Wanted to show a little link love to some people who have written some really great stuff recently.
First off, Dr. Pauly (don’t call him Paul) has a bit of a rant about PokerStars stiffing him. Seems he received a form letter saying that affiliates will not be paid on US players they sent in the months prior. So, if I’m reading the letter correctly, if I sent a player in Jan and he met all of the qualification requirements for me to get paid in early April, Stars is saying, “F-U, we’re not paying because we can’t make any more money off this guy because he’s in the US but keep sending us non-US players, Thanks!”
Next up are a series of articles written by Karak which pretty much sum up a lot of my feelings about the actions of PokerStars and Full Tilt.
PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker Lied to You
PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker Lied to You Part II
The DOJ Had No Choice and Probably Doesn’t Care About Internet Poker
The recurring theme in all of this is that Stars and Tilt became either too arrogant or too greedy for their own good. Their “alleged” willingness to engage in all sorts of shady processing deals in order to save a few bucks on processing fees is what brought them down. The DOJ has not gone after any of the US facing card rooms (other than UB and Absolute who are accused of the same crimes).
In light of what we know now about the indictments I have such a hard time not laughing when reading Full Tilt’s initial response:
Dublin Ireland (April 15, 2011) – Full Tilt Poker is saddened by today’s charges against its CEO Raymond Bitar and offers its full support to Mr. Bitar and Nelson Burtnick.
Online poker is a game of skill enjoyed by tens of millions of people in the United States and across the world. And, Full Tilt Poker remains as committed as ever to preserving the rights of those players to play the game they love online.
Mr. Bitar and Full Tilt Poker believe online poker is legal – a position also taken by some of the best legal minds in the United States. Full Tilt Poker is, and has always been committed to preserving the integrity of the game and abiding by the law.
“I am surprised and disappointed by the government’s decision to bring these charges. I look forward to Mr. Burtnick’s and my exoneration”, said Mr. Bitar.
Unfortunately, as a result of this action, Full Tilt Poker has decided that it must suspend “real money” play in the United States until this case is resolved. However, Full Tilt Poker will continue to provide peer-to-peer online poker services outside of the United States.