On September 30th, Poker News Daily confirmed that Pitbull Poker, a small site on the Flash Poker Network, closed down amid a superuser scandal. The closing of the poker room began with an incident involving two of the site’s owners showing up at the office in the middle of the night and removing computers from the premises. On-site staff working the graveyard shift became worried and called police, leading to the two owners, Kevin Baronowski and “Justin,” being called in for questioning. Since that time, Pitbull Poker has been officially closed and no statements have been made regarding player funds, which at this point are unaccounted for.
The controversy started back on July 22nd when chesterboy, a user at the TwoPlusTwo forums, posted that he believed he had proof that there were superusers on Pitbull Poker. Chesterboy was not a whining micro-stakes player, but rather a respected mid-stakes competitor who came to the site hired as a prop player to help keep low- and mid-stakes games full. After months of discussion, including an exclusive interview with Poker News Daily, it appears that the accusations may have been true. Only a short time later, Pitbull Poker was closed and player funds disappeared.
Well-known online poker pro jasons0147 from the TwoPlusTwo forums commented on the issue by stating, “Although I am an American professional poker player and the Pitbull Poker scandal doesn’t affect me directly, it reminds me that America needs to work on the legislation and regulation of poker sites. I personally keep tens of thousands of dollars on a major site that is U.S.-friendly, but stupidly enough I couldn’t tell you where that money is held at or what assurance I have that my money will be there when I wake up. It is time for us as poker players to stand up, demand legislation, and remind our government about the amount of revenue that legislation would generate for our respective countries.”
In response to the Poker News Daily article regarding confirmation that Pitbull Poker had closed its doors, there are 35 comments and counting from angry players demanding to know how to get their funds back. When Pitbull Poker was in its final days, reports were posted around the internet that withdrawal requests were taking weeks to receive a response, with many not being answered at all. Now, it seems that poker players and affiliates are out hundreds of thousands of dollars, with the money nowhere in sight. The lost money tally just from the comments to our article adds up to $125,000, with many players banding together to work with Costa Rican authorities and the U.S. Embassy to bring the owners of Pitbull Poker to justice and recover whatever funds they can.
Players tried to find a loophole to get their funds transferred from Pitbull Poker to 5Dimes, a fellow site on the Flash Poker Network. Those who spoke with 5Dimes customer support were told it is not possible to make a player transfer from Pitbull to 5Dimes unless they had already sent money the other way first. For many, this meant another dead end in recovering funds.
Many in the poker industry do not have much sympathy for those duped by the owners of Pitbull Poker. Since the internet is a virtual and unregulated medium, it’s up to the players to do their due diligence with what online poker site they deposit their funds on. In summary, a lot of the big name players and movers and shakers in the industry say “caveat emptor.”
Moving forward, a lot of players are closely monitoring the lawsuit and legal actions by Poker News Daily reader JC Hawk as he attempts to recoup funds lost for players and affiliates from Pitbull’s owners.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily as we cover the latest information and news as it breaks on this issue.