PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

The PPA should disassociate itself immediately from the CEO Poker Tour. The tour has shown a repeated pattern of misleading marketing and incredibly high fees that do not benefit the poker player rights in any way...

Poker Players Alliance: Press Releases
CEO Poker Tour Partners with Poker Players Alliance
by Maria Gomez, CEO Poker Tour

CEO Poker Tour Partners with Poker Players Alliance

The CEO Poker Tour (www.ceopokertour.com), where executives battle for the title of Chairman of Poker, is partnering with the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) (www.pokerplayersalliance.org), which supports poker player rights, by strategically including PPA in the year long poker tour.

(PRWEB) April 25, 2007 -- The CEO Poker Tour (www.ceopokertour.com), where executives battle for the title of Chairman of Poker, is partnering with the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) (www.pokerplayersalliance.org), which supports poker player rights, by strategically including PPA in the year long poker tour.

The partnership will include a strong presence at every tournament location to include: placement of PPA items and information in CEO Poker gift bags, poker room banner, CEO Poker website insertion with link to PPA website, logo on direct mail pieces, and more.

"We are excited at the possibility of reaching more potential members through our inclusion in the national CEO Poker Tour," says Michael Bolcerek, President of the Poker Players Alliance. "The Poker Players Alliance is committed to defending the rights of poker players, and we search for opportunities, at strategic poker events through out the country, to further our message of protection of the poker game in the US and globally."

PPA's first strategic marketing presence will be at the CEO Poker Tour, at Trump Taj Mahal, May 19-25, where players will battle over the green felt of the poker table with buy-ins from $500-$5000.

"This is the first time that PPA will be included in a poker tournament kit and will mark an important step in furthering the support of thoughtful legislation to protect the game of poker," says William Peraza Jr. CEO of CEO Poker. "We see this as a long term relationship that will only grow over time."

PPA with over 350,000 members and counting is supporting poker player rights in a variety of ways, including partnerships with companies that believe in the importance of protection of the game.

Poker Players Alliance
The Poker Players Alliance is a nonprofit membership organization comprised of poker players and enthusiasts from around the United States who have joined together to speak with one voice to promote the game, ensure its integrity, and, most importantly, to protect poker players' rights

CEO Poker Tour
CEO Poker Tour is an Executive Games company that produces executive games and events, where players network as well as compete for titles, cash and bragging rights. William Peraza, JR., CEO of Executives Games, and Maria Gomez, President of Executive Games, developed the concept of executive entertainment event productions to give players the ability to release stress, have fun and network. Executive Games is the ultimate in player competition.


Author Contact Info: Maria Gomez, CEO Poker Tour

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

Agreed.

Do they know about the situation from the players standpoint?

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

If they dont know about it; i'm sure they will find out soon enough; the PPA an organization designed to protect players rights is supporting a poker tour that does nothing but abuse the rights of players.....

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

I hope the PPA has read,or will read, the original 20+ page thread here on 2+2 regarding this CEO fiasco,and take some pro-active measures,for the poker players they represent,and obviously stand up,and look out for.

That ceratinly would be a great start,at stopping BS scams like this now,and in the future!

Does anyone know if the the CEO Tour was endorsed by the WPA as well?

~stephen feraca

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

[ QUOTE ]
I hope the PPA has read,or will read, the original 20+ page thread here on 2+2 regarding this CEO fiasco,and take some pro-active measures,for the poker players they represent,and obviously stand up,and look out for.

That ceratinly would be a great start,at stopping BS scams like this now,and in the future!

Does anyone know if the the CEO Tour was endorsed by the WPA as well?

~stephen feraca

[/ QUOTE ]

Perhaps we should contact the people listed in the PPA endorsement of the CEO Poker Tour and advise thm of what is going on....

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I hope the PPA has read,or will read, the original 20+ page thread here on 2+2 regarding this CEO fiasco,and take some pro-active measures,for the poker players they represent,and obviously stand up,and look out for.

That ceratinly would be a great start,at stopping BS scams like this now,and in the future!

Does anyone know if the the CEO Tour was endorsed by the WPA as well?

~stephen feraca

[/ QUOTE ]

Perhaps we should contact the people listed in the PPA endorsement of the CEO Poker Tour and advise thm of what is going on....

[/ QUOTE ]

Here is the one to contact...

"We are excited at the possibility of reaching more potential members through our inclusion in the national CEO Poker Tour," says Michael Bolcerek, President of the Poker Players Alliance. "The Poker Players Alliance is committed to defending the rights of poker players, and we search for opportunities, at strategic poker events through out the country, to further our message of protection of the poker game in the US and globally."

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

Does it matter that the PPA is an impotent organization that has no chance of affecting any change?

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

[ QUOTE ]
Does it matter that the PPA is an impotent organization that has no chance of affecting any change?

[/ QUOTE ]

The mere fact that they claim to have membership in the hundreds of thousands leads me to believe that they are not legitimate....

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I hope the PPA has read,or will read, the original 20+ page thread here on 2+2 regarding this CEO fiasco,and take some pro-active measures,for the poker players they represent,and obviously stand up,and look out for.

That ceratinly would be a great start,at stopping BS scams like this now,and in the future!

Does anyone know if the the CEO Tour was endorsed by the WPA as well?

~stephen feraca

[/ QUOTE ]

Perhaps we should contact the people listed in the PPA endorsement of the CEO Poker Tour and advise thm of what is going on....

[/ QUOTE ]

Here is the one to contact...

"We are excited at the possibility of reaching more potential members through our inclusion in the national CEO Poker Tour," says Michael Bolcerek, President of the Poker Players Alliance. "The Poker Players Alliance is committed to defending the rights of poker players, and we search for opportunities, at strategic poker events through out the country, to further our message of protection of the poker game in the US and globally."

[/ QUOTE ]

Can someone find a way to contact Michael about this....

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Does it matter that the PPA is an impotent organization that has no chance of affecting any change?

[/ QUOTE ]

The mere fact that they actually do have membership in the hundreds of thousands is more than proof that they are legitimate....

[/ QUOTE ]

FYP

They are anything but impotent. The PPA's crack lobbying staff is working everyday behind the scenes to sway Representatives in favor of poker.

They definitely shouldn't be associated with this CEO Tourney SCAM.

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Does it matter that the PPA is an impotent organization that has no chance of affecting any change?

[/ QUOTE ]

The mere fact that they actually do have membership in the hundreds of thousands is more than proof that they are legitimate....

[/ QUOTE ]

FYP

They are anything but impotent. The PPA's crack lobbying staff is working everyday behind the scenes to sway Representatives in favor of poker.

They definitely shouldn't be associated with this CEO Tourney SCAM.

[/ QUOTE ]

The PPA should address this issue immediately before they lose respect from the poker community

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Does it matter that the PPA is an impotent organization that has no chance of affecting any change?

[/ QUOTE ]

The mere fact that they actually do have membership in the hundreds of thousands is more than proof that they are legitimate....

[/ QUOTE ]

FYP

They are anything but impotent. The PPA's crack lobbying staff is working everyday behind the scenes to sway Representatives in favor of poker.

They definitely shouldn't be associated with this CEO Tourney SCAM.

[/ QUOTE ]

The PPA should address this issue immediately before they lose respect from the poker community

[/ QUOTE ]

Damn, and I thought my level was good.

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

[ QUOTE ]

The PPA should address this issue immediately before they lose respect from the poker community

[/ QUOTE ]
I didn't realize the PPA had a lot of respect in the poker community....where do I sign up with them through 2+2? Oh thats right they don't support the PPA.

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

The PPA should address this issue immediately before they lose respect from the poker community

[/ QUOTE ]
I didn't realize the PPA had a lot of respect in the poker community....where do I sign up with them through 2+2? Oh thats right they don't support the PPA.

[/ QUOTE ]

You can't take S&M's lack of support as anything other than S&M refuse to involve themselves in politics at all.

Mason's last statement on 2+2 and the PPA was that 2+2 was "neutral"

If you are looking to signup, try the PPA website or your favorite online pokersite for a PPA deposit bonus.

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

Agreed to boycott CEO. Spread the word.

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

[ QUOTE ]
If you are looking to signup, try the PPA website or your favorite online pokersite for a PPA deposit bonus.

[/ QUOTE ]
Thanks already am a member, but after talking to S I feel my $20 would've been better spent on a pizza

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

Hi all,

I am a board member of the PPA. I really didn't know anything about the CEO poker tour before I read the thread here on 2+2 about the fiasco at the Venetian a couple of weeks ago. I was also unaware until I read this thread today that the PPA was working with the CEO Poker Tour in any way. After reading this thread earlier today, I emailed Michael Bolcerek and the rest of the PPA Board, and provided them with links to both threads. I stated that we needed to look into this quickly, and if the negative facts about the CEO Poker Tour were accurate, that we should quickly disassociate ourselves from the CEO Poker Tour.

We are now investigating the situation. If the CEO Poker Tour really did take the huge vig in the Venetian tournament, and did so without adequately informing the consumer, then the PPA will sever all ties. Or, at least, that is the way I'm going to vote as a member of the board.

Responding to other random comments. Yes, the PPA really does have 100s of thousands of members, and we're hoping to reach 1 million members this year. And we are not impotent, as we do have some great lobbyists who are spending time and money getting members of Congress to see our position, and to enact laws that will help poker players everywhere. The more all of you support the PPA, financially and otherwise, the sooner we will be able to remove the burden of the UIGEA, as well as get other things done to benefit poker.

Thanks, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

Greg, thanks for taking initiative and communicating with people outside of this thread.

Unfortunately some people are very interested, but do not have the resources and contacts. Fortunately you do.

Thanks, and thank you to anyone else who uses their contacts to help the poker playing community.

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

[ QUOTE ]
Hi all,

I am a board member of the PPA. I really didn't know anything about the CEO poker tour before I read the thread here on 2+2 about the fiasco at the Venetian a couple of weeks ago. I was also unaware until I read this thread today that the PPA was working with the CEO Poker Tour in any way. After reading this thread earlier today, I emailed Michael Bolcerek and the rest of the PPA Board, and provided them with links to both threads. I stated that we needed to look into this quickly, and if the negative facts about the CEO Poker Tour were accurate, that we should quickly disassociate ourselves from the CEO Poker Tour.

We are now investigating the situation. If the CEO Poker Tour really did take the huge vig in the Venetian tournament, and did so without adequately informing the consumer, then the PPA will sever all ties. Or, at least, that is the way I'm going to vote as a member of the board.

Responding to other random comments. Yes, the PPA really does have 100s of thousands of members, and we're hoping to reach 1 million members this year. And we are not impotent, as we do have some great lobbyists who are spending time and money getting members of Congress to see our position, and to enact laws that will help poker players everywhere. The more all of you support the PPA, financially and otherwise, the sooner we will be able to remove the burden of the UIGEA, as well as get other things done to benefit poker.

Thanks, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

[/ QUOTE ]

Greg,

Thanks for responding to the issues that have been raised.

Reading the various threads does not show the CEO Poker Tour in the best light, but they also say a story has two sides. Hopefully this will be the case.

Thanks for looking into the issue & bringing the other board members up to speed.

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

[ QUOTE ]
Reading the various threads does not show the CEO Poker Tour in the best light, but they also say a story has two sides. Hopefully this will be the case.


[/ QUOTE ]

Best case scenario is they are completely incompetent about how vig is represented AND believed an 18-19% vig is something standard (is it?).

Worst case scenario is they scammed and hoped no one would notice.

They do seem to be very legitimately associated the the charity though. So they're not complete frauds or anything.

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

Hi Greg:

I received an email from Maria Gomez the president of the CEO Poker Tour about 90 minutes after you made your post. In it she indicates that tomorrow (7/19/07) the PPA will issue a statement that will address these concerns and

[ QUOTE ]
will hopefully help turn a new page for CEO POKER TOUR, where players regain trust in our company.


[/ QUOTE ]

I'll let you and others comment as to what this might mean.

Best wishes,
Mason

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

I certainly trust them. As much as I trust the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

[ QUOTE ]
Hi all,

I am a board member of the PPA. I really didn't know anything about the CEO poker tour before I read the thread here on 2+2 about the fiasco at the Venetian a couple of weeks ago. I was also unaware until I read this thread today that the PPA was working with the CEO Poker Tour in any way. After reading this thread earlier today, I emailed Michael Bolcerek and the rest of the PPA Board, and provided them with links to both threads. I stated that we needed to look into this quickly, and if the negative facts about the CEO Poker Tour were accurate, that we should quickly disassociate ourselves from the CEO Poker Tour.

We are now investigating the situation. If the CEO Poker Tour really did take the huge vig in the Venetian tournament, and did so without adequately informing the consumer, then the PPA will sever all ties. Or, at least, that is the way I'm going to vote as a member of the board.

Responding to other random comments. Yes, the PPA really does have 100s of thousands of members, and we're hoping to reach 1 million members this year. And we are not impotent, as we do have some great lobbyists who are spending time and money getting members of Congress to see our position, and to enact laws that will help poker players everywhere. The more all of you support the PPA, financially and otherwise, the sooner we will be able to remove the burden of the UIGEA, as well as get other things done to benefit poker.

Thanks, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

[/ QUOTE ]

Greg, thanks for taaking the initiative in this. You are one of the most respected players in the industry, and I'm sure you will do what is in the best interest of the players....

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

[ QUOTE ]
Hi Greg:

I received an email from Maria Gomez the president of the CEO Poker Tour about 90 minutes after you made your post. In it she indicates that tomorrow (7/19/07) the PPA will issue a statement that will address these concerns and

[ QUOTE ]
will hopefully help turn a new page for CEO POKER TOUR, where players regain trust in our company.


[/ QUOTE ]

I'll let you and others comment as to what this might mean.

Best wishes,
Mason

[/ QUOTE ]


Greg,
I implore you that, unless Maria returns the money from the hidden vig to all players who have played in their over raked events, that the PPA takes a stand and disassociates with with CEO Poker Tour.

The CEO Poker Tour's acts have been outright shameful. They stole money from the prize pools and then Maria came on these forums and tried to wave her hands and hope that she could make the issue go away. When that did not work she falsified documents and continued to mislead our community.

I do not care if in the future the tour does not steal money from the prize pool with the use of fine print or invisible ink. They have been in existence for 1 year and have already begun cheating players.

Unless they refund every single ill gotten dollar (that is to say every dollar that was taken from the prizepool beyond the 3% payment to dealers and staff that has become standard) to the players whom they cheated they should not be forgiven. If your organization continues to associate with them after a hand in the cookie jar apology then it would be evidence that we should not have faith in the PPA.

Thank you for your continued presence and activism in these issues that we find important.

All the best,
Steve

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Hi Greg:

I received an email from Maria Gomez the president of the CEO Poker Tour about 90 minutes after you made your post. In it she indicates that tomorrow (7/19/07) the PPA will issue a statement that will address these concerns and

[ QUOTE ]
will hopefully help turn a new page for CEO POKER TOUR, where players regain trust in our company.


[/ QUOTE ]

I'll let you and others comment as to what this might mean.

Best wishes,
Mason

[/ QUOTE ]


Greg,
I implore you that, unless Maria returns the money from the hidden vig to all players who have played in their over raked events, that the PPA takes a stand and disassociates with with CEO Poker Tour.

The CEO Poker Tour's acts have been outright shameful. They stole money from the prize pools and then Maria came on these forums and tried to wave her hands and hope that she could make the issue go away. When that did not work she falsified documents and continued to mislead our community.

I do not care if in the future the tour does not steal money from the prize pool with the use of fine print or invisible ink. They have been in existence for 1 year and have already begun cheating players.

Unless they refund every single ill gotten dollar (that is to say every dollar that was taken from the prizepool beyond the 3% payment to dealers and staff that has become standard) to the players whom they cheated they should not be forgiven. If your organization continues to associate with them after a hand in the cookie jar apology then it would be evidence that we should not have faith in the PPA.

Thank you for your continued presence and activism in these issues that we find important.

All the best,
Steve

[/ QUOTE ]

When is this statement from Maria expected today?

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Hi Greg:

I received an email from Maria Gomez the president of the CEO Poker Tour about 90 minutes after you made your post. In it she indicates that tomorrow (7/19/07) the PPA will issue a statement that will address these concerns and

[ QUOTE ]
will hopefully help turn a new page for CEO POKER TOUR, where players regain trust in our company.


[/ QUOTE ]

I'll let you and others comment as to what this might mean.

Best wishes,
Mason

[/ QUOTE ]


Greg,
I implore you that, unless Maria returns the money from the hidden vig to all players who have played in their over raked events, that the PPA takes a stand and disassociates with with CEO Poker Tour.

The CEO Poker Tour's acts have been outright shameful. They stole money from the prize pools and then Maria came on these forums and tried to wave her hands and hope that she could make the issue go away. When that did not work she falsified documents and continued to mislead our community.

I do not care if in the future the tour does not steal money from the prize pool with the use of fine print or invisible ink. They have been in existence for 1 year and have already begun cheating players.

Unless they refund every single ill gotten dollar (that is to say every dollar that was taken from the prizepool beyond the 3% payment to dealers and staff that has become standard ) to the players whom they cheated they should not be forgiven. If your organization continues to associate with them after a hand in the cookie jar apology then it would be evidence that we should not have faith in the PPA.

Thank you for your continued presence and activism in these issues that we find important.

All the best,
Steve

[/ QUOTE ]


Great. Now I know that the "industry standard" of the house raping the poker boom has more than started down a "slippery slope". What's next? House charging $2 for a banana!

If pros and CEOs can be "duped" like this, what chance does the necessary fish have? The fish, as always, will only notice when s/he runs out of money, but the money won't be with the pros. It'll be with the house.

Thanks Bobby "We make money on EVERYTHING" Baldwin.

Edit: I guess "tierd"/"name" pros will have money, but it won't be from playing poker. It will be from endorsements, sponsorships, commercials, etc. I guess that's why the player advisory boards, PPA, etc. don't care about the blatant rape of the game itself.

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

[ QUOTE ]
Hi Greg:

I received an email from Maria Gomez the president of the CEO Poker Tour about 90 minutes after you made your post. In it she indicates that tomorrow (7/19/07) the PPA will issue a statement that will address these concerns and

[ QUOTE ]
will hopefully help turn a new page for CEO POKER TOUR, where players regain trust in our company.


[/ QUOTE ]

I'll let you and others comment as to what this might mean.

Best wishes,
Mason

[/ QUOTE ]

Still waiting....

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

CEO POKER STATEMENT
JULY 19, 2007

I wanted to make an official statement regarding the postings on CEO POKER TOUR at the Venetian that have been made on the Two Plus Two forum this last week.

First, let me say that we regret that some of the elements of our tournament have caused such distrust in the CEO POKER TOUR. It was never our intention when we held the tournament at the Venetian Casino with our structure and charity element that we would upset the players. This was the result of inexperience, not malice.

The forum postings, talks with the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), and World Poker Association (WPA) to discuss their concerns and suggestions, as well as, player emails we have received, have also made us realize that there are elements of our tournament that we need to change for the benefit of the player and the game.

Please know that we are sincere in our attempt to address and rectify those elements of the tournament that forum members and others have brought to our attention. After speaking to the WPA, we want players to know that we intend to support the WPA professional standards, and want to abide by WPA rules and regulations. To this end, we are addressing player concerns, concessions to players, as well as, changes in CEO POKER mission and policies going forward in this statement.

Many on the forum have suggested that we updated the structure sheet after the event of July 2-10, but I can assure you that the structure sheet was last updated on June 28th, before the event, and after we realized that satellites were not going to be able to be conducted during the tournament week because we would be limited by table space. At that time, we updated the structure sheet and deleted the satellite dates and times, as well as placing more detailed information about the charity connection because we wanted to make it clear to those that decided to register for the main event that there was a charity component. That said, we recognize that we could have done even more to make sure that it was extremely clear to all players that there was a charity component at the main event.

There have also been concerns over the amount of the rake that was on the structure sheet that was downloaded and posted on the site. We do acknowledge and assure players, that even though we did post the rake on the online structure sheet, that the rake was printed for 11 days on the printed materials at the event, and that it was approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission, in the future, the rake for any CEO POKER TOUR event will be lowered to a percentage between 3-5%, the norm in the poker industry. At no time will there ever be a higher rake charged for any tournament, for any reason. The CEO POKER company acknowledges that keeping the rake and registration fee to industry standards is necessary and for the good of the player and game.

The guarantee that the rake will also be low for every event we coordinate will not affect the chip stacks or tournament rounds. We will continue to provide minimum $10,000 or more chips for the $500 buy-in, $10,000 or more chips for the $1,000 buy-in, and $15,000 or more chips for the $2,500 buy-in, with rounds of 40-60 minutes, and the same amount of trophies and bracelets. This structure was welcomed by players.

Regarding the charity component of the event, CEO POKER TOUR connected with the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation earlier this year. No one questions the legitimacy of the charity, who has helped many Nevada families. However, many have raised the issue of the percentage going to the charity coming from the prize pool. The percentage to the charity was disclosed in the structure sheets during the 11 day event, as well as various places on the website, but the additional percentage that was taken out of the prize pool to pay the charity turned a positive into a negative, which was never our intention. We also agree that the charity component could have and should have been done in a better way not to affect the prize pool.

In the future, CEO Poker is making a commitment to support charities directly through the company, and never as a percentage of the buy-in/prize pool for the tournament. This is a promise that CEO POKER as a company is making to the players, the WPA, and the PPA.

We understand that at this point trust in CEO POKER is an issue for many of you but I sincerely want you to know that we will be making substantial efforts going forward to prevent these issues from ever happening again at any of our events and we are backing this promise with action.

We will contact the Venetian Casino and request a list of all (234) $2,500 main event players and mail them a $100 refund check from CEO POKER TOUR with a letter explaining in detail the reason for the refund. We will send this letter to the WPA for review before mailing the checks.

We have invited a WPA representative, at our expense, to attend all CEO POKER EVENTS in order to assure players that their rights are being considered and concerns addressed on the casino floor at all times. An objective individual, with no direct connection to CEO POKER, in order to ensure that player’s needs are being taken into consideration during the events.

We also would welcome and invite a few members from the forum to directly participate on a newly established CEO POKER Board, to assure that going forward all that we have promised is done and that we continue to improve all the elements of our tournaments for the benefit of the players. Board members would have access to all player materials, marketing pieces, and structure sheets prior to events. Board members would also have direct input into tournament elements.

As we stated to the WPA and PPA, we are serious about making changes to the company that will earn back the trust of the forum and players.

Many of you do not know me personally, and others are judging me based on personal comments made about me through out the forum. I understand that is the way of a forum, and I would never want to stifle free press, however, I do want to address at least one of the comments.

Many have mentioned that I have another site that encourages those that have lost land in Cuba to reclaim it, as if I where scamming people in some way. Please know that I was born in Miami, Florida from Cuban immigrants who came to the US in the 60's after their land was stripped from them by Castro. My father was forced to move his family to Miami, Florida, when Castro’s soldiers met him at his front door step and told him to get out of his property because it was now owned by the government. My partner’s family faced the same situation when his family business was taken away by Castro’s regime. This is not an unfamiliar story for children of Cuban immigrants and it was the reason I created the portal StateofCuba.com.

The portal was opened to give Cuban Americans the ability to reclaim their land, so if and when there was a change in the Cuban government, the list of individuals that posted, with the details of their claims, would be handed over to the Justice Dept. and the new government of Cuba. There is no charge for this, it is clear, on the site. The Justice Dept currently has a list of companies that want to reclaim land in Cuba, that include names from Palmolive, to Bacardi, but not many individuals even understand that they can try and reclaim land in Cuba. Those that have not experienced having their property simply taken from them by force can not understand the premise of the site. The site is a personal project that is important to my family, partner, and me.

Regardless of the personal comments, I want to make sure that all who read this statement understand my commitment to see CEO POKER TOUR take a course of holding tournaments that maintain low dealer and staff rakes and registrations, and that at no time will add any additional fee for a charity or otherwise, as part of the prize pool.

I ask you to read this statement and give CEO POKER an opportunity to make good on the promises that we have made to address your concerns and coordinate tournaments with WPA involvement that you can be proud to play in.

As a new tournament company on the poker scene, with not enough years under our belts, we acknowledge that there were elements of the event that we could have done better. We want players to know that we understand that players had concerns and we are doing our best to address and learn from them, as we work with the WPA going forward to assure the poker community is satisfied with the outcome.

Believe me that I have read all your posts and understand your concerns. We can and will do better, all we ask is for an opportunity to improve and make the changes I have outlined in this statement.

I do want to thank the WPA and PPA, who have been extremely helpful and have worked on behalf of the players regarding this tournament issue. We also want to acknowledge and thank the Two Plus Two website, that provides poker players the opportunity to voice their concerns and be heard, while being a part of real change.



Regards
Maria Gomez
President
CEO POKER TOUR

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

Maria,

I feel that you are probably going to get some harsh followups, and I wanted to interject that in my opinion you have made significant effort to clear the air and make things right. I'm not sure if it will be good enough, but in this one response you have done more than most. Including the PPA.

I wish you continued success.

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

Maria,

I too think that your posting is a big step in the right direction.

Hopefully the dialog that will follow will be civil & will go a long way to make ensure that the CEO Poker Tour will succeed.

I wish you well.

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

I appreciate the response. Believe me dont always have to agree, but I will do my best to listen and correct issues in the best way possible for the players because in the end I understand that it will benefit our company.

Thank you and please dont stop reviewing what we do, that is how companies get better.

Good luck at the tables.

Maria
CEO POKER

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

Maria,

Well done!

Good luck in the future tournies.

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

Hi Everyone:

My specific comments will come later. However, at this time I do want to address one issue. CEO writes:

[ QUOTE ]
As we stated to the WPA and PPA, we are serious about making changes to the company that will earn back the trust of the forum and players.


[/ QUOTE ]

In private email they requested to have a conversation with us concerning all these issues. My response to them was

[ QUOTE ]
It's my policy in matters like this not to communicate with a party such as you or your organization until I have reason to believe that real progress will be made. So before I would be willing to talk to you in any way, you'll need to explain what happened to all the money, why the players who entered your tournaments had no knowledge this much money would be removed from the pool, and what if anything you intend to do to reimbuse players who feel that money was taken from them without their knowledge. You don't need to talk to me to address these issues.

Also, Two Plus Two is completely independent of the PPA, Bluff, or any other poker association. So we have no interest in what you may jointly say with someone else.


[/ QUOTE ]

Best wishes,
Mason

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

[ QUOTE ]
CEO POKER STATEMENT
JULY 19, 2007

I wanted to make an official statement regarding the postings on CEO POKER TOUR at the Venetian that have been made on the Two Plus Two forum this last week.

First, let me say that we regret that some of the elements of our tournament have caused such distrust in the CEO POKER TOUR. It was never our intention when we held the tournament at the Venetian Casino with our structure and charity element that we would upset the players. This was the result of inexperience, not malice.

The forum postings, talks with the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), and World Poker Association (WPA) to discuss their concerns and suggestions, as well as, player emails we have received, have also made us realize that there are elements of our tournament that we need to change for the benefit of the player and the game.

Please know that we are sincere in our attempt to address and rectify those elements of the tournament that forum members and others have brought to our attention. After speaking to the WPA, we want players to know that we intend to support the WPA professional standards, and want to abide by WPA rules and regulations. To this end, we are addressing player concerns, concessions to players, as well as, changes in CEO POKER mission and policies going forward in this statement.

Many on the forum have suggested that we updated the structure sheet after the event of July 2-10, but I can assure you that the structure sheet was last updated on June 28th, before the event, and after we realized that satellites were not going to be able to be conducted during the tournament week because we would be limited by table space. At that time, we updated the structure sheet and deleted the satellite dates and times, as well as placing more detailed information about the charity connection because we wanted to make it clear to those that decided to register for the main event that there was a charity component. That said, we recognize that we could have done even more to make sure that it was extremely clear to all players that there was a charity component at the main event.

There have also been concerns over the amount of the rake that was on the structure sheet that was downloaded and posted on the site. We do acknowledge and assure players, that even though we did post the rake on the online structure sheet, that the rake was printed for 11 days on the printed materials at the event, and that it was approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission, in the future, the rake for any CEO POKER TOUR event will be lowered to a percentage between 3-5%, the norm in the poker industry. At no time will there ever be a higher rake charged for any tournament, for any reason. The CEO POKER company acknowledges that keeping the rake and registration fee to industry standards is necessary and for the good of the player and game.

The guarantee that the rake will also be low for every event we coordinate will not affect the chip stacks or tournament rounds. We will continue to provide minimum $10,000 or more chips for the $500 buy-in, $10,000 or more chips for the $1,000 buy-in, and $15,000 or more chips for the $2,500 buy-in, with rounds of 40-60 minutes, and the same amount of trophies and bracelets. This structure was welcomed by players.

Regarding the charity component of the event, CEO POKER TOUR connected with the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation earlier this year. No one questions the legitimacy of the charity, who has helped many Nevada families. However, many have raised the issue of the percentage going to the charity coming from the prize pool. The percentage to the charity was disclosed in the structure sheets during the 11 day event, as well as various places on the website, but the additional percentage that was taken out of the prize pool to pay the charity turned a positive into a negative, which was never our intention. We also agree that the charity component could have and should have been done in a better way not to affect the prize pool.

In the future, CEO Poker is making a commitment to support charities directly through the company, and never as a percentage of the buy-in/prize pool for the tournament. This is a promise that CEO POKER as a company is making to the players, the WPA, and the PPA.

We understand that at this point trust in CEO POKER is an issue for many of you but I sincerely want you to know that we will be making substantial efforts going forward to prevent these issues from ever happening again at any of our events and we are backing this promise with action.

We will contact the Venetian Casino and request a list of all (234) $2,500 main event players and mail them a $100 refund check from CEO POKER TOUR with a letter explaining in detail the reason for the refund. We will send this letter to the WPA for review before mailing the checks.

We have invited a WPA representative, at our expense, to attend all CEO POKER EVENTS in order to assure players that their rights are being considered and concerns addressed on the casino floor at all times. An objective individual, with no direct connection to CEO POKER, in order to ensure that player’s needs are being taken into consideration during the events.

We also would welcome and invite a few members from the forum to directly participate on a newly established CEO POKER Board, to assure that going forward all that we have promised is done and that we continue to improve all the elements of our tournaments for the benefit of the players. Board members would have access to all player materials, marketing pieces, and structure sheets prior to events. Board members would also have direct input into tournament elements.

As we stated to the WPA and PPA, we are serious about making changes to the company that will earn back the trust of the forum and players.

Many of you do not know me personally, and others are judging me based on personal comments made about me through out the forum. I understand that is the way of a forum, and I would never want to stifle free press, however, I do want to address at least one of the comments.

Many have mentioned that I have another site that encourages those that have lost land in Cuba to reclaim it, as if I where scamming people in some way. Please know that I was born in Miami, Florida from Cuban immigrants who came to the US in the 60's after their land was stripped from them by Castro. My father was forced to move his family to Miami, Florida, when Castro’s soldiers met him at his front door step and told him to get out of his property because it was now owned by the government. My partner’s family faced the same situation when his family business was taken away by Castro’s regime. This is not an unfamiliar story for children of Cuban immigrants and it was the reason I created the portal StateofCuba.com.

The portal was opened to give Cuban Americans the ability to reclaim their land, so if and when there was a change in the Cuban government, the list of individuals that posted, with the details of their claims, would be handed over to the Justice Dept. and the new government of Cuba. There is no charge for this, it is clear, on the site. The Justice Dept currently has a list of companies that want to reclaim land in Cuba, that include names from Palmolive, to Bacardi, but not many individuals even understand that they can try and reclaim land in Cuba. Those that have not experienced having their property simply taken from them by force can not understand the premise of the site. The site is a personal project that is important to my family, partner, and me.

Regardless of the personal comments, I want to make sure that all who read this statement understand my commitment to see CEO POKER TOUR take a course of holding tournaments that maintain low dealer and staff rakes and registrations, and that at no time will add any additional fee for a charity or otherwise, as part of the prize pool.

I ask you to read this statement and give CEO POKER an opportunity to make good on the promises that we have made to address your concerns and coordinate tournaments with WPA involvement that you can be proud to play in.

As a new tournament company on the poker scene, with not enough years under our belts, we acknowledge that there were elements of the event that we could have done better. We want players to know that we understand that players had concerns and we are doing our best to address and learn from them, as we work with the WPA going forward to assure the poker community is satisfied with the outcome.

Believe me that I have read all your posts and understand your concerns. We can and will do better, all we ask is for an opportunity to improve and make the changes I have outlined in this statement.

I do want to thank the WPA and PPA, who have been extremely helpful and have worked on behalf of the players regarding this tournament issue. We also want to acknowledge and thank the Two Plus Two website, that provides poker players the opportunity to voice their concerns and be heard, while being a part of real change.



Regards
Maria Gomez
President
CEO POKER TOUR

[/ QUOTE ]

I appreciate this gesture fron the CEO Poker Tour.


$100 is a step in the right direction for these 234 players; but this does not address the hundreds of other players who paid juice in excess of 18-20% at the other Venetian events as well as the Palms and Taj Mahal events.....here are a few examples


Palms CEO Event:

wow in that one they collected $55,800 and paid out just over $40,000? this is insane? Why has this not come to light sooner?

CEO Poker Tournament
Event #1 - No Limit Hold'em
October 23, 2006
Palms
Tournament Schedule
Buy-In $1,500 + $300
Prize Pool $40,105
Entries 31



Taj Mahal Main Event:

i found it. Here are the numbers; they collected $225,000 plus juice from 45 players; here is the breakdown...


EVENT: No-Limit Hold'em Championship Event 6
ROUND: N/A BLINDS: N/A ANTE: N/A PLAYERS LEFT: N/A

BUY-IN $5,000
TOTAL PRIZE POOL $155,200
ENTRIES 45
FINAL RESULTS: May.24 VIEW STANDINGS: May.24
PLACE PLAYER PRIZE/CHIPSPOY POINTS
1Michael Santoro$69,8400
2Charles Minter$38,8000
3Bianco Benedetto$23,2800
4John Aglialoro$15,5200
5Angel Modica$7,7600

There is $70,000 missing???? Acually more than $70,000 I beleive the buyin was $5,150 not $5,000.


Venetian $1,000 Event:


I just checked one of the $1,000 tourneys fron Venetian; in this case they charged a staggering amount of juice as well. They collected $1,075 x 174 players ($187,050) and paid out $158,339.


EVENT: No-Limit Hold'em Event 7
BUY-IN $1,000
TOTAL PRIZE POOL $158,339
ENTRIES 174

1Bryan Watkins$49,085408
2Mike Leah$28,818340
3Aaron Krebs$17,417272
4Mohammad Hamid$14,251204
5Giovanni Rigolli$9,500170
6Charles Denton$7,917136
7Darcy McLeod$6,334102

Venetian Main Event:

$2500 buyin

$100 to Venetian
$150 CEO "site fee"
$125 CEO Charity
$75 Venetian staff


234 entries at $2600 ($608,400)

Final prizepool of $503,100

BUY-IN $2,500
TOTAL PRIZE POOL $503,100
ENTRIES 234

The other Venetian CEO $5000 to %$1000 tourneys all were about 18-20% juiced as well.

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

Maria,

I am disappointed by your response.

I don't believe you when you feign ignorance that it was improper to take 18% from the prize pool without making it clear to players that you were taking an excessive rake. If you really didn't realize that what you were doing was wrong then I have no confidence in your ability to run a poker tournament circuit.

Furthermore, you have still not explained where the money that was taken from the prizepool went. In the thread people have claimed that 5% went to charity, 3% went to venetian staff, and 6% went to your organization, and 4% was unaccounted for. Is this breakdown correct? Many posters including Mason Malmuth have made it clear how important it is to us that you explain where these fees went and you have continually sidestepped that issue. You have already lost our trust and when you hold back information we believe that you still have something to hide.

Another problem that I have with your actions is your inaction from your fist posts on this forum until now. Why did it take you so long to address the legitimate concerns that were posted here?

A major problem that I have with your statement is the fact that you are only refunding $100 to every player in the Venetian main event and that you have no plans on refunding other funds that were taken from prize pools in previous events. In my mind, you falsely advertised the rake in all of your events and while it is nice that you are compensating the players from the Venetian main event, your continued lack of remorse or repentance and your unwillingness to offer remuneration to the players in the other tournaments proves that you still do not have the interests of the players at heart.

I did not play in any of those other events but I sincerely encourage those who did to follow through with their complaints to the gaming commission and their state's attorney general. Just because the CEO Poker Tour is partially compensating some people who they deceitfully obtained funds from does not mean that they should be off the hook for funds that they took from you.

I ask that the PPA continues to refuse to do business with this organization until they have compensated all players who they wrongfully obtained money from.

Ms. Gomez, I implore you to explain where the money that you took from prizepools went and I implore you to also compensate all of the other players who you scammed.

Steve

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

Maybe I'm a bit too cynical, but it sounds to me like CEO Poker tried to take much more than their fair share while hiding it from the players, got caught, and are now trying to keep the ship together by making a token reimbursement to players and partially by claiming ignorance of how poker tournaments work.

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

[ QUOTE ]
Maria,

I am disappointed by your response.

I don't believe you when you feign ignorance that it was improper to take 18% from the prize pool without making it clear to players that you were taking an excessive rake. If you really didn't realize that what you were doing was wrong then I have no confidence in your ability to run a poker tournament circuit.

Furthermore, you have still not explained where the money that was taken from the prizepool went. In the thread people have claimed that 5% went to charity, 3% went to venetian staff, and 6% went to your organization, and 4% was unaccounted for. Is this breakdown correct? Many posters including Mason Malmuth have made it clear how important it is to us that you explain where these fees went and you have continually sidestepped that issue. You have already lost our trust and when you hold back information we believe that you still have something to hide.

Another problem that I have with your actions is your inaction from your fist posts on this forum until now. Why did it take you so long to address the legitimate concerns that were posted here?

A major problem that I have with your statement is the fact that you are only refunding $100 to every player in the Venetian main event and that you have no plans on refunding other funds that were taken from prize pools in previous events. In my mind, you falsely advertised the rake in all of your events and while it is nice that you are compensating the players from the Venetian main event, your continued lack of remorse or repentance and your unwillingness to offer remuneration to the players in the other tournaments proves that you still do not have the interests of the players at heart.

I did not play in any of those other events but I sincerely encourage those who did to follow through with their complaints to the gaming commission and their state's attorney general. Just because the CEO Poker Tour is partially compensating some people who they deceitfully obtained funds from does not mean that they should be off the hook for funds that they took from you.

I ask that the PPA continues to refuse to do business with this organization until they have compensated all players who they wrongfully obtained money from.

Ms. Gomez, I implore you to explain where the money that you took from prizepools went and I implore you to also compensate all of the other players who you scammed.

Steve

[/ QUOTE ]

The other 4% was for the Venetian Casino itself ($2500 + $100)

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

Maria,

Despite the negative comments in my previous post and my utter distrust for you and your organization I would like to say that you are taking a significant step in the right direction with your explanation and by creating a dialog with the players.

You have taken one step in the right direction, unfortunately you have already taken forty steps backwards. You have a long way to go before you make things right but maybe you have reached an inflection point and things will get better from here.

I apprehensively await your response as to the breakdown of the 18% taken from each prizepool and your reasons for only compensating one of the many fields of tournament players whom you deceived.

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

Good response. Dont let the forum get you down. I enjoyed your event and look forward to your next event.

PokerDoc101

Re: PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour
 

[ QUOTE ]
Good response. Dont let the forum get you down. I enjoyed your event and look forward to your next event.

PokerDoc101

[/ QUOTE ]

This is this posters first ever post...... hmmmmmmmmm