Poker Player Stabbed to Death in Vegas Condo, Wife in Custody
William "The Manipulator" Gustafik, a 44-year-old Las Vegas chiropractor and poker professional, was found stabbed to death this past Friday in his condo unit at the Panorama Towers, a luxury high-rise just off the Vegas strip that David Williams just moved into.
According to the Associated Press, the operators of the towers said that the building's security hadn't been breached and it appears to have been a domestic dispute between Gustafik and his wife Jill Rockcastle. Rockcastle was found Monday unconscious in a motel room in San Luis Obispo and is now in custody.
Of note, Gustafik speaks about his wife on several occasions in his PokerPages profile, saying he is a "devoted husband," and that "[w]ith my beautiful wife by my side and my 9 yr old daughter giving me tips, nothing can stop me." He also states that if "I could change anything in the world: My wife would play live and not just online even though she wins."
We assume he'd also like for her not to kill him.*
Gustafik has won $165k in tournament winnings during the past year and a half with his biggest cash at the WPT Shooting Star in March 2006, where he took home $80k for 10th place.
* Wicked Chops Poker strongly believes that people should be presumed innocent until proven guilty, unless they look really crazy.
UPDATE: Jill Rockinsale is facing murder charges for the fatal stabbing of her husband Bill Gustafik. She was immediately a suspect after the stabbing and the police were hoping to speak with her but she fled to California, checked herself into a B&B and it looked like she was preparing to check herself out of life when the police came upon her. Rockinsale is not the mother of Gustafik's 9-year-old daughter, thankfully. Read the most recent news story here.
Unfortunately, after some late nights in the MGM poker room, my wife has wanted to kill me but so far hasn't managed it!
Posted by: Mike | July 26, 2011 at 03:13 PM
This is a serious situation so we muse all be very careful in what we are doing.
Paula M
Posted by: condo Philippines | April 20, 2010 at 11:38 PM