to see if the toke box on both the 9th and 14th is visible on camera to see if indeed money was in the box and either disturbed or taken by Mr. Newmun. If we can find evidence of this behavior we will proceed to contact the State Police again and ask for this case to again be reviewed for the possibility of him being rearrested for this crime.

This individual has been barred by both the Ct State and Mashantucket Police. I can assure all that this person will never again step foot on Foxwoods property. Also a letter is being drafted by the lead investigator of which will be forwarded to the World Poker Tour WPT. Mr. Newmun has been employed by the WPT and its imperative that they be informed of his actions and subsequent behavior. Further this information will be processed through Griffin Investigators whom will notify all casinos of these actions.
The money has been returned to the Poker Tournament Pool as George, Angela and Eric took care of this on Monday.

Please be assured that we will keep you informed of any updates concerning this despicable behavior.

Thank you / Posted by Billy

---

https://www.facebook.com/Local2121

Aside from the odd misspelling of the name as "Newmun", this looks fairly real at first glance. They mention the specific three people taking care of the matter ("George, Angela, and Eric"), whereas a fake report would likely not name any, or perhaps just one. It mentioned the authentic-sounding steps of reporting it to Griffin (a casino security firm) and the intricacies of the Connecticut legal system.

So it would seem that Newnum, who was otherwise well-respected and liked throughout poker (despite being a media member and not a player), literally was caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

... or was he?

Notice that it says he was caught "just before Christmas".

Now look at his Twitter: https://twitter.com/WhoJedi

He was consistently tweeting every day in the weeks before, during, and after Christmas, mostly about Star Wars geek stuff. You would have thought he would have vanished from Twitter for at least a day if this really happened.

The odd thing is that the first extended period of being MIA from Twitter is right now. He hasn't tweeted since January 5, which is unlike him. However, that doesn't correspond with the timeline described in the Facebook post.

It's possible that someone who dislikes him knows that he's gone/unavailable, and is using this opportunity to slam him.

It's also possible that this is true, and he's enough of a sociopath to keep tweeting about Star Wars geekdom as if his whole career isn't crashing down around him, but who knows...

So weird.

Pretty much 3 possibilities here:

1) The Local 2121 page was hacked and this was a prank on Newnum
-or-
2) Someone at Local 2121 was given bad info and is foolishly passing it on without checking
-or-
3) It's true


I really don't know what to say.

Here is Jay Newnum:

http://media.cardplayer.com/assets/p...ge_whojedi.jpg

---

More proof the "2+2" crowd is agenda ridden and largely scummy. Wasnt this guy like beloved on 2+2, so much that he pretty much got the job because of it?

If I'm not mistaken there's been a push of sort for pokerstars to hire him for some sort of social media job

Some updates:

"runer" on 2+2, who has had an account since 2011 and has 260 posts, said the following:

Quote:

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I tweeted last night:

"Fwiw I like Jay and think he's great at his job. One of the best in the industry imo. Hope this gets resolved for all parties involved."

To which Jay DM'ed me:

"Appreciate that man. Unfortunately me coming out with what happened probably isn't even going to help. That will be considered the truth."

---

I don't know if runer is reliable, but I tend to believe this. Doesn't seem to be a gimmick account, and the story is reasonable. (If this was a gimmick/lie, I'm gusesing the DM conversation would have been more scandalous/revealing.)

Others have come out on 2+2 and said that they have spoken to Foxwoods dealers and confirmed that this was happening, but for whatever reason nobody knew the name of the person caught.

runer posted this, too:

Quote:

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I also want to state that I won the $400 Foxwoods Mega on Dec. 14th, one of the dates in question. If this news is confirmed 100% true, I'll be greatly disappointed as I left several hundred dollars for the hardworking dealers that night. In no way do I support theft of any kind, regardless of who you are. Just hope he comes forward with a public statement.

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Here is runer's screenshot of his DM conversation with Jay Newnum:

http://imageshack.com/a/img834/3717/yno7.png

I believe it to be authentic.

Looks pretty bad for Jay, to be honest.

Local 2121 has posted a few corrections, but neither is particularly important.

Quote:

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I am sorry for improper spelling of Mr Newnum's name. The correct spelling is Newnum
Posted by Billy

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Quote:

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My reference to Mr. Newnum being involved with the World Poker Tour is inaccurate and I would like to apologize to the WPT for my posting of this.

The accurate info is his affiliation is with the WSOP - World Series Of Poker.

Again I apologize to the WPT for my actions in referencing them in this article.

Posted by Billy

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Here is the "Billy" who keeps posting these updates to Local 2121:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Billy...72538379566983

His name is William "Billy" Shea.

https://scontent-a-pao.xx.fbcdn.net/...41360613_n.jpg

At this point, I have to say that it's fairly obvious that there is a large degree of truth to this story.

1) The Local 2121 president is standing by the story, only making minor corrections on the Local 2121 Facebook.

2) The DM conversation between runer and Jay seems to be real, and indicates that, at the very least, something actually happened.

3) Jay has gone silent on Twitter since January 5, and has not responded to these incredibly serious allegations -- either himself or through one of his many friends. When you are accused of something like this, you can always give a firm denial quickly if not guilty. I cannot imagine a scenario where Jay hasn't been made aware of this accusation, or to where he is unable to access the internet in some way to respond. None of his friends have presented any reason why he can't respond (such as claims that he's in the Australian outback and can't be reached). The lack of response is the most telling, because if you're falsely accused of stealing, you simply come out and say, "No, I didn't do it. I am innocent. I did not steal from anyone. These allegations are false." It does not require any kind of delay. It does not require a carefully-crafted PR excuse. With every minute that passes, Jay's career gets hurt, so he would be a fool not to respond with a denial if this were false.

I think this is going to end up one of those "Yes, I was accused of this and arrested, but I really wasn't guilty, it was all a misunderstanding, and I only pled guilty to avoid a criminal conviction on my record, blah blah blah"

Basically a pile of BS, and his career in the poker media is over.

Incidentally, he was friends with Joe Sebok and Joy Miller. Take from that what you may.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

At this point, I have to say that it's fairly obvious that there is a large degree of truth to this story.

1) The Local 2121 president is standing by the story, only making minor corrections on the Local 2121 Facebook.

2) The DM conversation between runer and Jay seems to be real, and indicates that, at the very least, something actually happened.

3) Jay has gone silent on Twitter since January 5, and has not responded to these incredibly serious allegations -- either himself or through one of his many friends. When you are accused of something like this, you can always give a firm denial quickly if not guilty. I cannot imagine a scenario where Jay hasn't been made aware of this accusation, or to where he is unable to access the internet in some way to respond. None of his friends have presented any reason why he can't respond (such as claims that he's in the Australian outback and can't be reached). The lack of response is the most telling, because if you're falsely accused of stealing, you simply come out and say, "No, I didn't do it. I am innocent. I did not steal from anyone. These allegations are false." It does not require any kind of delay. It does not require a carefully-crafted PR excuse. With every minute that passes, Jay's career gets hurt, so he would be a fool not to respond with a denial if this were false.

I think this is going to end up one of those "Yes, I was accused of this and arrested, but I really wasn't guilty, it was all a misunderstanding, and I only pled guilty to avoid a criminal conviction on my record, blah blah blah"

Basically a pile of BS, and his career in the poker media is over.

Incidentally, he was friends with Joe Sebok and Joy Miller. Take from that what you may.

---

You would think that someone like Jessica Welman or BJ. Nemeth would have come out and said something about this if it wasn't true or if there was any chance of this being some sort of crazy misunderstanding.

He sold pieces of himself for the LAPC and Foxwoods about a year ago:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/18...ckage-1279463/

He claims to have cashed in the first one for $820 and then bricked the rest of them.

Is there any way people can verify he actually played the events he played?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lvpkr1009

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dan Druff

At this point, I have to say that it's fairly obvious that there is a large degree of truth to this story.

1) The Local 2121 president is standing by the story, only making minor corrections on the Local 2121 Facebook.

2) The DM conversation between runer and Jay seems to be real, and indicates that, at the very least, something actually happened.

3) Jay has gone silent on Twitter since January 5, and has not responded to these incredibly serious allegations -- either himself or through one of his many friends. When you are accused of something like this, you can always give a firm denial quickly if not guilty. I cannot imagine a scenario where Jay hasn't been made aware of this accusation, or to where he is unable to access the internet in some way to respond. None of his friends have presented any reason why he can't respond (such as claims that he's in the Australian outback and can't be reached). The lack of response is the most telling, because if you're falsely accused of stealing, you simply come out and say, "No, I didn't do it. I am innocent. I did not steal from anyone. These allegations are false." It does not require any kind of delay. It does not require a carefully-crafted PR excuse. With every minute that passes, Jay's career gets hurt, so he would be a fool not to respond with a denial if this were false.

I think this is going to end up one of those "Yes, I was accused of this and arrested, but I really wasn't guilty, it was all a misunderstanding, and I only pled guilty to avoid a criminal conviction on my record, blah blah blah"

Basically a pile of BS, and his career in the poker media is over.

Incidentally, he was friends with Joe Sebok and Joy Miller. Take from that what you may.

---

You would think that someone like Jessica Welman or BJ. Nemeth would have come out and said something about this if it wasn't true or if there was any chance of this being some sort of crazy misunderstanding.

---

BJ did post some general statements of support for Jay without addressing whatever happened. You also have to understand that BJ is about the last person in the world who'd be able to maintain his objectivity and distance in a situation like this, which I guess is both a strength and a flaw. Still, no matter what BJ would offer has to be 'grain of salt' stuff for now.

I don't know WhoJedi that well so I couldn't comment on this much one way or the other, and even if I did, I'd know better. Best to just wait and see what facts come out. Folks blasting poker media have to understand that the bums and thieves among poker media occur at just about the same percentage as they do in the general poker-playing populace.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by haleylh

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lvpkr1009

You would think that someone like Jessica Welman or BJ. Nemeth would have come out and said something about this if it wasn't true or if there was any chance of this being some sort of crazy misunderstanding.

---

BJ did post some general statements of support for Jay without addressing whatever happened. You also have to understand that BJ is about the last person in the world who'd be able to maintain his objectivity and distance in a situation like this, which I guess is both a strength and a flaw. Still, no matter what BJ would offer has to be 'grain of salt' stuff for now.

I don't know WhoJedi that well so I couldn't comment on this much one way or the other, and even if I did, I'd know better. Best to just wait and see what facts come out. Folks blasting poker media have to understand that the bums and thieves among poker media occur at just about the same percentage as they do in the general poker-playing populace.

---

I don't know him at all other than seeing him at WSOP, following him on twitter etc but I know a lot of people seem to like him and have decent enough regards to campaign for him to get the stars social media job. It doesn't really matter to me if he did what they say he did and quite honestly I wouldn't even have a problem if he was able to keep his job. Obviously it's a shitty thing to do (if true) but god knows we have given plenty of people second and third and fourth chances before. If the allegations are true and he comes out to give an apology that's truthful and heartfelt then it is what is and let's move on IMO


Edit...obv it does matter what he did and I'm not sure to phrase that to get it across...I guess maybe I'm just not outraged by what he did? Suffice it to say I think it's shitty just not OMG I can't believe it shitty

He was seen browsing the 2+2 thread today.

No response.

Someone theorized that he's afraid to say anything because of the pending investigation against him for the other incidents. Possible, but if he simply confessed to the same thing he told the police, he wouldn't be aiding that investigation at all.

Regarding whether this was a big deal or not, I have to say that it is. Dealers don't make a lot of money, so he was really reaching into the pockets of those who would be hurt the most by his thefts. Furthermore, he wasn't just pickpocketing randoms. He was put in a position of trust and given additional access due to his media status, and allegedly used that access to steal from his own community,. That's why everyone is so pissed, and this is the type of thing you just don't come back from -- at least not in the same industry.

From his sell-pieces-of-himself thread on 2+2 last year:

Quote:

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I reserve the right to make any deals at final tables as well as giving a small tip for dealers and floor staff out of winnings, prior to figuring payouts for pieces. If you have a problem with this, feel free to not invest. Dealers work hard and I believe in taking care of them.

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:lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lvpkr1009

Quote:

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Originally Posted by haleylh

BJ did post some general statements of support for Jay without addressing whatever happened. You also have to understand that BJ is about the last person in the world who'd be able to maintain his objectivity and distance in a situation like this, which I guess is both a strength and a flaw. Still, no matter what BJ would offer has to be 'grain of salt' stuff for now.

I don't know WhoJedi that well so I couldn't comment on this much one way or the other, and even if I did, I'd know better. Best to just wait and see what facts come out. Folks blasting poker media have to understand that the bums and thieves among poker media occur at just about the same percentage as they do in the general poker-playing populace.

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I don't know him at all other than seeing him at WSOP, following him on twitter etc but I know a lot of people seem to like him and have decent enough regards to campaign for him to get the stars social media job. It doesn't really matter to me if he did what they say he did and quite honestly I wouldn't even have a problem if he was able to keep his job. Obviously it's a shitty thing to do (if true) but god knows we have given plenty of people second and third and fourth chances before. If the allegations are true and he comes out to give an apology that's truthful and heartfelt then it is what is and let's move on IMO

Edit...obv it does matter what he did and I'm not sure to phrase that to get it across...I guess maybe I'm just not outraged by what he did? Suffice it to say I think it's shitty just not OMG I can't believe it shitty

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True, but I tend to think lowly of thieves in general. They're at the bottom of my personal totem pole, though I wryly note that half the people bellering away on 4 are probably too cheap to tip dealers themselves anyway.

My hunch is this story will get somewhat deeper. The most logical explanation I can come up with (and I will retract it or adjust if I'm wrong in my guess) is that there probably is more to this, and that the casino and Newnum may have had some sort of unofficial deal to keep it come from coming out, as often happens in petty theft cases like this. Then maybe the dealers got together and realized that more than just the one night's tips seemed to be short, and decided to take the matter into their own hands, hence that union-page post.

If that scenario is close to correct, then the reason Newnum was posting about other stuff is because he thought this wouldn't surface publicly, but now it has.

Confirmed by a dealer:

https://twitter.com/fishgirl54

Quote:

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As a dealer at Foxwoods, I can confirm that this is TRUE. Pulled the money out of toke box with chopsticks!

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This is Sharon Fish, a dealer at Foxwoods.

I agree with HaleyH's analysis.

I think there are many reasons for him not to say much of anything right now:

1. You have to assume the story is true and he confessed to the Foxwoods security that he took the $700. Per the Facebook post, he basically paid restitution, pled guilty, and the matter should have gone away with no official consequence or criminal record. For all we know, the confession could have been anything from "I did it" to "I mistakenly thought the money was meant for me"

2. However, per the Facebook post, two other nights from earlier in December 2013 are still under investigation but apparently with little evidence (maybe no video evidence) other than suspicion that funds might have been taken.

3. If he makes a written statement now to the community and apologizes for a one time mistake, but eventually gets charged for 1 or 2 of the other nights that are still being investigated, then any hope of future employment and all credibility in the poker world is 100% lost. Also, anything he says will be used against him if there are more charges.

4. On the other hand, if he waits for the conclusion that there is not enough evidence to file any more charges and case closed, then he can issue an apology (and probably stick with a "mistake" story), and with his many friends and good guy reputation, may be able to recover and get future employment.

For what its worth, if he really used a coat, chop sticks and duct tape, it's impossible to believe that it was a mistake and/or that he did not have some kind of practice. However, if the facts of the one incident remains sealed, and he's only got the one $700 incident to explain and apologize for, then I do not think he should be ostracized from the poker world.