Poker Blog & Poker Forum

The Subject Poker web site last week put out details of some murky bank account transactions of Chris Ferguson related to the Full Tilt Poker Black Friday saga and insinuated that the poker player could be stalling the beleaguered online poker site’s takeover by Groupe Bernard Tapie. Ferguson and his attorney Ian Imrich have been unavailable for comment. It is significant that Imrich was earlier the attorney for Full Tilt Poker.

It was reported that from April 2007, Chris Ferguson funneled about $60 million of his Full Tilt Poker distribution payments into bank accounts held for him in the name of Pocket Kings Ltd, but which were under his control. Pocket Kings Ltd is a subsidiary of Full Tilt Poker. Ferguson was able to withdraw about $45 million of this amount, some of it allegedly after Black Friday. Apparently he allowed Full Tilt Poker to use the balance $14.3 million to meet its post-Black Friday expenses. Now Ferguson wants to recover that amount before Full Tilt Poker implements the deal with the Department of Justice and Groupe Bernard Tapie. He is using his clout as a shareholder in the online poker site to derail the agreement that could see American players getting their money back.

Some known poker players have spoken out against Ferguson. Gavin Griffin said on a sentimental note that he once liked Chris, but is now disgusted with him. WPT Raw Deal host Tony Dunst was vitriolic. He said, “If Chris Ferguson shows his face in poker again I’ll happily be the first one to drive a stake through that piece of shits ankle.” Dunst added, “I’d bring retribution to Lederer too if I weren’t so confident that the fat fuck will eat himself to death if he has any money left.”

Tom Dwan is one of the Full Tilt players who have not been implicated in any hanky panky. Dwan joined Full Tilt only a few months before Black Friday. He had this to say from Australia where he was playing in the Aussie Millions. “Well obviously the whole Full Tilt situation still makes me sick to my stomach every time I think about it. It sucks that I went on a USO Tour where there were a bunch of soldiers talking about how they could play online poker wherever they were in the world, and then came home and weren’t allowed to.”

The Aussie Millions is the only major global poker event held in Australia. It is hosted by Crown Casino in Melbourne. The poker tournament is held alongside another global sporting event which is the Australian Open Tennis Grand Slam Event. These two events were combined last year by the pairing of poker professional Gus Hansen and tennis professional Caroline Wozniacki. That affair is now over.

Two of the biggest events of the Aussie Millions are currently in progress. The first is the $10,600 buy in Main Event that will run from January 22 to January 28. One of the notable entries is Tom “Durrrr” Dwan. Dwan was closely associated with Full Tilt Poker. He has maintained a low profile ever since Full Tilt was hauled through the coals after Black Friday. Then Dwan had promised to part with a million dollars of his own money to pay the stranded Full Tilt players, should the online poker room default on its commitments. Full Tilt Poker has not yet paid its players, though it is in the process of striking a deal that would hopefully see the players getting their money. Dwan has therefore stated that he will wait another year to see how the saga unfolds, but has reiterated that his promise stands. On a happier note Dwan is in Australia with his girl friend. They were spotted in tourist hot spots like the Sydney Opera House (see picture). Dwan’s girl friend has apparently been Tweeting the not so personal details about their Australia trip.

Meanwhile the $100,000 Challenge for the high rollers is drawing to a close. At the time of writing five players remain. Gus Hansen is at the number five spot and will need to pull out something special to survive. His ex-girl friend Wozniacki is through to the quarter finals in her sport. Mikhail Smirnov is way ahead of the pack followed by Joe Hachem.

Maria Ho, the poker babe, has also entered the Aussie Millions Main Event. Maria has been the last woman standing in two major poker tournaments, WSOP and WSOPE. Can she repeat that feat in the Aussie Millions Main Event?

In a clarification, which has been described as a surprise Christmas present to the online gambling industry, the Department of Justice (DoJ) made its opinion known on two issues. The first was that henceforth the infamous Wire Act of 1961 would apply only to sports betting. The second was that states could license and regulate non-sports related intrastate online gambling. The legal opinion issued by the DoJ was in response to inquiries from New York and Illinois about online lottery sales and a letter written by Senate Majority Lead Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senator Jon Kyl, (R-Ariz.) asking for clarification on the legality of online gambling.

The letter from the DoJ was signed by Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich. Weich acknowledged that the Department was altering its view on the Wire Act after its Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) reviewed the law. Earlier, the DoJ had maintained that the Wire Act covered all types of online gambling. Weich wrote, “Although the OLC conclusion differs from the Department’s previous interpretation of the Wire Act, it reflects the Department’s position in Congressional testimony at the time the Wire Act was passed in 1961.” It may be recalled that the DoJ had prosecuted PartyGaming founders under the Wire Act not long ago. Weich gave the green signal to New York and Illinois stating that online lottery sales would not violate the law.

However, Weich stopped short of stating that online poker is legal. He made it clear that if a state banned online poker then the DoJ would investigate and prosecute the offenders under the UIGEA and other sections of the criminal code. The other ominous warning was, “If Congress wishes to give the federal government greater enforcement authority over non-sports related Internet gambling, it could do so by amending the Wire Act.”

The online poker advocates responded quickly and favorably. John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance said, “This is a much needed clarification of an antiquated and often confusing law. This will provide policy makers at both the state and federal level with the legal confidence to move forward with licensing and regulation of online poker and other non-sporting activity within their respective jurisdictions.” With this clarification Nevada is in position to become the first state to offer intrastate online gaming to its residents. Pappas called upon the federal policy makers to seize the moment and enact federal licensing and regulation laws.

Full Tilt Poker has been a beleaguered entity since Black Friday. Its operations have stopped, its license has been revoked by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission and no one has been willing to touch it even with a barge pole. But now there have been reports that a settlement has been brokered. And this has not been done by Phil Ivey, or by the bigwigs at Full Tilt Poker, but by the Department of Justice (DoJ).

In the first step Full Tilt Poker will have to forfeit all its assets to the DoJ. The current owners will have to reach a settlement in the civil lawsuit filed by the DoJ. There will be no action taken by the DoJ against current Full Tilt owners who have not yet been named in the indictments. However the cases against those named will be pursued. The DoJ will then sell the assets of Full Tilt Poker to Groupe Bernard Tapie (GBT), a French firm, for $80 million. GBT will have the responsibility for paying back the Full Tilt players outside the U.S., while the DoJ will have the responsibility of paying back the American players.

The American players, who reportedly have claims of $150 million, will have to apply to the DOJ for compensation. The legalese involved in the draft agreement uses the term “make whole”, which in simple terms means that if the balances of the players includes any winnings then those would be deducted while making the settlement. GBT has indicated that it would pay back customers outside the United States by giving them a stake in the reincarnated company.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York refused to comment on the report. However, attorney for Full Tilt Poker Jeff Ifrah did speak to a poker news service. He said that at present the agreement exists between the DoJ and GBT and specifies the terms for the sale of the Full Tilt assets. But the DoJ does not have the assets yet, so will need to obtain them. It is not clear what has to happen for the DoJ to obtain those assets. As matters currently stand Full Tilt Poker has denied the civil suit’s allegations. So the wait for the Full Tilt players is far from over.

Bodog Poker has added another poker babe, its third, to Team Bodog. Bodog Poker is perhaps the only online poker room to have only three brand ambassadors all of whom are sexy women players. Leading the team is the veteran Evelyn Ng. Then there is Tatjana Pasalic, who was listed as the second most sexy player. Amanda Leatherman has just joined the illustrious team. Last year another Amanda had joined Team Bodog. She was Amanda “Manderbutt” Musumeci. Manderbutt did not last long, but we hope that Leatherman will have a fruitful innings at Bodog Poker.

On her profile page at Bodog Poker Amanda says, “I’m known as the girl who isn’t afraid to ask questions. Sometimes inappropriate, but I can guarantee you all my interviews are fun!” Her favorite poker moment is playing in the ladies event at the WSOP in 2008 and ending up in the 45th place. She describes her playing style as pretty aggressive and says, “I’ve learned to play small pots while being aggressive and think that’s the best strategy for tournaments.”

Amanda has spent more time reporting on poker than at the tables. She began her career in 2006 and was soon working for PokerNews as an online tournament reporter. She became famous as a hostess and interviewer for the World Poker Tour. Her crowning glory was the Bluff Magazine’s 2011 Reader’s Choice Award for “Best Poker Hostess”, which she won for The Big Game, outrunning poker babe Kara Scott. Amanda says, “I’ve worked in poker for many years. All the pros know me and treat me like a little sister.” Well not all. Amanda had a relationship with Joe Sebok. After breaking up with him there were rumors of something with Daniel Negreanu. Speaking of her assignment with Team Bodog, Amanda said that she is excited to get this chance to play live poker. “Due to constantly working in front of the camera covering poker tournaments, it’s been a while since I have been fully able to concentrate on playing myself – I’m definitely ready to hit the felt on my own.”

Amanda was born in North Carolina on August 7. She was a cheerleader whose grades were high and social circle was ever-expanding. But she chucked it all at the age of 19 and moved to Las Vegas. Amanda now lives in Los Angeles.