Eight professional poker players have filed a lawsuit against Ultimate Bet for a scam that the company ran three years ago, which allowed the Cereus Network (which owns Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker) to embezzle 20 million dollars from UB players. The players are out to crucify Ultimate Bet for a violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), a piece of legislation originally created to allow the government to prosecute organized crime.
These are not the first RICO charges that have been brought against the site or its parent network. Ultimate Bet has been in dire straits since Black Friday, which became a turning point for the poker world not because the United States Department of Justice closed down three of the leading online poker sites, but because of the way those various sites reacted. The problem that Ultimate Bet faces now is not unlike the problems facing Full Tilt Poker– just on a smaller scale. It all boils down to a company taking money from players, knowing full well that what they were doing was not legal, and then refusing to give it back.
The difference in this particular case is that last time, it was the government who was angry, as they didn’t get their piece of the pie while UB schemed to get around US government regulations. This time, it’s the players who are out for blood for unfair play. While Ultimate Bet previously held the upper hand and could play the victim in a big governmental misunderstanding, putting the blame on the US Department of Justice, this time, there’s no one else to blame, and the players are backing away from a site that they believe has done the unforgivable. To scam a government is one thing (come on– poker has always been a game of rebels), but to scam your clients, your paying customers– that’s another thing entirely.
The eight who have brought this case against UB include well-known Canadian player Brad Booth and notable American players Tom Koral, Daniel Ashman, and Dustin Woolf, along with Greg Lavery, Dave Lizmi, Joseph Sanders, and Daniel Smith. The suit represents players from three different countries in their attempt to recover their lost money as well as an injunction and damages from emotional distress, fraud, negligence, unfair business practices and other charges associated with RICO, and the potential economic damage that the players suffered.
The complaint filed last week refers to a number of unnamed defendants, known as John Doe 1-10. This anonymity is not due to an effort to maintain privacy surrounding the lawsuit, but because the plaintiffs don’t actually know who is directly responsible, due to the coverup for which they’ve cited a RICO violation:
At this time, plaintiffs suspect but do not know the identities of Does 1-10. Evidence, some of which is discussed below, has arisen that some of the founders and management of UltimateBet and Excapsa, including Greg Pierson, Jon Karl, Jack Bates, Russ Hamilton, and others who formerly operated (and may continue to be involved in the operation of) UltimateBet were likely aware of or involved the conspiracy to cheat players. However, because the identities and activities of UltimateBet and those who have profited from its operations has been intentionally shielded though numerous agents, subsidiaries, and foreign corporations, it will be necessary to conduct significant discovery before a complete list of defendants can be identified. After such discovery, plaintiffs will seek to amend the complaint to add additional defendants.
The real question about this lawsuit is this: why have the defendants waited until now to file this lawsuit? Why the three year delay after Ultimate Bet has already admitted fault and made efforts to repay players? The answer to this seems more closely related to Black Friday than it would seem at first glance: “Sorry” simply isn’t good enough anymore.