Nik Airball is an odd and contentious character, but then is this not precisely what VertuccI and Feldman are looking for at Hustler?
Airball claimed he was/is an investment banker and there does seem to be some employment history to back this up. However it was somewhat vague and saw him flitting from one job to another for a few years mainly connected with the aeronautical industry, if I recall. That said there are two sides to him and he did appear fairly generous (and perhaps naive) in that he would loan funds to players who were short and then would stake some newbies without much due diligence (some murky stuff went down when Robbie Liew and pals showed up). But obviously Airball frequently acts like a douche at the table and my assessment of such folks is believe what they are presenting you - it ain't an act.
I think it's more interesting to look at the bigger picture and what streams like Hustler's, and now even The Lodge are scheduling - which would appear to be an element of chaos and controversy. I presume it gets views, but not for me personally, and I don't think I am outlier. There are those who love the Tony G shenanigans, the Phil Hellmuth melt downs and cuss fests etc. but they are of little interest to me. I think they appeal to a certain type of existing player but I do not believe they bring many to the game (I find the shop worn argument this attracts outsiders ludicrous).
But it was odd when Vertucci declared no cheating had been proven at Hustler's, that Robbie (and Rip etc) had just disappeared from the stream. But Robbie showed at Live At The Bike, and then over at The Lodge (which was peculiar as Doug Polk had initially declared she had to have been cheating). Then of course (same series) Nik Airball showed at The Lodge also, with Dan Cates himself historically embroiled in some sketchy situations...and of course mayhem followed. So now streams and even content creators such as Berkey appear to be courting the notoriety with the clashing personality route. Whatever. My interest had been waning regarding these streams, but it has now plummeted to watching little more than highlight clips - they are more than enough.
And to be frank, if the controversial streams are firmly at cliche at this point they just get me more excited to see the next Triton, WPT or best of all EPT event to be staged.
