Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler Banned from Poker Show for ‘Bad Attitude’

Posted on: August 15, 2024, 07:39h. 

Last updated on: August 16, 2024, 10:55h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

“I don’t care how many viewers he brings. I don’t want him back. He was rude to the dealers. He was rude to the other players. He was rude to the staff.” So said the co-owner of poker show “Hustler Casino Live” (HCL), Nick Vertucci, of his recent encounter with Miami Heat small forward Jimmy Butler.

The Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler’s first and – according to Nick Vertucci – last appearance on Hustler Casino Live, above. The NBA player refused to take part in the game until Neymar arrived and was consistently rude, Vertucci claimed. (Image: Hustler Casino Live)
The Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler’s first and – according to Nick Vertucci – last appearance on “Hustler Casino Live,” above. The NBA player refused to take part in the game until Neymar arrived and was consistently rude, Vertucci claimed. (Image: Hustler Casino Live)

Butler was invited to appear on HCL on June 22, along with a star-studded lineup that included Brazilian soccer superstar Neymar Jr, boxers Chris Eubank Jr and Ryan Garcia, professional Instagram bad boy Dan Bilzerian, and others. But it was the six-time NBA All-Star who made the biggest impression on the popular high-stakes cash game stream — and for all the wrong reasons, according to Vertucci.

Vertucci made his feelings clear while playing poker during Monday’s stream. A clip of his comments was then posted on the X platform by NBA content creator Rob Perez, who has also appeared on the show.

Vertucci told his X followers that members of his staff panicked when they saw the clip and had asked Perez to remove it, but he had told Perez to leave it up, even retweeting it himself.

So what did “Jimmy Buckets” actually do to make himself persona non grata?

Neymar Fixation

According to Vertucci – and we should note Butler hasn’t provided his side of the story – the trouble started the moment the NBA star rocked up to the Hustler Casino only to discover that Neymar hadn’t yet arrived.

Instead of joining in with the game, Butler sat disinterestedly in a seat for an hour and a half at the table, not playing, waiting for the Brazilian to make his entrance. When Neymar finally turned up, Butler demanded to be seated closer to the soccer player.

Now actually playing, the Miami Heat man noticed that players were straddling a lot – posting preflop bets double the size of the blinds to increase the action. But, according to Vertucci, Butler didn’t understand what was happening and “became upset.”

His frustration increased when the players started playing the standup game and he got into an argument.

So, he stood up and said, ‘F**k this!” said Vertucci, who at the time was playing at another table and was alerted to the escalating situation by staff. “And I get up there and I hear him going, ‘I’m the real one! They want this muthaf**ka back!’

“So, I walk up – and he has met me, he knows I’m one of the owners of the show – and I’m very nice to him … and I say, ‘hey Jimmy, is there anything I can do for you?’ And he says, ‘yeah, the first thing is get your hand off my f**king arm … If you want to help me, go get my f**king chips.”

Buckets List

Another charge leveled against Butler was that he was rude to a young NBA fan: “Did he [talk to him?] Yeah, but he did it begrudgingly, and he wasn’t very kind to him,” Vertucci said. And that he had his entourage film him handing out $100 bills to people who were part of the group so he could “get [the bills] back later.” At least, that was how Vertucci perceived the situation.

Butler played super tight during the game, barely playing a hand, which is contrary to the spirit of the show, and he left soon after winning a $174K pot from Neymar, which is considered poor poker etiquette.

“I don’t want him back,” Vertucci confirmed.