BREAKING: Phil Ivey Enters the L.A. Poker ClassicBeleagured Pro Plays First U.S. Tournament Since April 2011 |
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Beleaguered poker pro Phil Ivey has entered a tournament on U.S. soil for the first time since the U.S. government accused the online site he represented of being involved in financial crimes.
Ivey registered for day 1 of the 2012 L.A. Poker Classic main event on Friday afternoon — a tournament he won in 2008.
Full Tilt Poker first fell into trouble after an April 2011 indictment handed down from the Department of Justice. About a month later, in response to the company’s apparent tardiness in paying back players, Ivey publicly blasted his former employer and filed a lawsuit seeking more than $150 million for “injunctive relief, declaratory relief and damages.”
The amount is what is currently owed to former U.S.-based customers.
He later backed off the legal action when it appeared the company was in talks to be sold to an undisclosed European investor. However, it didn’t stop Ivey from keeping his word on sitting out the entire World Series of Poker — an annual poker festival where he has won eight times.
More bad news fell on members of the company, as well as the poker community at large, when the DOJ piled on accusations of Full Tilt Poker operating as a Ponzi scheme. A handful of principals in the company were named in the civil complaint, and Ivey was not one of them.
About two months later, Ivey entered his first tournament since the site he played on and promoted was shutdown. In late November, Ivey took a seat in the Asian Pacific Poker Tour Macau main event.
Despite not lasting long in the event, Ivey recaptured his winning ways in January by scooping $2,130,200 in the Aussie Millions $250,000 buy-in event. As a result, he sits in second place on the all-time tournament money list with about $15.6 million.
Less than a week later, an attorney for Groupe Bernard Tapie — a French firm currently seeking to acquire Full Tilt Poker — came out publicly to say that Ivey and a handful of players owe millions to the site. The collective debt could derail the purchase, the lawyer said.
Card Player obtained information that Ivey is in debt $4 million to the site.
There have been no updates in the past few weeks from Full Tilt Poker, Groupe Bernard Tapie or the DOJ with regards to the status of the sale.
The 36-year-old has not been accused of any crime in connection with Full Tilt Poker.
Follow Brian Pempus on Twitter — @brianpempus
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Comments
QAsRevenge
1 year ago
Nice face. the word 'duh' comes to mind.
1Acehigh
1 year ago
YEA, HE WOULD READ YOU LIKE A SHORT BOOK, DUHHHH.
I_P_Freely
1 year ago
What a joke Ivey's lawsuit was. His only intent was to distance himself from the rest of the FTP pros in an attempt to save his image. And now we find out that he himself had, and still has not returned, $4 million of the money owed to players.
I'm surprised his has the cubes to enter a tournament in L.A and sit at a table with people he stole money from. I hope he used some of that $4 million to hire some good bodyguards.
DONKEDout
1 year ago
you guys are all idiots... Im sure if you retards had a big stake in a company thinking everything is good then all the sudden you find out you have no money to pay out becasue of some retards that run the day to day stuff im sure you would give up all your money and pay everyone back right? Morons...Iveys 4 million has nothing to do with the deal going thru or not it was a loan im sure he has no problem paying back when a deal is made... why on earth would he pay now when there is no deal made? His lawsuit was also because when he found out they had no money ivey brough in investers who wanted the company and would pay back US players, and the smart guys on the board said "no". Just shut up and wait for your 10$.
tdda32
1 year ago
It was hard not to like Ivey before black friday but now its easy to hate him.
As far as I am concerned , he owns a big part of ftp and is part of the problem.
1Acehigh
1 year ago
HATE IS A STRONG WORD DUDE, YOU MIGHT WANT TO RETHINK THAT. PHIL HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE $$$$ END OF THINGS, HE WAS JUST THEIR MAIN PLAYER AND YEA WHEN FT STARTED UP THEY GIVE HIM %% TOO BE THEIR #1 MAN, HE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE $$$$ END OF THINGS. HE FILED THE LAWSUIT CAUSE HE THOUGHT HOWARD, CHRIS, AND #1 CROOK RAY BITAR WAS HOLDING OUT. HE THOUGHT THAT WOULD FORCE THEM TO PAY THE PLAYERS ETC... WHICH IF HE COULD DO OVER HE WOULDN'T HAVE. PHIL THOUGHT THE $$$$ WAS THERE, BUT AS HE LEARNED, IT WASN'T. RIGHT NOW NO ONE CAN SAY SHYT, NO ONE. IT WILL COME OUT SOON, AND A LOT OF THE POKER COMMUNITY WILL OWE PHIL A BIG APOLOGY. THE PEOPLE THAT KNOW WHAT REALLY HAPPENED, WELL THEIR STICKING BY PHIL. ONCE THE STORY IS TOLD TO ONE, BY THE TIME IT GET'S TO US IT'S BEEN CHANGED 100XX OVER. THE TRUTH WILL COME OUT.
froff69
1 year ago
If ivey has made over $15 mil in tourney eranings how could he ask for a $4 million loan?? i've never seen a million, let alone had a million, but if i had made $15 mill i would feel ashamed to ask for any kinda loan, if he can't manage his money any better than that, i have one word for him, IDIOT, anybody that rich that can't afford to pay off his debts is an idiot pure and simple. & then he wanted to sue FTP for $150 mil more, what an idiot. his name may have been somewhat disgraced becuz of what FTP did, but his name to me has been disgraced even more for his selfish behaviour, he may be a good poker player but as a human being he is a joke. I feel no sympathy for him whatsoever, pay off your debts and stop being a deadbeat loser.If he wants to make sure that $4m gets paid to some of the people who had actually been screwed is one thing, but to try to paint himself as some kind of victim is beyond belief.
1Acehigh
1 year ago
YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. GET A FRKN CLUE.
1Acehigh
1 year ago
PHIL had NOTHING too do with the $$$$ part of It. He was the face of FT and they FT gave him %% of FT for being their #1 player. He had NOTHING too do with the $$$$, NOTHING. Phil thought Howard, Chris, etc... was taking care of the $$$$ end of things. OMG people what's It take for you to understand this. Phil thought filing the lawsuit FT would pay up, players etc... he actually thought Howard, Chris and the #1 CROOK Ray Bitar was just holding out from wanting to pay up, so he thought, If I file a Lawsuit they will pay Everyone, case closed. Which turned out to be, NOT the CASE at all. It would be like the Lakers, If they went Busto would you BLAME Kobe, NO. Even though Phil was given %% of FT to be their #1 Man from the beginning, he had NOTHING to do with the funds. All this will come out, but now NO ONE can say SHYT, NO ONE, not Phil, not Howard, NO ONE. The 4 million, WE don't know how this came about, It could be buy Ins, $$$$ owed, No ONE knows at this point, but It will come out SOON. Oh one more thing, you Know Ray Bitar stole like a few Hundred Million from FT don't ya? I can't wait for the REAL TRUTH to come out, UNTIL then QUIT BASHING Phil.
clunker
1 year ago
According to your OPINION 1Acehigh Ivey would have to be and incredibly dumb person. He was given a part of the golden goose to be it,s front man. Then being a part owner of the golden goose he took a paycheck, stock dividends and a huge unsecured loan. Even the dumbest person should have some idea what a company they are part owner of is making and realize that all that money they are receiving dosen,t add up.
ryanwhit14
1 year ago
acehigh, please stop calling people idiots. Ivey was getting a percentage, was friends and promoted the site for many years. He knew exactly what was going on and was a part of it. Thats why he is in the hole to them for 4 mil. ivey just like lederer, ferguson are straight up crooks and i am surprised he would show up anywhere near the poker world after he screwed so many people out of money. ace high you are extremely naive to think Ivey didn't know or have his hand in the cookie jar at full tilt.