Reaction Skews Heavily Negative After Airing of ‘The Lederer Files’

Certainly in the downfall of former online poker giant Full Tilt, there are many characters at whom to point blame, particularly if you are indeed looking to point blame.  The story is just about as juicy as it gets, with greedy board members, famous names, foreign intrigue, and a mob of angry players wondering when they can expect to be reimbursed for money that has been frozen on the site for nearly a year and a half.  

Perhaps in an effort to repair his public image and clear his name, former poker pro and FTP board member Howard Lederer sat for a 3-hour-long interview with the website pokernews, which aired as a 7-part series last week.  Lederer is also facing a civil suit from the US federal government, and is looking at the potential seizure of some major assets, including high-end real estate, vehicles, and a 401k account, amongst other assets.  

The US government alleges that Full Tilt and several of its prominent board members purposely disguised the true nature of financial transactions in order to circumvent the laws established in 2006 with the passage of theUIGEA.  Former Full Tilt and PokerStars director of payments, Nelson Burtnick, pleaded guilty last week to charges associated with the ongoing Full Tilt case.  He is facing a 15-year prison sentence, though prosecutors will recommend leniency if Burtnick is cooperative.  As the Full Tilt case wears on, most US poker sites have shut down, with the game no longer being readily available to American players. 

Lederer is disdained by many for his perceived greed, and more recently, comments he made in the Poker News video, known as ‘The Lederer Files’, have incensed many who have followed the case.  Those expecting to hear answers to questions that have been lurking for years were left sorely disappointed, with the interviewer, Poker News Chief Operating Officer Matt Parvis, being criticized for not asking hard questions of Lederer. 

Pokerfuse published an especially scathing editorial post, calling the video “a horrible, mind-numbing porridge” and writing that Parvis “is far more known as a consensus builder than a fighter for principles and tough stories, making him great for many tasks but a bad fit for this one.” 

The good news, at least for players, is that former FTP rival and now FTP owner, PokerStars, is moving forward with its takeover of the site.  Last week it announced plans to re-open the site in markets outside the US during the first week of November, with $184 million of funds becoming immediately available to players.  For US-based players, the reimbursement schedule remains as unclear as the current state of poker legislation.  That is to say, nobody knows when it will happen, and until then it is