Tony G made the rounds of several radio and interview shows this week to express his frustration and opinion regarding the poker world since Black Friday, with special emphasis on Full Tilt Poker. Tony G is the owner of PokerNews.com who has a large vested interest as a super affiliate and receiving ad revenue from many poker rooms."I think it had to happen," Tony G said regarding to the events on April 15th."There was no legal standing, no one knew for sure, and now they do."Tony G has been reaching out to the various poker rooms affected. PokerStars has been proactive in discussions and receiving feedback while Full Tilt has not. He insisted that Full Tilt and its figurehead leaders Howard Lederer and other visible pros need to speak up and soon. "I think people like Howard (Lederer) and Phil Ivey should come forward and guarantee that money, and ensure that people are being paid back. They could make a very firm position, and they could come forward. The Team Full Tilt needs to step up."
"If the whole team Full Tilt could guarantee some of that money back, I think that would be a big help. From what I understand about $100 million of Full Tilt's money has been frozen," he said, stressing that he sees the Team Full Tilt as having a big part of the responsibility in the process.Tony G is very familiar with these issues. He admitted a mistake he made with an association with T6 a defunct poker room that attempted to create a Ponzi scheme to cheat players. Tony G personally helped repay 50% of player funds to help alleviate the aftermath of that failure."We are ready to help out players, and have been in touch with PokerStars, but they seem to be handling the problem themselves. We have been in touch with Full Tilt Poker, too, and I think they need to come clean, tell everyone where the money is and pay people back. That's really critical right now."Tony G indicated that he would even go so far as to help secure financing or an investment in Full Tilt from his Russian business friends if that would right the ship and ensure future stability in the face of short term liquidity issues.
Tony G has less faith in UB/AP having dealt with years of poor management and business decisions. On the whole, he feels less worried because PokerNews is so diversified and the U.S. market is such a small part of his business. PokerNews is offered in over 30 languages.
"If the whole team Full Tilt could guarantee some of that money back, I think that would be a big help. From what I understand about $100 million of Full Tilt's money has been frozen," he said, stressing that he sees the Team Full Tilt as having a big part of the responsibility in the process.Tony G is very familiar with these issues. He admitted a mistake he made with an association with T6 a defunct poker room that attempted to create a Ponzi scheme to cheat players. Tony G personally helped repay 50% of player funds to help alleviate the aftermath of that failure."We are ready to help out players, and have been in touch with PokerStars, but they seem to be handling the problem themselves. We have been in touch with Full Tilt Poker, too, and I think they need to come clean, tell everyone where the money is and pay people back. That's really critical right now."Tony G indicated that he would even go so far as to help secure financing or an investment in Full Tilt from his Russian business friends if that would right the ship and ensure future stability in the face of short term liquidity issues.
Tony G has less faith in UB/AP having dealt with years of poor management and business decisions. On the whole, he feels less worried because PokerNews is so diversified and the U.S. market is such a small part of his business. PokerNews is offered in over 30 languages.
