IVEY’S FULL TILT POKER LITIGATION NOT JUST ABOUT THE PLAY

Written 5/01/11 :

Court documents reveal that online poker company is reluctant to cut him loose
 
Our story  earlier today on Phil Ivey launching a legal action against Full Tilt Poker parent Tiltware has had an interesting sequel as Clark County court documents have become available.
 
Case No. A-11-642387-C refers to an action by Phillip Ivey, Jr., Plaintiff against Tiltware LLC, Defendant, in which it is alleged that Tiltware has denied Ivey's request to pursue other professional relationships in poker. The suit claims more than $150 million in damages to Ivey's personal and professional reputation.
 
Ivey's lawyer, David Chesnoff, claims that Ivey is in the prime of his poker career and wants to have options to pursue other opportunities if they come up. He also claims that Ivey believes
Full Tilt owes its players about $150 million but failed to maintain a large enough reserve account to return the funds.
 
In his earlier statement Ivey focused on the non-payment of US players, saying that this has embarrassed him and that he would not be playing in the World Series of Poker this year because "I do not believe it is fair that I compete when others cannot," a reference to the recent Black Friday shutdowns of Full Tilt, Pokerstars and Absolute Poker in the USA.
 
"My name and reputation have been dragged through the mud, through the inactivity and indecision of others and on behalf of all poker players I refuse to remain silent any longer," Ivey said in his personal statement, advising that he had filed a lawsuit against Tiltware related to the unsettled player accounts.