Daniel Negreanu, one of the highest earning online professional poker players in the world, is voicing his concerns that poor management at Ultimate Bet, one of the online poker sites recently targeted by U.S. federal officials for illegal gambling activities in the U.S., cheated investors and players alike. As a PokerStars team member, Negreanu he is proud of the way his sponsor quickly reimbursed funds to its players but is pessimistic UB players will see any money returned to them and directs blame at the poker industry for allowing Ultimate Bet to get away with this infringement on fair play.
Meanwhile Phi Ivey’s boycott of the 2011 WSOP poker tournament has caused mixed reaction from his peers. Some players such as Negreanu and Doyle Brunson support Ivey’s stand against Full Tilt Poker’s mismanagement of players’ funds in support of his fellow professional poker players whose loss of income affects their participation in poker tournaments and ultimately their earning potential. Others view Ivey’s actions as self-serving allowing him to distance himself from the website in wake of its legal troubles. In reaction to Ivey’s lawsuit filed against Full Tilt Poker, the online poker website and its parent company, Tiltware, accuse Ivey of negatively affecting lucrative business contracts which could help the website return players funds quickly. Despite differing opinions, the majority of professional poker players agree regulating online poker in the U.S. would safeguard the overall interests of players.
