Phil Ivey taking legal action against Full Tilt

[Rhyzz]

Not strictly 'Casino Industry' news but a significant step by one of the so called founding members of Tiltware...

Phil Ivey has launched legal action against Tiltware although it doesn't say what for in the press release. I'm guessing he wants the top dogs to process funds quicker after the DOJ allowed them to pay players. It seems like he's just trying to distance himself from the company now and taking the players side to save his reputation.

Have a read of the press release:

For many years, I have been proud to call myself a poker player. This great sport has taken me to places I only imagined going and I have been blessed with much success. It is therefore with deep regret that I believe I am compelled to release the following statement.

I am deeply disappointed and embarrassed that Full Tilt players have not been paid money they are owed. I am equally embarrassed that as a result many players cannot compete in tournaments and have suffered economic harm. I am not playing in the World Series of Poker as I do not believe it is fair that I compete when others cannot. I am doing everything I can to seek a solution to the problem as quickly as possible.

My name and reputation have been dragged through the mud, through the inactivity and indecision of others and on behalf of all poker players I refuse to remain silent any longer. I have electronically filed a lawsuit against Tiltware related to the unsettled player accounts. As I am sure the public can imagine, this was not an easy decision for me.

I whole heartedly refuse to accept non-action as to repayment of players funds and I am angered that people who have supported me throughout my career have been treated so poorly.

I sincerely hope this statement will ignite those capable of resolving the problems into immediate action and would like to clarify that until a solution is reached that cements the security of all players, both US and International, I will, as I have for the last six weeks, dedicate the entirety of my time and efforts to finding a solution for those who have been wronged by the painfully slow process of repayment.

-From phileivey.com

 

[Luckylizzy]

I'm very curious about the details but nothing on the internet actually provides any yet.

 

[fourwood]

trying to save face?

What he is trying to say is that he won't be playing wsop because there will not be lots of internet money sloshing around which makes it good value for him to play.

 

[jetset]

I'm more inclined to agree with Rhyzz's assessment.

Full Tilt has been making excuses for non-payment almost from the day the feds unfroze an account for them, and their latest - almost six weeks on now - is that they are busy raising capital to pay players.

That begs the question, did they not have reserves or ring-fenced funds available (that were not vulnerable) for this purpose, imo.

Full Tilt must have made tens of millions over the years as the world's second largest online poker operator, so presumably the DoJ has managed to freeze all that money stashed presumably in various countries...unless it's all been squirrelled away for the principals of the company?

 

[Mousey]

I'm more inclined to agree with Rhyzz's assessment.

Full Tilt has been making excuses for non-payment almost from the day the feds unfroze an account for them, and their latest - almost six weeks on now - is that they are busy raising capital to pay players.

That begs the question, did they not have reserves or ring-fenced funds available (that were not vulnerable) for this purpose, imo.

Full Tilt must have made tens of millions over the years as the world's second largest online poker operator, so presumably the DoJ has managed to freeze all that money stashed presumably in various countries...unless it's all been squirrelled away for the principals of the company?

What I'm wondering is.... are players outside the US not being paid either? And if so, why not? And if the DOJ has tied up money that are deposits and withdrawals from folks playing in 'free' countries .... how the hell can the DOJ legally do that? And why is there no outcry from other countries if that money is 'seized'? All this is soooo confusing to me.

I'm with Jetset on this... where the devil is all that money FullTilt made? Seized? or did the owners make off with it? Something is really screwy .....

 

[Tengil]

I'm more inclined to agree with Rhyzz's assessment.

Full Tilt has been making excuses for non-payment almost from the day the feds unfroze an account for them, and their latest - almost six weeks on now - is that they are busy raising capital to pay players.

That begs the question, did they not have reserves or ring-fenced funds available (that were not vulnerable) for this purpose, imo.

Full Tilt must have made tens of millions over the years as the world's second largest online poker operator, so presumably the DoJ has managed to freeze all that money stashed presumably in various countries...unless it's all been squirrelled away for the principals of the company?

BTW that proved to be untrue.

And they had 71 accounts seized. Some of them were accounts also used to process non US transfers.

 

[Tengil]

What I'm wondering is.... are players outside the US not being paid either? And if so, why not? And if the DOJ has tied up money that are deposits and withdrawals from folks playing in 'free' countries .... how the hell can the DOJ legally do that? And why is there no outcry from other countries if that money is 'seized'? All this is soooo confusing to me.

I'm with Jetset on this... where the devil is all that money FullTilt made? Seized? or did the owners make off with it? Something is really screwy .....

Players outside US are getting paid. Depends on method, country etc how fast they get their money. The amounts that have been cashed out are of course huge and with a lot of money "tied up" it isnt that smooth.

DOJ did just seize the accounts, they didnt look that much of what kind of funds were in the accounts. So FTP probably has to prove which funds are player money and which arent, and probably which are US and non US.
They also have 60 million of "phantom" money from uncleared deposits that theyll never get floating around.

FullTilt has most likely made well over a billion in profit during the years FWIW

 

[Tengil]

Complaint for Injunctive Relief, Declaratory Relief and Damages

Location : District Court Civil/Criminal Help
Register of Actions
Case No. A-11-642387-C
Phillip Ivey, Jr., Plaintiff(s) vs. Tiltware LLC, Defendant(s) §
§
§
§
§
§
Case Type: Other Civil Filing
Subtype: Other Civil Matters
Date Filed: 06/01/2011
Location: Department 1
Conversion Case Number: A642387
Party Information
Lead Attorneys
Defendant
Tiltware LLC

Plaintiff
Ivey, Phillip Dennis, Jr.
David Zeltner Chesnoff

Retained

7023845563(W)
Events & Orders of the Court
OTHER EVENTS AND HEARINGS
06/01/2011 Case Opened
06/01/2011 Complaint
Complaint for Injunctive Relief, Declaratory Relief and Damages
Financial Information


Plaintiff Ivey, Phillip Dennis, Jr.
Total Financial Assessment 270.00
Total Payments and Credits 270.00
Balance Due as of 06/01/2011 0.00

06/01/2011 Transaction Assessment 270.00
06/01/2011 Wiznet Receipt # 2011-57045-CCCLK Ivey, Phillip Dennis (270.00)


Should be found at

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if anyone gets the site to load.

Edit: Forbes article:

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Parts of it:
The suit filed in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas said Tiltware, a company that provided software to Full Tilt Poker, has denied Ivey's request to pursue other professional relationships in poker. The suit claims more than $150 million in damages to Ivey's personal and professional reputation.

Ivey's lawyer, David Chesnoff, said Ivey is in the prime of his poker career and wants to have options to pursue other opportunities if they come up.

Chesnoff claimed in the suit that Ivey believes Full Tilt owes its players about $150 million but failed to maintain a large enough reserve account to return the funds.


Full complaint:

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[FreeDomme]

lol,


and yes that is a valid contributory statement in re this issue.

 

[jetset]

"...but failed to maintain a large enough reserve account to return the funds."

'Nuff said!

 

[Tengil]

"...but failed to maintain a large enough reserve account to return the funds."

'Nuff said!

They have/had(DOJ) the money. Doesnt really matter if the funds were "just" segregated(not in a protected and constantly "updated" account) or not.

From Bill Rinis blog:

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and

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[Simmo!]

I don't get how Ivey can claim $150m for damage to his reputation. I mean everyone knows that this was bought about by the DOJ in the first instance. Then we all know that FTP seem to have been stalling for reasons that seem fairly obvious.

But how can anyone think this damages Ivey's reputation? It was just a sponsorship deal - anyone with the slightest bit of common sense (and no agenda) would just put that down to wong place, wrong time. They are hardly going to see him as having any responsibility or having lost credibility surely?

I mean yeah it might be a tad embarrassing for the guy but he didn't have to say yes to a deal with a room that took US players. That was his choice.

I just think the whole lawsuit culture has gotten out of hand. Everyone looks for an easy ride the moment an opportunity arises.

 

[nisosbar]

I don't get how Ivey can claim $150m for damage to his reputation. I mean everyone knows that this was bought about by the DOJ in the first instance. Then we all know that FTP seem to have been stalling for reasons that seem fairly obvious.

But how can anyone think this damages Ivey's reputation? It was just a sponsorship deal - anyone with the slightest bit of common sense (and no agenda) would just put that down to wong place, wrong time. They are hardly going to see him as having any responsibility or having lost credibility surely?

I'm just an internet noob, but upon reading that statement just now, it honestly strikes me as hastily done and poorly written. I think it's pretty clear he didn't run that through a PR firm, which - as a high-profile, high-profit poker player, he absolutely should have an agent of some kind - would have been able to say, "look, if you're trying to make a point of XYZ, this is NOT the way to do it - here's what you do, based upon our 50+ years of experience in public relations ..."

And I quip that because, as you point out, it doesn't really stand up to much scrutiny. It seems also to contradict itself.

 

[FreeDomme]

pretty sure the rat American was in Portugal when he did this thing

 

[FreeDomme]

With help of the fora I will put cross hairs on his house

 

[FreeDomme]

Some of 'you people' seem to act as if this 'thing' doesn't effect the entire future of online gambling. It does. I have been cavalier at points but I am willing to share what I learn as we progress.

Should a Homeland Security investigation ensue? Or has it already begun.

 

[Mousey]

pretty sure the rat American was in Portugal when he did this thing

With help of the fora I will put cross hairs on his house

Some of 'you people' seem to act as if this 'thing' doesn't effect the entire future of online gambling. It does. I have been cavalier at points but I am willing to share what I learn as we progress.

Should a Homeland Security investigation ensue? Or has it already begun.

OK... you're sounding entirely all too familiar... Getting that deja vu feeling...

On top of that, you have completely lost me. Which is not all that remarkable, I know....

 

[fourwood]

"...but failed to maintain a large enough reserve account to return the funds."

'Nuff said!

Thats the poker business model though, keep the funds circulating until its all converted to rake profits, shouldn't need to keep large amount of cash to cover deposists as the withdrawals can always be covered by new deposits.

Morally wrong maybe but thats business.

 

[FreeDomme]

OK... you're sounding entirely all too familiar... Getting that deja vu feeling...

On top of that, you have completely lost me. Which is not all that remarkable, I know....

I am confused, please do not mince your words.

 

[jetset]

Latest development

Things are turning nasty - statement from Full Tilt Wednesday:

“Contrary to his sanctimonious public statements, Phil Ivey’s meritless lawsuit is about helping just one player – himself. In an effort to further enrich himself at the expense of others, Mr. Ivey appears to have timed his lawsuit to thwart pending deals with several parties that would put money back in players’ pockets. In fact, Mr. Ivey has been invited -- and has declined -- to take actions that could assist the company in these efforts, including paying back a large sum of money he owes the site. Tiltware doubts Mr. Ivey’s frivolous and self-serving lawsuit will ever get to court. But if it does, the company looks forward to presenting facts demonstrating that Mr. Ivey is putting his own narrow financial interests ahead of the players he professes to help.”

 

[jetset]

@spiderlegz

I've just noticed your post #6, in which you bolded this part of one of my posts - "from the day the feds unfroze an account for them" - and commented that it had proved to be untrue.

Here's a report from EGR of 27 May substantiating my comment:

"The United States Department of Justice has unfrozen one Irish account belonging to Full Tilt Poker (FTP) and its co-founder Raymond Bitar, freeing up more than a third of the US$100m to $150m still owed to US players.

A FTP source, however, told this publication US players would not immediately be paid despite this development and that no date had been confirmed for when this might happen.

The freeing-up of the Bank of Ireland account – one of nine FTP accounts frozen in Ireland and a total of 76 named in the 15 April Black Friday indictments as belonging to one of the three indicted poker sites – constitutes more than a third of the approximate $100m to $150m owed to American players by Full Tilt, according to information obtained by eGaming Review.

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[P.V.]

Come ON

Not strictly 'Casino Industry' news but a significant step by one of the so called founding members of Tiltware...

Phil Ivey has launched legal action against Tiltware although it doesn't say what for in the press release. I'm guessing he wants the top dogs to process funds quicker after the DOJ allowed them to pay players. It seems like he's just trying to distance himself from the company now and taking the players side to save his reputation.

Have a read of the press release:



-From phileivey.com

Phil should have done his homework before endorsing anything. Maybe he should have joined CM and learned how things worked beforehand.

The guy has NO clue, so his lawsuit is irrelevant. U.S. speaking!

I agree with him and hope everyone gets paid but don't cry when you endorse an illegal activity as far as the DOJ is concerned.

Looking for a fast pay day IMOP!

 

[Tengil]

@spiderlegz

I've just noticed your post #6, in which you bolded this part of one of my posts - "from the day the feds unfroze an account for them" - and commented that it had proved to be untrue.

Here's a report from EGR of 27 May substantiating my comment:

"The United States Department of Justice has unfrozen one Irish account belonging to Full Tilt Poker (FTP) and its co-founder Raymond Bitar, freeing up more than a third of the US$100m to $150m still owed to US players.

A FTP source, however, told this publication US players would not immediately be paid despite this development and that no date had been confirmed for when this might happen.

The freeing-up of the Bank of Ireland account – one of nine FTP accounts frozen in Ireland and a total of 76 named in the 15 April Black Friday indictments as belonging to one of the three indicted poker sites – constitutes more than a third of the approximate $100m to $150m owed to American players by Full Tilt, according to information obtained by eGaming Review.

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That was false. They had done zero verification.
DOJ: NO FTP Funds Released

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[Rhyzz]

Mmmm the plot thickens, seems Ivey owes FTP money on his credit account, that could come back to bite FTP in the ass considering Alderney has extremely strict rules on credit accounts

 

[jetset]

That was false. They had done zero verification.
DOJ: NO FTP Funds Released

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That is one serious allegation regarding EGR's report, and I intend to follow up on this with them.

But they were not the only ones carrying the "DoJ has unfrozen an FTP account to enable it to pay players" story - it is widespread across even mainstream print media.

Could it be that FTP was deliberately misleading or misinforming media? That would be an extremely risky strategy imo.