Thread Related to Full Tilt Poker, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson Gets 122K Views in 4 Hours

So many people have been affected by the demise of Full Tilt Poker or are merely intrigued by all the drama that a thread related to breaking news on Tuesday resulted in over 122,000 views in a matter of under five hours at the popular TwoPlusTwo.com posting forum.

The thread in question related to news that poker pros Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson were named in a revised US Government complaint against Full Tilt Poker and alleged to have absconded with millions of dollars in players funds.

The thread resulted in some 1018 posts.

“Wow, their shady antics continue. Hope they see a cell for sure,” one poster offered.

“These guys need to go to jail for a long long time...especially ferguson and lederer, i hope they get 20 years minimum.”

It was an interesting turn of events whereby the US Justice Department appeared to be getting some praise from the online poker community.

Following an April 15 indictment against FTP’s two co-founders, the DOJ was mostly condemned and accused of trying to “bring down the industry”.

A Motion to Intervene by Costigan Media (owner of the Gambling911.com website) as a means of gaining access to seizure affidavits filed against Full Tilt Poker processing agents nearly two years prior to the indictments suggested there was always something more ominous at play.

“There was always a concern that Full Tilt Poker and some of the company’s principals may have been involved in something more far reaching than simply allowing individuals to play poker online,” said Chris Costigan, Publisher of the Gambling911.com website.

US authorities claimed on Tuesday that Lederer, Ferguson and another defendant were perpetrating an elaborate ponzi scheme whereby players funds were used to pay off the three individuals and at least one co-founder, Raymond Bitar.  It is unclear at this time whether other “board members” of Full Tilt Poker will be named in subsequent complaints.  One of the more famous faces of FTP is Phil Ivey.

Bitar is said to have received $41 million while Lederer got $42 million.  The complaint also contends that Ferguson was supposed to get $87.5 million, although he may have only received $25 million of that amount so far.  There are at least two civil actions filed against the defendants by customers of Full Tilt Poker.

While Lederer is perceived as the “ring leader” of the Full Tilt Poker pros, Ferguson is the most recognized name outside of Phil Ivey.  Ferguson often refers to himself as “Jesus” based on his Christ-like physical appearance even though he is a self-proclaimed atheist. 

The story was receiving national mainstream attention throughout the day on Tuesday.

- Alejandro Botticelli, Gambling911.com