Full Tilt Poker Facing a New $900 Million Class Action Lawsuit
It would seem that the action just does not stop for Full Tilt Poker – and just as the site once had the most active poker tables online, it is now acing a constant stream of class action lawsuits.
The most recent add-on is a class-action lawsuit filed by two poker players Lary Kennedy and Greg Omotoy. These players are suing the site, its owners and several prominent poker players who promoted the brand for $900 million worth of damages. Now that is a very tall – order that it is very likely Full tilt Poker will not be able to serve up!
This lawsuit was filed in California and has the backing of more than 200,000 Full Tilt poker players who feel that they have been wronged by the site. According to the lawsuit Lary Kennedy and Greg Omotoy, claim that Full Tilt Poker is guilty of “a pattern of racketeering.” The suit also accuses the site of “brazen money-laundering,” and charges Chris Ferguson, founder Ray Bitar and Howard Lederer of the same. Chris Ferguson appears to be the main target of this lawsuit which was filed as Kennedy v. Ferguson in the courts of California.
Other people charged with the lawsuit include popular poker players like Phil Ivey and Gus Hansen. Hansen and Ivey stand accused because they “helped promote the website and attract players,” to the Full Tilt Poker site which of course may be allegedly guilty of money laundering.
Surprisingly, Phil Ivey has also been the target of this lawsuit despite him talking a strong stance against the Full Tilt Poker site on behalf of the players who had not received their funds.
The lawsuit also shone the spotlight on the Full Tilt Poker site because of the way it has been handling player funds. Kennedy and Omotoy (along with the backing of 200,000 others) claim that Full Tilt “did not create financial reserves for amounts held on behalf of players, but instead distributed the money for operational expenses, marketing expenses, fees and losses arising from money laundering … and massive distributions to the individual defendants.”
The case has been filed in the courts of California. What’s more, in addition to the 900 million, the suit also wants 2 million in fees from the law firm Cozen O’Connor, which handled Full Tilt Poker’s cases despite knowing that the site was indulging in money laundering.
While it would seem that a good portion of the poker players want to see this FTP site close down completely, many players from the US poker community and international poker sectors are hoping that Full Tilt Poker gets back on its feet. They do not blame the Full Tilt Poker site but rather the laws existing in the US. While this may be the case, it is true that there is no significant proof to state that Full Tilt Poker has conned its players or cheated them in any way. It is just that they seem to have broken the US gaming rules in different ways and for that they are now paying the price.
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