Posted on 04/05/2010 9:45:58 PM PDT by SubGeniusX
A federal grand jury in Manhattan is investigating one of the largest internet poker sites serving US gamblers and could bring indictments against some of the world's best known professional players, according to people familiar with the case and a subpoena issued to a witness this week.
The probe is aimed at Full Tilt Poker and individuals including Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer, champion gamblers who are among those accused of controlling the company in a Los Angeles civil lawsuit filed last year. Online gambling is illegal in the US and according to the subpoena the investigation is examining whether gambling and money-laundering laws have been broken.
FBI agents or prosecutors have spoken to at least two people involved in disputes with Full Tilt, paying special attention to the possibility of money-laundering violations, those familiar with the inquiry say. Money-laundering charges might be attractive to the government as they would compel co-operation from authorities even in countries where gambling is legal.
Full Tilt's web pages say it is registered in Alderney, in the UK's Channel Islands, and regulated there.
The Manhattan US attorney declined to comment, as did justice department officials in Washington. Eric Jackson, a Los Angeles civil attorney representing Mr Lederer, Mr Ferguson and a software company with ties to Full Tilt, said his clients had not been informed of the grand jury inquiry.
"We are not going to comment about a speculative grand jury investigation that we are not aware of," Mr Jackson said.
Both Mr Lederer and Mr Ferguson filed a motion to dismiss the civil case but have not addressed the substance of the allegations at this stage.
Criminal charges, especially against the celebrity Americans known for televised tournament play, would mark an escalation in the US government's stuttering moves against internet gambling.
But it would fit the federal law enforcement strategy by trying to make an example out of prominent targets, according to Nelson Rose, an author of books on gambling law and adviser to some companies in the industry. "They are waging this war of intimidation," Mr Rose said. "There are not a lot of good statutes, so they go after high-profile targets and try to intimidate everybody."
The justice department maintains online poker violates the decades-old Wire Act, and it gained strength with the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. But not all judges agree on the former, and Mr Rose said he did not know of any criminal charges brought under the 2006 law, which has been criticised for poor wording.
While various bills are circulating in Congress that would at least permit the states to authorise and regulate online poker, federal agents have continued to take shots at leading figures under money-laundering and other laws.
Even though London-traded PartyGaming pulled out of the US market after the 2006 bill was passed, it paid $105m (€77m, £70m) last April to avoid prosecution. Last year a Canadian payment processor traded on Nasdaq forfeited $19m for handling gambling transactions before the 2006 law.
yes folks can luckbox their way to win a Donkament .... but the consistent winners, Ivey, Hellmuth, Ferguson, Harrington,et al... are the "professionals" who do everything on the odds, and not emotion....
If you look at the final tables of most WSOP, WSOPE and WPT events you tend to see many of the same faces on a consistent basis...
DUCY?
if not ...
HU4ROLLZ?
texas holdem games don’t require math degrees....anybody with any sense can easily figure out what cards are still out there.....you hold cards, you can see some cards, now let me think....duh....
small/mid stakes online NL cash game: $2/$4 blinds, $400 standard buyin.
Good players at those stakes: 10bb/100 per table (8 big blind profit per 100 hands) while playing 6-8 shorthanded tables at a time.
Long term earnings: $320/hr
I’m sure someone with your degree of “common sense” should have no trouble earning an extra 100k in his spare time at the low/mid stakes. After all, most of the people playing those games aren’t even pro’s.
Let us know how it goes. /snicker
This case, or 1 like it, will be in the USSC before too long. The US gov’t is scrammbling for things to tax & regulate. They will eventually get their hooks into internet gaming.
Poker is indeed a game of skill, though you’ll have an easier night if luck smiles upon you. And if you don’t believe poker is a game of skill, then let’s play! You might get lucky for a hand or two, but that’s about it.
Online players have their own hierarchy of champions, wannabes and losers, just as do “brick-and-mortar” live poker players. There are some huge online tournaments and there are online players who make a serious living at the game. Some consider online play to be akin to minor-league baseball, but I disagree. It’s real.
And the whole thing all comes down to freedom. Tax me if you insist but otherwise LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!!
The probe is aimed at Full Tilt Poker and individuals including Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer, champion gamblers who are among those accused of controlling the company in a Los Angeles civil lawsuit filed last year.
Who filed that suit?
See my post #20.
At first I thought it might be Clonie Gowan... (but that suit was filed in late 08....)
But more likely it’s “sillysal” - http://www.onlinepoker.net/poker-news/poker-law-industry-news/lawsuit-filed-full-tilt-poker-80k-confiscated-online-accounts/1518
Lawsuit - http://playpokergirl.com/fulltilt_complaint.pdf
This law was attached to the port security bill after midnight and at the last minute before the Senate passed the bill. The kind of thing the “Tea Party” people find outrageous.
Besides it is none of the governments business what people do with their own money.
That law suit last year was brought by Clonie Gowen.
She never lost, but the case against Full Tilt was dismissed.
http://www.launchpoker.com/women/poker-pro-clonie-gowen-loses-ground-in-fulltilt-lawsuit/
This be true. I'm personally not a fan of Ivey, but during the 2009 WSOP Main Event, he impressed me with his ability to tell other players what they had. It was uncanny. I do think all the nonsense about him being the best player in the world is just that, nonsense.
They go after people burning Korans, and Internet gambling, while terrorists are plotting our destruction.
Don’t it just make you sleep safely at night?
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