WPT Responds to Players' Lawsuit

[J.R.]

I'm not sure why I bother but:

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The fact that the WPT release is one-sided and unfair DOES NOT MAKE IT ILLEGAL.

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And neither do the Plaintiffs make this claim.

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Lastly, Phil Gordon recently made a statement that is extremely naive...he said something to the effect of "Our lawyers would not have taken this case unless they thought we were right". Not so Mr. Gordon. If the lawyers truly believed in your case they would have taken the case on a contingency, whereby they only get paid if they win. That will put an attorney to the test if he really believes in your case. Instead these attorneys are charging you by the hour and will charge you enormous fees regardless of the outcome of the case.

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WTF are you talking about? Not only is this an absurd contention in any case, but even more so in this one.

I'm sure the fee arrangement has nothing to do with the fact that the Plaintiffs have publicly stated they would be willing to waive their damages claims and drop the suit if the WPT institutes the changes sought by the players, right?

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As a lawyer, I confront these issues daily.

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Apparently, just because someone is a lawyer doesn't mean they know what they are talking about.

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Just because something is "unfair" does not make it illegal.

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Good thing the players claim is not something silly like "because the contract is unfair its therefore illegal"

[Starfish]

WPT is bad for poker and their tv show is bad. Let's support other organizations.

I would like to see a tournament/tv show where (all) the whole cards would be revealed only after the hand, followed by a short expert discussion of the play. Or possibly they could show one player's hand from the beginning, concentrating to comment his play. And maybe add some topless girls. Yeah, that's how it should be done. Hire me to produce it.

[Lawman007]

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I agree with DN to the extent that poker players should be concerned about online poker sites being portrayed in a negative fashion. No one is going to deny that online poker (which I play occasionally) is great for live play (which I play frequently) in that it brings newbies to the game.

That being said...this is the part that made me say, "Yikes!"

"For example, Full Tilt Poker, a website started by Plaintiffs Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer and with which at least two other Plaintiffs are affiliated, already competes unfairly against WPTE by using the tremendous revenues it obtains from promoting online gambling in the United States and accepting online bets from persons located in the United States – activities declared by the US Department of Justice as illegal under existing law – to subsidize the poker programming it offers television networks. WPTE, on the other hand, complies with the letter and spirit of the law as currently interpreted by the DOJ and employs numerous safeguards to ensure no one in the United States can place a bet on its online poker website, leaving websites like Full Tilt Poker (and its owners Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer) to reap these illicit profits."

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This is no surprise at all. Trust me, it's going to get worse. Anyone who thought that the plaintiffs' promotion of illegal online poker sites wasn't going to be brought up again and again in this lawsuit is incredibly naive.

[olivert]

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I'm not sure why the WPTE would go in this direction. The WPTE needs on-line poker and on-line poker needs televised poker (Moneymaker ect...) to continue to reach the masses.

If I can't play poker on-line in my home, my interest in poker is diminished. Over time I become less interested in televised poker and for me poker takes the same route as fantasy football has.

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My take on this is like yours. I realize this is a battle, but what the WPT has done with that statement is run a suicide bomb mission.

In an attempt to take out their targets *Lederer and Co.* they have also killed and injured innocent bystanders *online players* and themselves dying while in the process.

You are correct, TV Poker needs online poker, and online poker needs TV poker...one needs it to continue to grow *online* and the other needs it so it doesn't continue to die..*TV*

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Those of us who thought that WPT was losing the battle against the online poker schools and TV producers are both right and wrong:

1. WPT is currently behind the WSOP and NBC Heads-Up in the US TV market, and is currently behind practically everyone else in the European online poker markets.

2. However, the battle for global supremacy of both TV poker and online poker hasn't really begun yet.

The one market in the world where at least 50% of the expected revenue from both online poker and TV poker will be realized by the year 2015 hasn't even been open yet.

That market? CHINA, which is 4 times the size of the U.S. market.

The Macau SAR of China has already surpassed Las Vegas in terms of total annual gaming revenue, even without the presence of Texas Hold'em in Macau casinos.

That will change, as American-style casinos open in Macau and American consultants arrive in Macau to train dealers and cardroom managers to offer Texas Hold'em to mostly Chinese clientele from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

WPTE's strongest ally, MGM MIRAGE, is scheduled to open MGM Grand Macau in the 4th quarter of 2007.

One should not be surprised if MGM Grand Macau were to host a WPT event in 2008.

WPTE has just signed TV distribution agreements in Macau and Singapore, both predominately-Chinese speaking markets where American-style resort casinos, aimed primarily at Chinese clientele, are being built.

Whichever entity is able to convince the Chinese government to issue a legal license to operate an online poker site for players inside MAINLAND China will end up dominating the global online poker business, and thereby controlling the global TV poker business as well.

WPTE's ONLY chance left to displace the WSOP Main Event as the recognized "world championship" of poker is to get the Chinese government to grant WPTE an online poker monopoly in China, so that WPTE and its ally, MGM MIRAGE, can finally get more players to play the "WPT World Championship" instead of the WSOP Main Event.

WPTE has a chance to severely damage its online and TV poker competitors by going to the US Department of Justice with incriminating evidence in order to position itself in a position of strength for online poker and TV poker industries' "Battle for China".

[sanmarcosrun1]

I dont understand how the wpt can suggest that online poker rooms are taking away from their business. Hello!! They are qualifying people for these tournaments the WPT runs. Am I missing something?

[olivert]

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I dont understand how the wpt can suggest that online poker rooms are taking away from their business. Hello!! They are qualifying people for these tournaments the WPT runs. Am I missing something?

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Many online poker rooms, notably PartyPoker and UB, no longer qualify players into WPT events.

PartyPoker and UB have both withdrawn from the WPT as a result of WPTE's entrance into the online poker business in Europe, and WPTE's prohibition of TV ads by rival online poker businesses on WPTE TV shows outside the US.

Furthermore, the likes of UB, Mansion, PartyPoker, and FullTilt have changed the US TV poker industry, from a "rights fee" business into a "time buy" business.

Because the likes of Mansion are willing to spend over $500,000 a week to buy TV time, most TV networks in the U.S. are no longer willing to pay a TV poker producer cash up front.

Instead, TV poker producers have to pay U.S. TV networks to air their shows.

Even Harrah's has to effectively pay ESPN to air the WSOP Main Event on ESPN, as Harrah's has to sell enough integrated sponsorships, which include TV ads on ESPN, in order to have enough revenue to share with ESPN in order offset the "rights fee" specified in the new TV contract between Harrah's and ESPN, as well as the production costs.

Notice also that Harrah's was not able to get a TV deal done for the 2006-2007 WSOP Circuit because of how dramatically the TV poker business in the US has evolved into nothing more than "paid infomercials" for online poker businesses.

WPTE is currently unable to get ANY TV network to agree to a traditional rights fee deal, with cash up front being paid by the TV network to WPTE, for the 2nd season of the PPT.

WPTE is alleging that the likes of Full Tilt are using "illegal" profits from offering online poker to U.S. based players in order to pay (and overpay, in the case of Mansion in the PokerDome series on FSN) TV networks for TV time, thereby "illegally" conspiring with the TV networks in order to restrain WPTE's ability to obtain a traditional rights fee deal with a US TV network for the 2nd Season of the PPT and beyond.

[ThunkHard]

J.R's spread of refutations doesn't even come close to what this post says.

[olivert]

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I'm not sure why the WPTE would go in this direction. The WPTE needs on-line poker and on-line poker needs televised poker (Moneymaker ect...) to continue to reach the masses.

If I can't play poker on-line in my home, my interest in poker is diminished. Over time I become less interested in televised poker and for me poker takes the same route as fantasy football has.

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WPTE is BUILDING its own VERTICALLY-INTEGRATED poker business, which includes an ONLINE POKER WEBSITE
that operates outside the US, and a MOBILE PHONE REAL MONEY POKER business outside the US.

WPTE now competes DIRECTLY against other online poker companies around the world.

The other online poker companies have also changed the TV poker business in the US market from a "rights fee" business into a "time buy" business, by offering to pay big money to the TV networks for blocks of TV time.

Because the likes of Mansion, Party, UB, and Full Tilt are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars every week to buy TV time from U.S. TV networks, the U.S. TV networks no longer have to pay cash for rights to TV poker products.

As a result, WPTE has had great difficulty trying to sell the U.S. TV rights to the 2nd season of the PPT because WPTE wants to stick to the old "rights fee" model in which TV networks pay CASH up front to producers such as WPTE.

WPTE is alleging that Full Tilt and other online poker businesses are using "illegal" profits from taking online poker action from U.S. customers in order to conspire with TV networks to prevent WPTE from being able to seek traditional TV "rights fees" for its PPT product.

[Mason Malmuth]

Hi Ranch:

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Lastly, Phil Gordon recently made a statement that is extremely naive...he said something to the effect of "Our lawyers would not have taken this case unless they thought we were right". Not so Mr. Gordon. If the lawyers truly believed in your case they would have taken the case on a contingency, whereby they only get paid if they win.

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I don't agree with you. We've had the same attorney for almost 20 years and I guarantee if we got involved in a legal dispute he would advise me if I was wrong (in his opinion) and then not to proceed with a suit. While many attorneys are "hired guns," the best ones are not. They give you good accurate advice and only have you proceed if your chances of success are legitimate.

best wishes,
Mason

[AJackson]

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So, is the WPT gonna leave us poker players hanging out to dry on the online issue with that statement?

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