They used to be the best of friends but now Full Tilt poker and Phil Ivey are going heads up in a very public slanging match following the Black Friday indictments and US player account closures.
Ivey first signed an endorsement deal with Full Tilt's marketing subsidiary Tiltware in 2004, and he has been their poster boy ever since. As the most recognized of Full Tilt's sponsored pro's his face has been indelibly linked the now defunct online poker operation.
But with their US operation forced to shut down in April by the US department of Justice, and US players still owed some $150 million in seized funds, Ivey is now trying to distance himself from his long time sponsor.
He has filed a lawsuit in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas against Tiltware alleging he was never made aware that their payment processing methods were potentially in breach of US laws. His suit contends that he was never informed of the fact that Full Tilt was given repeated warnings by the DOJ that their processing methods were fraudulent.
In a recent post in his blog, Ivey said, "I am deeply disappointed and embarrassed that Full Tilt players have not been paid money they are owed...I am equally embarrassed that as a result many players cannot compete in tournaments and have suffered economic harm. I am not playing in the World Series of Poker as I don not believe it is fair that I compete when others cannot. I am doing everything I can to seek a solution to the problem as quickly as possible."
Some are speculating that the lawsuit is an attempt to curry favor with disgruntled poker players who are none to happy with Full Tilt and all known associates.
Full Tilt have responded quickly and bluntly to Ivey's lawsuit and public comments, with a press release including the following sentiments:
"In an effort to further enrich himself at the expense of others, Mr. Ivey appears to have timed his lawsuit to thwart pending deals with several parties that would put money back in players’ pockets. In fact, Mr. Ivey has been invited — and has declined — to take actions that could assist the company in these efforts, including paying back a large sum of money he owes the site. Tiltware doubts Mr. Ivey’s frivolous and self-serving lawsuit will ever get to court. But if it does, the company looks forward to presenting facts demonstrating that Mr. Ivey is putting his own narrow financial interests ahead of the players he professes to help"
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