To this point, the 2016 World Series of Poker has been rather peaceful. By that I mean that there haven’t been any great outrages over the blinds, the payout schedule, the way the tournaments are conducted, the quality of the cards in use…you know, the things that poker players tend to complain about loudly. About the only bad things I’ve heard out of some of the pros (who admittedly have been there more years than I’ve been) is that the cashier’s cage lacks professionalism (Jennifer Harman) and that a dealer shouldn’t have been coarse with a player who had a disability and could only use one arm to look at their cards. Allen Kessler was tossed from a WSOP dealer’s discussion group on Facebook, but even he didn’t seem that upset by the action.
If there has been one bone of contention amongst those in action at the WSOP, it has been the return of two men who have become pariahs for their previous actions. For the first time since 2010, former Full Tilt Poker front men Howard Lederer and Chris ‘Judas’ Ferguson (he doesn’t deserve his previous nickname…this one works much better) have come to the felt of the WSOP. The way the duo did it, however, is in entirely different ways.
Lederer mostly paved his way to playing in the 2016 WSOP by his published mea culpas on fellow pro Daniel Negreanu’s website. In that letter, Lederer took all responsibility for the collapse of the company, writing, “I should have provided better oversight or made sure that responsible others provided that oversight. I was a founder in the company that launched Full Tilt, and I became the face of the company’s management in the poker community. Many of our players played on the site because they trusted me.”
While players waited for Lederer’s return to the WSOP (it actually occurred June 11 in the $10,000 Deuce to Seven Draw Lowball World Championship), they were completely blindsided by the return of Ferguson. Without any notice or fanfare, Ferguson ponied up his money for the $10,000 Seven Card Stud World Championship one week before Lederer, but would depart fairly quickly in that event. He has since gone on cash four times, the latest being in the $3000 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em event. But unlike Lederer, Ferguson hasn’t said word one other than “I’m just here to play poker” to anyone who questions his return.
The bottom line of all of this is should Lederer and Ferguson be playing at all at the WSOP? Should they be welcomed back by the poker community or should they be shunned in perpetuity for their destructive efforts behind the demise of Full Tilt Poker (the other alleged culprit, Ray Bitar, knows well enough to not come around)? And just what do we expect of our poker “professionals?”
By the text of law, there’s no reason that Lederer or Ferguson (or, for that matter, Bitar or even former World Champion Russ Hamilton, implicated in the Ultimate Bet “Superuser” scandal) can’t play in any poker tournament anywhere. They were convicted of no crimes and, in fact, weren’t even tried in a civil court; both men settled their cases with the federal government and paid massive fines for the closure of those cases. Thus, there really isn’t anything that the WSOP, Caesars or any other poker tour (the World Poker Tour, the European Poker Tour, etc.) can hang on them as a basis for prohibiting their play at one of their events.
When it comes to being “welcomed back,” that’s another story in its entirety. Lederer actually had some experience with this as, back in 2012, he attempted to reenter the poker room at Aria in Las Vegas and actually tried to play in a couple of tournaments. He was roundly berated in those tournaments (the cash games allowed for some security) and Lederer quit playing. Despite making his apologies (the letter to Negreanu doing more than the pitiful “Lederer Files” could ever do), he had to know there was still going to be plenty of scorn upon his arrival.
Ferguson is the questionable return. He never once offered an explanation for what happened, never once tried to give the poker community that appearance that he was at all penitent for what occurred under his watch. He just walked back in and continued to be quite arrogant in saying, “I just want to play poker.” As someone who once thought that Ferguson was one of the figures in the game to strive to be like, this left a bad taste in my – and apparently many others’ – mouths.
The problem is that the United States is normally a forgiving nation and poker players and fans, for the most part, are of the same ilk. We have seen players commit egregious errors – who recalls Justin Bonomo’s multi-accounting days? How about David ‘Chino’ Rheem and his inability to repay backers? What about Scotty Nguyen’s conduct during the 2008 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event (which has now become the Poker Players’ Championship), something that has probably prevented him from induction into the Poker Hall of Fame? – but, for the most part, be forgiven for their transgressions. There are some things, such as Hamilton’s association with the “Superuser” scandal (allegedly proven by investigation, not by a court) or Lederer’s sister Annie Duke’s continued association with problematic endeavors (the Epic Poker League basically drove her from the game) that have prevented people from returning to poker, but normally poker players can get over their issues (it seems Negreanu got over his issues with Lederer, whom he basically said should have his legs broken with a baseball bat, “old school Vegas style,” after the Full Tilt fiasco broke). It just takes some time and some contrition from the alleged perpetrator.
Finally, do we expect poker “professionals” to conduct themselves as “saints” to be able to stay in the poker arena? The thing about the game of poker is that many – including the known professionals – get into the game to be able to get away from the ramifications of a job’s rules. With poker, people are their boss and can conduct themselves in whatever way they see fit. Poker “professionals” are human too, struck by the same frailties that might occur in Joe Average’s daily work. Should Joe Average never work again if he commits an error or does something wrong (let’s also say a non-criminal act)? It is something to consider.
For myself, the jury is still out on both men, especially Ferguson. Lederer at least tried to make amends for his actions, but Ferguson basically spat in the face of the poker community, saying “I’m back, like it or not.” Will they continue to frequent the poker circuit following the 2016 WSOP, or will they drift back into the darkness once this year’s schedule of tournaments is over and wait for the 2017 WSOP to reemerge? It remains to be seen how sincere these men are – and it remains to be seen just how much the poker community can forgive overall.
“Make amends” Give me a fucking break. Those two are wholly either a) criminal, or b) incompetent to the point of criminality. Hamilton is the demon seed of those two (metaphorically). So beyond disgusting. They were bailed out by the owner of Pokerstars by virtue of his desire to cool things down, so he paid a 3/4 billion dollar fine (what, about 2 weeks’ rake?), bought the debt of FT, and that’s the ONLY reason players have been paid back (most, from what I hear). Not ONE thing a result of action by these two miscreants. I wouldn’t piss on them if they were on fire.