| |
added on 2011-06-07 04:54:38
Last week, one of the world's biggest professional poker players Phil Ivey announced his decision to boycott the 2011 World Series of Poker, as a sign of solidarity with the US Full Tilt customers that are still waiting to receive their money back from the online poker operator.
The winner of eight WSOP bracelets and one WPT title, who is regarded by most of the poker fans as the best all-around poker player in the world today, plays exclusively on Full Tilt Poker alongside other big poker pros such as Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer.
In a message posted on Facebook last week, Ivey told his fans he was extremely disappointed by Full Tilt Poker and he felt embarrassed that many players would not be able to compete in tournaments because the online poker room caused them 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,” he said.
“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.”
A week later, Full Tilt Poker responded to Ivey's accusations in a statement that suggested his actions were selfish and could hurt Full Tilt's ability to pay back players. Here is the complete statement of Full Tilt:
"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."
The poker player filled suit against Tiltware, seeking damages in excess of $150 million. Meanwhile, Tiltware refuses to free Ivey from his sponsorship commitments to the company.
Daniel Negreanu himself said he admires Ivey's willing to give up WSOP, which is very important to him, for what he thinks is principally right and described Tiltware's response as “low class”.
|
|
|
|
