Poker Writer
Poker player and sometime backer Denise Pratt says she has dropped her arbitration against Maurice Hawkins in an effort to de-escalate tensions surrounding the embattled World Series of Poker Circuit ring leader. She called the situation “toxic, volatile, and unsafe” and said, “no amount of money is worth placing people in harm’s say.”
A post by Dan ‘Jungleman’ Cates on X, and confirmed by Pratt herself, outlines the situation that led to the dropped arbitration. Hawkins, for his part, denies that she has done so.
Pratt had a run-in with Hawkins in Tunica in April 2025 after she confronted him about money she said he owed her from a backing deal that he had failed to pay.
But Hawkins getting assaulted during a cash game in December made Pratt wary of the violence aimed toward him.
Cates shared Pratt’s statement on the matter:
I made the decision to step back when it became clear that continuing forward carried the risk of someone being harmed, whether through physical confrontation or potential gun‑related danger. No dispute and no amount of money is worth placing people in harm’s way.
I intentionally de‑escalated and brought the proceedings to an end because protecting lives truly matters to me. The situation surrounding Maurice Hawkins had become too toxic, too volatile, and too unsafe to justify continued involvement.
My choice was simple: I chose people’s safety over being right, and I chose integrity over conflict.
Hawkins released the confidential arbitration findings in defiance of the nondisclosure agreement. It was another violation of a legally binding commitment, according to Cates’ post.
Pratt expanded on the details of the arbitration on a follow-up post, responding to a commenter asking if she had lost arbitration:
I didn’t lose the arbitration nor did he win the arbitration.. he is now full blown in breach of a confidentiality agreement which is a better position to be in anyway because it further substantiates his nefarious tendencies and that he is not to be trusted.
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Hawkins, meanwhile, appears to want to put his past controversies behind him and focus on his poker in 2026. He went on X to address the Pratt arbitration situation as well as his previous backer issues with Randy Garcia, whom he started to haggle with over past debts.
“Let’s put this chapter behind us,” he wrote.
The 21-time circuit ring winner added that “this will be my biggest year” and finished it with the hashtag “2026YearOfTheHawk.”
He snapped back at a commenter who said, “I give it three months before he (Hawkins) misses a payment,” with the retort: “I give it 15 days before I win your yearly salary.”
