Full Tilt Poker has been surrounded by controversies for the past few months. It started with the poker site being indicted for its operations in the US. The situation became worse when it was not being able to pay its patrons the money it owed them. To add to it, the license of the embattled poker room was revoked by the Alderney Gambling Commission last month. The key reason behind the suspension of the poker room’s license was that some of its operations were not in line with US gambling laws. The situation hasn’t improved but has become worse for the poker room at present. The company is about to lay off about 180 employees.
The poker room’s employees had been warned previously about the possibility of 250 of them being sacked. The decision to send them away came following discussions that took place over four weeks. Full Tilt’s subsidiary had informed redundant employees about their fate. In complaints made by the US Department of Justice, Pocket Kings Ltd has been included in the defendant’s list. One of the biggest accusations made against the company is that it carried out activities which are illegal in the US. As confirmed by the affected employees, statutory redundancies have been offered to them
A few weeks back, Full Tilt had found an investor. With Bernard Tapie’s announcement that it will takeover the poker room, there were hopes that hundreds of jobs would be saved. However, this was subject to how far the legal scenario was favorable for Full Tilt. The situation got worse with fresh charges being brought against the poker room in California.
Class Action Lawsuit in California
Greg Omotoy and Lary Kennedy, two prominent names associated with the poker room, have filed a suit against other professionals of the Full Tilt Poker team. The defendants’ list includes Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer, along with Ray Bitar.
The new lawsuit differs from the previous ones in terms of the request for compensations. The figures in the past lawsuits were between $15 million and $150 million. The new complaint is requesting a compensation of about $900 millions. The defendants have been offered money from the funds in players’ accounts, according to the allegations.
There are also accusations against the poker room that it deducted a rake illegally. Allegations were also made that Full Tilt has made use of its players’ finances for its marketing and operational expenses. Losses and fees from money laundering were also allegedly covered with these funds.
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