Sep 30 2011

Full Tilt Allegations: What do the Pros Think?

written by: Will under News Comments: Comments Off

Ten days ago, the U.S. Department of Justice cited Rafe Furst, Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer as defendants in its civil indictment against Full Tilt Poker. In short, this gives the DOJ legal recourse to sue the three individuals for everything they’re worth.

Since then, poker professionals the world over have taken to social media sites and blogs to voice their opinions on the matter. The highlights are below:

Tom Dwan: “Super happy with the DOJ’s actions today. Restores a little faith in government for me.”

Brian Hastings: “Paying players is most important but having words ‘Ponzi scheme’ tossed around in online poker article is very bad for future in U.S.”

…and a few days later…

“FTP management just baffles me. Longterm EV for owners would be infinitely higher if they ran it well rather than taking all the profits. So essentially they screwed customers over while also hurting personal EV and risking jail time. Brilliant.”

JC Alvarado: “This is what happens when you leave $443 million in the hands of people who’s maxim all through the 90s was, ‘if you can’t spot the sucker…’”

Perhaps the single best reaction belonged to Mike “Timex” McDonald, who in on the committee that decided to suspend Ferguson and Lederer from the Epic Poker League: “When I got ‘Howard Lederer’s Secrets of NLHE’ DVD for my 15th birthday,” he said, “I never imagined that one day I’d be voting him out of a poker league.”

Another amusing quote came from Adam Junglen: “If I ever get my FTP money my family is getting the sickest Christmas ever.”

Other players including Daniel Negreanu, Dan O’Brien, Kathy Liebert, Tony Dunst and Tony G sounded off as well, with the consensus being disgust that FTP was paying dividends to their sponsored pros with player deposits, not company profits.

What’s your reaction to the ongoing Full Tilt Poker saga? Let us know in the comments section below.

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