PPA should disassociate itself from scandal ridden CEO Poker tour

[PITTM]

[ QUOTE ]

Analogy: I hold the door open for a nice group of men entering a bank with ski masks. They proceed to rob the bank. I decide to wait and see how the situation gets resolved instead of calling the police and disassociating myself from the thieves.

[/ QUOTE ]

ban all analogies on 2p2 ever please. thanks!

[GaryTheGoat]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Would you guys quit shifting the blame for the CEO onto PPA?

The PPA simply placed information packets at these tournaments.

[/ QUOTE ]

And by doing same, helped give the CEO tour credibility.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've been wondering what sort of due diligence is required/customary by the casinos, gaming commissions and the PPA when "partnering" with group to put on a tournament.

Did the casinos rely on the endorsement of the PPA and assume that the PPA had checked them out?

Did the PPA assume that the charity had performed some background checks? Or do charities accept donations from anyone? I know the PPA does, they just asked me to ante up $5. lol

Did Maria perform Tournament Director duties?

Surely the gaming commissions have to approve something or some bodies, no?

Maria and Co. didn't miss many tricks. They were good enough to run for over a year. Still running I guess. Had they blinded the players with the glare of TV camera lights and the shine of bracelets, even the players would have been blinded to their larceny.

Where/when is their next tournament? I may have to unretire from the tournament trail. Surely I can beat any donkeys that would enter such an event notwithstanding any amount of juice, including, without ANY limitation, entry fees, staff appreciation fees, donations, tips, blah blah blah ad nauseum. Therefore, I must enter. Can't pass up such a such a positive ev situation.

What's the rake on the side games, the players' room rate, players' comp rate and the price of hats/t's that advertise the event? Nahh, doesn't matter. My opponets' poor play will more than cover it all. Now, if I can just learn ICM and SAGE, I can gain yet another 1% edge on those suckers. lol

I'm with you Shaniac, sign me up.

Anybody know of any budget airfares? The brakes are out on my truck/home. lol

GB

[OutOfCrown]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


<SNIP>

In 48 - 72 hours, , they should've been able to use email to poll the members as to what position to take.
There is also telephone conferencing available.



[/ QUOTE ]

I hate to rain on your parade, but obviously you've never served on Association Boards or been part of an Executive Committee where bylaws stipulate how the organization can function.

I am currently on two (a Condo Association & I hold an elected Office for a non-profit group). In each, the bylaws require a time-frame for notification to hold a Special Meeting. The time period is 10 days & 5 days respectively from once a request for Special Meeting is announced. Also, in that Special Meeting there must be a quorum (meaning a majority of board members in attendance)- otherwise the meeting can pass no binding measures.

[/ QUOTE ]

Right, and to be clear: these rules have nothing to do with being in the 21st century or not. They have everything to do with protecting the rights of Board members from missing a "surprise" Board meeting.

What, you didn't get the email? Oh well, too bad is what these rules are designed to prevent, and for good reason.

Email and telephones do get used, of course, but calling forth a formal action of an organization requires following procedures, verifying that everyone was properly notified, and giving them time to prepare and respond according to the established bylaws. A Board moves in a deliberate fashion and does so on purpose and by design. Furthermore, in the case of a close-knit Board (as I imagine the PPA Board might be), it is customary for the Chair to try to accommodate people's schedules rather than ram a meeting through unless the circumstances truly required emergency action.

Are the allegations here serious? Yes. Do they require emergency action? Get real.

If that means you don't want to be part of the organization, fine, but you're being silly and naive.

If anything, the PPA will be risking a lot more if/when it comes out firing against the CEO PT. That will be actionable if it turns out to be unjustified, and I am sure the PPA Board members will want to move very carefully and with ample justification (postings on 2p2 being not at all sufficient for that) before they state anything official along the lines of "CEO PT sucks and should die in a fire".

[cybin]

[ QUOTE ]
It seems William and Maria have created their own childrens charity - http://www.firebasesoftware.com/PR%20New...%20Needy%20Kids

[/ QUOTE ]

I started reading this and immediately thought of the Mr. Show sketch "Dream Of A Lifetime." Sadly I cannot find it on YouTube (because this needs to be seen!) but if you have Season 3 it's in the "It's A No Brainer" episode. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[frommagio]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Why should the CEO poker tour be allowed to continue? They stole money from their participants, denied it, when we proved it they ran away. Now that they offered to not steal in the future we should be satisfied? no no no.

[/ QUOTE ]

Then don't participate. But until you can go over their records or have them deny you access you can't be 100% sure that they stole anything. Just because attendance numbers are posted on internet sites doesn't mean they are accurate. That's why real organizations like the PPA don't make accusations like this on an internet forum. It seems to me that you all have done a fine job uncovering what looks very likely to be some shady business and you've reported it to the PPA. Now let them go and decide how they want to proceed.

[/ QUOTE ]

Everybody, go back and read this man's posts - all of them. He knows what he's talking about. He's been a voice of reason here, patiently explaining how things work in the real world, and why.

We're all in violent agreement that CEO Poker is trash. That's not the issue.

Read his posts. This is an opportunity for some of the younger folks here to understand how things work in the business world, in organizations, in life.

Not everything operates like an interactive forum!

[Takedown]

[ QUOTE ]
Meanwhile, the majority of people reading this thread are already aware that the CEO Poker Tour is finished and that the principals of that group are scammers.

And that the PPA has revealed itself to be an ineffective organization.

If it takes them weeks to take a postion on this situation, it reveals them to be hopelessly ineffectual at their stated purpose - protecting the rights of poker players.

If they walk away from this situation, they will demonstrate a total lack of integrity.



[/ QUOTE ]

Does anyone else find it funny that people are looking to the PPA to do something about this situation when it seems like there are other parties that are more accountable?

The PPA is taking things slowly as they should. How can you all jump on them so quick when in reality this didn't come to light until a couple weeks ago. The PPA may assist, they may not, it's a business that has to weigh their options just as anyone else should. What do you all want the PPA to do? Do you want them to foot the legal bill? Do you want them to write the CEO tour a stern letter? Honestly I would rather the PPA be fighting for our rights to play online, and our rights to hold home games, which effects so many more people then a small group that played the CEO series. The CEO tour has shot itself in the foot, it will be difficult for them to continue. I'd expect the PPA to disassociate itself with the CEO tour and publicly make it aware. Beyond that, the PPA would be wasting it's resources on some thing that has is small in the grand scheme. Sure the PPA is supposed to protect our rights, but what would you rather them protect, the rights of a few thousand or the rights of every US citizen who would like to play poker online?

Has anyone contacted the Taj, Venetian, etc to discuss the issue at hand and see if they will offer any help? It seems to me that the casinos and gaming board should offer assistance before anyone else. These people actually must of done some review of the CEO tour prior to allowing them to hold events in their jurisdictions and casinos.

-Ron

[ericicecream]

Blame thread:

CEO PT > Venetian (and other casinos who hosted) > PPA > players (who took a long time to notice discrepencies)

[GaryTheGoat]

[ QUOTE ]
Blame thread:

CEO PT > players (who took a long time to notice discrepencies)> Venetian (and other casinos who hosted) > gaming commissions >PPA

[/ QUOTE ]

My first fyp.

[Quicksilvre]

[ QUOTE ]
Mr. Shackleford,

Thank you for running the Wizard of Odds site; I've enjoyed it quite a
bit ever since I've discovered it. I realize that you mostly concentrate
on games played against the house, but there is a situation concerning
live poker tournaments hosted by the CEO Poker Tour that I hoped to bring
to your attention, so you may warn your site's patrons (which I've
noticed you do in the past).

Over the last several months the CEO Poker Tour (http://www.ceopokertour.com/) have hosted tournaments at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, the Venetian in LV, and one or two other locations. At all of these tournaments, the vig charged was rather extreme--around 15-20%, on average. It is virtually impossible for even the best players to come out on top in the long run.
Worse, there is reason to believe that the CEOPT altered its the
documents that explained the tournament fees at the last moment--or even
after the tournament ended--in order to increase its profits.

Members of the Two Plus Two internet forum have looked into this matter,
and representatives from the CEOPT have declined to answer most of the
questions the forum members have asked them. The CEOPT reps have also
made false accounts to spam the board with false, positive accounts of
CEOPT tournaments.

These are the 2+2 threads in question:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showfl...part=1&vc=1 (I apologize for all that reading)

Here are the payout reports from PokerPages, in case you didn't believe
the 20% vig figure:

http://www.pokerpages.com/tournament/maj...nament+Database
I hope you look into this soon and warn those who visit your site.

Sincerely,

Daniel

[/ QUOTE ]

Not as big a deal as contacting the Gaming Board, but since the Wizard of Odds gets a large number of casual gamers, I'd figure I'd do my part to raise a red flag to him so he can raise the red flag on his site.

[doublejoker]

[ QUOTE ]
Would you guys quit shifting the blame for the CEO onto PPA?

The PPA simply placed information packets at these tournaments.

[/ QUOTE ]

The implication from this quote seems like more than just placing packets....

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