Full Tilt Poker Lawsuit: Accused of Using Poker Bots
A lawsuit has been filed against Full Tilt Poker, claiming that they use bots to keep games running longer and to employ more luck than skill. And that the bots were created by Chris Ferguson and Andy Bloch.
The suit was filed in California by poker player Lary Kennedy, whose account at Full Tilt was closed a couple years ago because they claimed Kennedy used a bot herself, which is against the terms and conditions for the online poker site.
Kennedy’s account was locked along with over $80,000 confiscated.
Kennedy, who goes by the name sillysal in poker forums, had the 2+2 community up in arms over her case, until they found out that she also multi-accounted — playing under a different name on the same site simultaneously. That’s also a Full Tilt no-no. She used the accounts “pokergirl_z” and “greggo777.”
The story even made its rounds to TMZ.com, stating in their normal exaggerated way that “poker legends [are] sued for robot fraud.”
Kennedy’s website shows videos of her playing to prove she isn’t a bot, photos of her with poker pros (including those affiliated with Full Tilt), threads from poker forums about the situation, and the complaint.
We’re skeptical about how far this lawsuit will go, what with a sample of its 13 pages stating “a skilled player would start on-line jihads against the successful player.”
But if it does go to trial, it will be interesting to find out some of the inner workings of Full Tilt.
Here’s Lary Kennedy’s side of the story in her own words:
My name is Lary Kennedy. I play online poker.
In October 2007 Full Tilt Poker confiscated almost 80 thousand dollars from me. FTP later falsely accused me of using automated software, usually referred to as a “bot”, in obtaining my poker winnings.
This caused me much distress not only losing the money, but also because my reputation as a skilled poker player came under great scrutiny.
I set up this website to tell my side of the story.
I initially believed that I had no legal recourse, as all of the online gaming sites are located offshore. The only way I knew at the time to correct this wrong was to post my story on one of the largest online poker community forums, twoplustwo.com. Full Tilt Poker refused to rectify this injustice. However, prior to filing the lawsuit I participated in a formal mediation session with Full Tilt, which was unsuccessful in establishing a resolution.
If you are interested in reviewing these posts, the links (1/2) have been provided for you.
I have since found a great lawyer (qualified in both California and England) named Cyrus Sanai who not only believed my claims but also had the balls to pursue legal action against Full Tilt Poker. It helps that he was present at the beginning of the involvement of Chris, Howard and the other owners of Full Tilt in on-line poker.
The recently filed complaint is also posted here. The complaint may well be amended as the lawsuit progresses. While Cyrus knows a lot about Full Tilt Poker’s origins, there is much he does not know and that we expect to learn as the lawsuit progresses.
Those in the poker community will no doubt find the information posted on this website intriguing and informative. For all my friends and supporters, thanks for checking in.
If you have had a similar experience with Full Tilt Poker, my attorney will be happy to consider taking on additional clients on a contingency basis. You can contact him at cyrus@sanaislaw.com.
Thanks! …pokergirl_z, sillysal, MadHaddie and for those of you who know me in 3D… Lary
Complaint (download PDF):
[thanks to flipchippro via cc]
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