PurePoker did a hit-and-run?

[jetset]

Jay says: "After talking with Pino again, I get no indication that he's making any profit off this. He hasn't taken over PurePoker; he's just trying to unwind things at FB's request and his own expense for what's not sitting in FB's escrow account for the site."


I've had some exchanges with this character Pino, too and frankly his responses and his actions in trying to bargain players down to date don't strike me as being those of a guy getting nothing out of this situation.

I'm guessing here that the quid pro quo might be access to the PurePoker player lists so that he can generate more action for his other online gambling interests. Alternatively, if he has not taken over PurePoker, perhaps the deal is a cheaper price eventually if he looks after the absconding owner's obligations.

Whatever, I don't see this guy helping players out of the goodness of his heart!

I don't have a problem with him getting a cheap poker room in return for picking up the old obligations, providing that the players are paid in full the monies that are owned to them.

If this operator was smart he would recognise the great marketing possibilities that a timely and integrity-driven resolution to this situation could bring to both him and Futurebet.

Unfortunately, and based on this saga thus far this does not yet seem to have entered the considerations of either. The operator has been trying to knock the players down in their expectations, and Futurebet seems to be sitting on it's hands hoping that Pino will pull its chestnuts out of the fire.

It's high time now for Futurebet to prove that it is capable of ethical turnkey provider conduct by standing behind its players, imo.

[Jay]

Yes, clearly what he gets out of it is the PurePoker accounts. A set of gamblers who can deposit four figures into a casino is probably worth something.

It sounds like the Bad Guys still own the PurePoker domain name, and they're in hiding (which is why I speculated that FB didn't even know their address.. if they owed ME $60k+, I'd invest in a plane ticket or at least a private investigator or even lawyer in their area). Without the PurePoker name (and that's a pretty good name, as such things go), the player list may not be worth as much.

[paul02085]

What really sux about this is that the money involved is all PLAYERS money (less rake) unlike a casino where their own money is at risk. The winnings being discussed were never the poker rooms monies but other players monies.

Its is bad enough when a casino rips off players winnings because they dont have enough of their own money to pay the players.

It is really bad when a poker room rips off players because in essence the only reason they wouldnt have the money to pay off the players is they just stole it.

Theft is theft but poker room theft is even more insidious than casino theft.

(Edit- this is assuming no casino type games were involved in the mix)

[jetset]

IMO the longer Futurebet leaves this, the worse it will get in terms of damage to their reputation and that of their licensees.

Remember, players have not yet even had the courtesy of a formal email from Futurebet explaining the situation, and that in itself is extremely unprofessional and lacking in integrity.

The players have a right to know what is going on, what is happening with their money and what action is being taken to secure their interests, and if this is not forthcoming I would suggest that it is grounds for a rogue listing.

The way things are going at present, I would say that Pino is not a good bet!

[TrixSlice]

Originally Posted by paul02085

(Edit- this is assuming no casino type games were involved in the mix)

For the record, casino games were included for me.

I think if Pino does resolve this he deserves to make some money off of it as it wasn't his problem to begin with. Futurebet should have just sucked it up. Is $60k that much when you are on the other side of this business? I would hope not. This problem definatly didn't originate with Pino but if he truly decides to resolve it I think players need to start being paid at least partially. I asked him for a portion of my money to be paid to my neteller in good faith but have seen nothing yet.

Pino, I know you read these threads. Please respond or do something in good faith. Everyone would appreciate it.

[jetset]

Neteller Investigations and the PR department now have this issue is my last information from that quarter. I don't know what they can or will do about it, but they have been alerted and given this thread as a reference.

I think Pino has been offered the player database as a quid pro quo for trying to do what is really Futurebet's dirty laundry, and I get the feeling from his exchanges that he has not actually taken this operation over - it's the player database that is the honey here, and in itself that raises questions about player privacy imo.

As posted earlier, I think it's high time that Futurebet accept their responsibilities to owed players of a failed licensee and get this thing resolved in a timely and fair manner.

[Jay]

Originally Posted by paul02085

What really sux about this is that the money involved is all PLAYERS money (less rake) unlike a casino where their own money is at risk. The winnings being discussed were never the poker rooms monies but other players monies.

Its is bad enough when a casino rips off players winnings because they dont have enough of their own money to pay the players.

It is really bad when a poker room rips off players because in essence the only reason they wouldnt have the money to pay off the players is they just stole it.

Theft is theft but poker room theft is even more insidious than casino theft.

(Edit- this is assuming no casino type games were involved in the mix)

Only casino for me. I don't really play poker much, and didn't play at all here.

[Jay]

... and hey, look, my account is locked again. Yay.

[jetset]

That raises the interesting question of who is on the controls here, bearing in mind that Pino says he hasn't taken this operation over?

It must therefore be Futurebet, but what is their criteria for switching accounts on and off like light bulbs???

[Jay]

Definitley Pino has control there. During my original phonecall, he said that he could reactivate my account (with less money in it), and five minutes after the call ended, I checked and it was reactivated.