DOJ says Full Tilt was a global Ponzi scheme
20 September 2011

By Dan Igo

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Tuesday that Full Tilt Poker operated as a “global Ponzi scheme” and that its primary owners, including poker professionals Howard Lederer and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, defrauded the site’s players out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

The DOJ filed a motion to amend an earlier civil complaint against Full Tilt Poker to include “additional allegations, claims, and defendants concerning a fraudulent scheme by Full Tilt Poker and its Board of Directors concerning the misuse of players’ funds,” according to a memorandum sent out by Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney from the Southern District of New York.

“Full Tilt was not a legitimate poker company, but a global Ponzi scheme,” Bharara said in a statement. “Full Tilt insiders lined their own pockets with funds picked from the pockets of their most loyal customers while blithely lying to both players and the public alike about the safety and security of the money deposited.”

Lederer, Ferguson, former CEO Ray Bitar and Rafael “Rafe” Furst, all owners of Full Tilt Poker, are accused of distributing approximately $443 million to themselves and other owners of the company. The amended complaint alleges that Full Tilt mixed player funds with operating funds, despite public claims to the contrary by the site.

The DOJ said that by the end of March, Full Tilt Poker owed approximately $390 million to players worldwide, including $150 million to American players, but had less than $60 million in its bank accounts.

“Full Tilt Poker allowed players to gamble with — and lose to other players — this phantom money that Full Tilt Poker never actually collected or possessed,” the DOJ said in a memo.

Lederer, Ferguson and Furst were not included in the original April 15 indictment against the founders of Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and Absolute Poker. Those three sites were accused of bank fraud, money laundering, illegal gambling offenses and violating the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. All three stopped taking American players shortly after the indictment.

Repaying players has been a totally different matter. PokerStars has paid more than $120 million to American players, and has had no significant delays in paying its international customer base. Full Tilt and Absolute Poker, meanwhile, still owe their players millions of dollars..

The amended complaint claims that Lederer personally received $42 million in company funds, while Ferguson was allocated over $85 million in distributions, but only received about $25 million of this sum.

An unnamed Full Tilt Poker pro received at least $40 million in distributions, while also receiving millions of dollars characterized as loans by Full Tilt. Over $4 million of these loans have not been repaid.

The amendment also states that up until April 2011, Full Tilt Poker continued making payments of up to $10 million per month to its owners, despite the company’s liquidity issues.

Full Tilt Poker’s website stated as of yesterday that players’ funds were “safe and secure.”

The DOJ is seeking $40 million from Bitar, $41.8 million from Lederer, $25 million from Ferguson and $11.7 million from Furst.

(Reprinted from Casino City Times)

The great equalizer visits New York’s Belmont Stakes! [gplus count="true" size="Medium" ]

All this week, I felt pretty confident that AK would take this race. It definitely was his to lose! The race between between AK and Shackleford proved to be the ONLY thing to consider.

After all, S loves the front end, but can’t hold on… AK loves to come from behind to take the win… especially since the Belmont is the longest race of the Triple Crown at a mile and a half!!

How could a come-from-behind horse with the stamina of AK NOT win???

Answer: When the great equalizer comes to the track!

The Weather!

It’s a mess there as I write this. Not only is it a sealed muddy track, but it’s compacted! I’ve watched the early races there today, and it’s obvious to me that front runners rule the day!

So, with that said…

Here are my picks for today’s Belmont Stakes IN A VERY LOOSE ORDER:

1 – Brilliant Speed – Pedigree, Stamina, BS has it! Was forced wide in KD – expect much better here.

2 – Animal Kingdom – just too good to ignore – but can’t catch the winner in this slop!

3 – Master of Hounds – why did the 5th pl KD finisher ship home to Ireland and then ship back here for this????

4 – Prime Cut – The early challenger to Shackleford without a doubt, and may the leader at the first turn.

5 – Shackleford – I’d like him more if he had a better Post Position, because he’ll be pushed at the start.

6 – Nehro – If you’re playing the exotics (and you should in a 3Crown race), this bridesmaid must be included.

7 – Santiva – Has early speed, so cannot be ruled out if speed counts as much as I think it will today.

So,

I’ll play AK to PLACE behind my other first 4 picks and ahead of them as well for the trifecta and superfectas. Then AK to SHOW behind them. Throw in a mix of all the picks above and you’re looking at some expensive tickets. So, throw darts, flip coins, meditate and play the odds OR do some serious handicapping, and you’ll get paid with those above…

Good Luck!

My Squidoo lenses were “locked” today. That means taken down, unpublished, hidden away, destroyed, obliterated, bombed, and killed. Know why? Because they were about the Horse races; Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and one about Las Vegas (and how to save money on your next visit).

Those lenses were labeled by the Squidoo Brainiacs as Gambling.

These were simple lenses of information – that’s all – information. But the Squidoo Fools called the lenses: “Gambling”

Gambling!

How often must I say this? How often must I cry in the dark? What does it take to get through to some people? What must my message be to convince the powers-at-be that:

EVERYTHING WE DO IS A GAMBLE. You’ve seen my writings in the past about Stocks, and Bonds, and Insurance, and what we buy at the Grocery store, and which Mate we choose…. on and on and on and on and on and…

Until ALL lenses are removed (show me one that isn’t about Gambling) then the removal of mine is highly, HIGHLY discriminatory!!!! Perhaps, even illegal.

I look forward to the day when this “Gambling phobia” is challenged in court and made illegal!!!!

I read last week that one elementary school has decided that their student can’t have Easter Eggs… they must only have: “Spring Spheres”. oh brother!

So, if that kind of nonsense gets it’s day in court, then mine must too!

I maintain that one can’t decide on any thing over any other thing without that act being a “gamble”.

What say you?…

Oh, and one more thing: Squidoo? Grow up!

Yes, Surprise was the word of the day yesterday as the Titanic of horse racing, the 1-9 favorite Uncle Mo lost to two (not just one, but two – Toby’s Corner and Arthur’s Tale)  rivals in the Wood Memorial.

BTW: As you know, I had picked Uncle Mo to win that race (as did everyone else it seems – after all, he went off at 1-9) so that was a loss. What I didn’t have time to tell most of you was this. When Uncle Mo showed those odds (1-9) I jumped off him! At those odds, no horse is bettable because you risk your money for a very small return… it’s just not smart! So, the play in this case was to bet EVERY OTHER HORSE to win… and hope for an upset. Because, the closest odds to the favorite was an amazing 17-1 (late betting pushed him down to 8-1 – may have been his connections who always bet at the very last moment)… the other horses were well into the high 20′s, the 30′s, and beyond. So, place one unit on each of the other horses to win, and 2 units on the favorite-of-the-rest (8-1).

Playing $10 units, your bet would have been $90, and your return was nearly $200.

At the start of that race, Uncle Mo was also the favorite to win the Kentucky Derby. Less than two minutes later… dog meat! Well, that’s a little harsh, he’s still a good horse in a so-so crop of 3 year olds. That’s horse racing! As we know, anything can and does happen. Unless it’s discovered that Uncle Mo was injured (and Bob Baffert said he tore a quarter at the gate) Uncle Mo had no excuses as the times were very, very slow.

Here, see for yourself:

So, where does that leave us in the hunt for a winner on May 7th at Churchill Downs? It doesn’t appear at this moment that we’re going to have a Triple Crown Winner… again! (1978 was the last)

Ok, Uncle Mo’s an also ran, Dialed In barely beat a 68-1 long shot, Premier Pegasus is out with an injury, Jaycito too… Where’s Beetlebomb when you need him?

All of this makes next week’s race at my favorite race track in all of North America very much in the spotlight.

If The Factor wins the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn next week, he will undoubtedly be the favorite in the Kentucky Derby as well.

The race to enter The Kentucky Derby tightens up considerably today through two very important prep races; the Santa Anita Derby, and the Wood Memorial.

Here’s how I see them:

Santa Anita Derby – Today’s SADerby is going to be hottly contested based upon of all things: the horses! Duh! You say… but consider the facts that great careful breeding, high prices, famous connections, perfect training and deep pocket owners can all do their parts and still not make the grade… in this case: The Grade I, Million Dollar SAD!

Today, in the last chance for Left-Coast horses to qualify for the Kentucky Derby (and subsequently the Triple Crown) we’ll see only nine horses enter the starting gate.

On Thursday, the runaway favorite to win (8-5) Premier Pegasus was scratched due to a hairline fractured cannon bone. The horse will have to wait this out to heal.

Then, yesterday, Bob Baffert announced that his top contender Jaycito would also sit this one out due to a bruised foot… also not career ending, but he’ll need to rest it awhile. He might enter the Grade III, Lexington Stakes to get into the qualifying money for the Kentucky Derby.

So, that leaves nine: nine horses that would have finished up the track are now battling for the win. Current favorite: Silver Medallion (a triple crown name – right?) will have some trouble with two other stake’s winners in Anthony’s Cross and front-running Comma To The Top. Bob Baffert is hopeful that his long-shot; Midnight Interlude (another sexy name) will give him the win he needs for a trip to Kentucky.

With all these hiccups, who can handicap this one?

I will try:

Anthony’s Cross and Silver Medallion have both been absent since Feb 12th… question? SM has never run on the dirt… question?

Midnight Interlude is a big, unproven horse that may not be able to handle the distance nor his own weight… question?

Comma To The Top finished fourth in the San Felipe after a front end dual that sank his rivals to dead last in the race. Despite that, or because of it, I’m picking Comma To The Top to upset in the Santa Anita Derby. He’ll still go to the front, but may be handled a bit to conserve his energy. That’s the promise his trainer Peter Miller delivered Thursday.

===================

Wood Memorial – This one is not so contentious. The clear and overwhelming favorite (1-5); Uncle Mo (also the current favorite to win the Kentucky Derby) will break out of the starting gate against nine opponents in the premier race at New York’s Aqueduct Race Track.

The 2010 Champion 2 Year Old Colt is a galloping sensation. His stride beats anything we’ve seen this year and perhaps preceding years going back to the late 70′s. He’s 4 for 4 and looks to stretch out his perfect record today.

The second choice Toby’s Corner will get blinkers for the first time. The other “contenders” are admittedly trying to get into the exacta and/or the trifecta bowing to the superior horse.

Secretly, the trainers all say; IF… if the horse (Uncle Mo) stumbles or has a bad day…

So, barring that, my pick for the Wood: Uncle Mo… Duh!

Allow me to rant! I want to join those who are disappointed at the least, and furious at most that Pia Toscano was eliminated from American Idol last night.

For me, the show is dead. I won’t be watching it anymore. I will find out who won of course in a few more weeks, but I won’t be watching it anymore.

It’s very important to note that one can Google “Pia” and she’s first and foremost out of millions of pages. The US has fallen in love! Not only is she the most beautiful girl on the show (sorry Lauren and what’s her name [Hailey]), but IMO the most talented too!

It’s apparent to me that American Idol is for little girls (and me). Look at the top eight… six guys and two girls. Are you kidding me? Would a balanced vote give us those 8? I think not! I think that only little girls watch the show… and I KNOW only little girls Vote! Otherwise, we wouldn’t have a 3 to 1 ratio, and we wouldn’t have several of those guys if the real vote were for talent! I propose that from now on, American Idol give heavier weight to a guy’s vote…. at least two to one! That’ll teach those little girls!

If that doesn’t happen, we may never see another girl American Idol! so sad….

Pia got over 30,000 twitter followers today after her elimination. That’s more than last year’s winner (again – what’s his name???) has after a year of fame or obscurity. Good for you Pia!

I predict we’ve seen the last girl American Idol. By the way – I think the Idols who have gone on to acquire the greatest careers are girls. Carrie Underwood is by far the most famous, Kelly Clarkson is not far behind. Quick, name two famous Male Idols… ummmm, ummmmm, ummmmmmmmm. Nope, can’t do it! See, I can be just as sexist as those little girls… it’s just that they outnumber me!

I really have no right to complain about Pia getting the boot… after all, I didn’t vote. I’m not a little girl! (My sincerest apology to Pia!)

See a pattern here?

Anyway, I’m sure Pia has a great future, and a great career ahead of her… do you think any of those guys do???? not hardly!

If you Google “vegas line on american idol” what do you get? check it out… the number six page is:
American Idol Top 11 Power Rankings – Is Pia Toscano The One To Beat?

My taste stands! If Vegas picked her, and I picked her… I feel vindicated in this rant!

She will succeed – and I can’t wait!

Here are the current Odds (and note the favorites are all guys!  Vegas is no dummy!)

* Currently listed as the favorite

Stay Tuned (to me, NOT to American Idol)

I’m thoroughly disgusted.

Disgusted with ESPN’s “Sports Center”!

Why?

Because they just wouldn’t shutup about Auburn.

Ok – Auburn came back from behind. HoHum!

They ended up winning 28 – 27. They won by ONE POINT! One point my friends – what the hell’s all the praising about?

On the other hand – they HAD to say SOMETHING about the Number One Team – Oregon. Not that they wanted to… it was like “Oh Yeah – there was another game tonight – number one ORYGONE – (couldn’t even pronounce it correctly) – beat their opponent (again – yawn) by 19 points. And quietly (even ashamedly) admit that Oregon came from behind too – but don’t make a big deal of it!

By the end of the night – during their wrap-up… I was so sick of their praises of Auburn (Number TWO – still) that I decided to time their coverage…

The score?     
Auburn game = 6 minutes and 05 seconds of hyperbole.
Oregon game = 3 minutes and 10 seconds (and they sounded ashamed to include it).

And of course the great win by Nevada over the pretender; “Boise State” also made
it big on the clock (more time).

So, I’m happy about the games (even the Auburn game) but really angry about the reporting….

I think the #1 team; Oregon Ducks (the only one to hold on to the ranking for a full month now) scratched and clawed its way to the top – and then is under reported. Why? Maybe it’s because they are so good that a win is boring!

Oh Well! – Go Ducks!

The Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…

Like father, like son.

On one hand, I feel sorry for Cam Newton (QB – Auburn). Not for what he’s done, but because he’s doing just what his low-life father has taught him to do.

Let’s tackle the recruiting allegations first. It is alleged that the father (Cecil Newton) actively pursued money in exchange for a national letter of intent for his son Cam. That means that the father wanted to be paid for an agreement to play football on behalf of his son.

The facts are all over the news and the internet, so let me just voice my opinion here. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Too many people have told the same story here and Cam’s only official answer was a no-answer to “something that occurred not 3 months ago, not 6 months ago….” . The key there is “Something That Occurred”… what more do we need? He said it: “something that occurred”!

You want more? OK…

Where was Cam Newton during this “alleged” extortion? … this “alleged” requesting for bribes? He was at Blinn Junior College in Brenham, Texas! What the hell is that? If he is so good as a football player, what’s he doing at “Blinn”??????

I’ll tell you what he was doing there… he was HIDING! Yes: Hiding! He was caught cheating at Florida in Gainesville – not once, but THREE times…

Further, he was caught with a stolen laptop at Florida.

He was scheduled to be expelled for these FACTS… so he skipped…

He left Florida and HID at Blinn.

That’s when his father began shopping his son to the bigger universities. Mississippi State was close to signing Cam when his father said “It will take more than a scholarship” to sign his son…

Mississippi State refused to pay a student to play football… Cam is reported to tell the MS recruiter (tearfully) that he changed his mind because his father made the decision to go to Auburn… “Because the Money was Too Good”.

My question is to the Heisman Trophy voters…

What the hell do you need? The Heisman Trophy requires among other things INTEGRITY!

There is NO integrity in Cecil Newton – and none in his son Cam!

He was caught cheating, he ran, he extorted money from Auburn, he signed for the money….

What the Hell do you need?

Do NOT vote for Cam Newton – he deserves what his father hath wrought! Cam happily spent the money, now let him reap the rewards.

Don’t give him the trophy only to have it taken back (like Reggie Bush) years later.

Vote for a good man as well as a good football player…

Vote for LaMichael James or Kellen Moore…

…but NOT for the Low-Life’s son: Cam Newton, because,

… the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Well, well, well, I’m a genius! I got through to the BCS computers… after 3 weeks of getting it wrong – they finally got it RIGHT!

Oregon is #1 -

Number 1 in the human polls…

And now; Oregon is Number one in the BCS too!

My sincerest Congratulations to the Oregon Ducks! This is the first time in their history they’ve been Number One and the first time they’ve opened 8 – 0 since 1933.

Coach Chip Kelly is so level headed – he seems to pay NO attention at ALL to this. I’ve been impressed with his interviews. He’s said that this means nothing, and he’s simply preparing for the next challenge.

With or without his acknowledgment, the next challenge is to remain No 1.

In the past four weeks, All four of the #1 ranked BCS colleges has been knocked off the perch. Three lost by defeats, and now Auburn lost due to the fact that they shouldn’t have been there in the first place. (see yesterdays post – below)

Oregon WILL break the curse on Saturday at 3:30 (ET) when they defeat the unranked Washington Huskies (3-5). Coach Kelly is not one to overlook an opponent, and he won’t take the Huskies for granted this week. As I write this, the Ducks are hard at work preparing for them.

Best of luck to you Oregon – and we’ll see you in the BCS Bowl!

The BCS is either wrong or stubborn! You tell me…

Oregon is #1 in BOTH (human) polls.
Oregon beat its opponent this week by a larger margin than did Auburn.
Oregon scores more points (and much sooner) than any other team.
Is ranked FIRST in many stats.
Oregon has a legitimate Heisman candidate.
Oregon has allowed fewer points in the second half than ANY other team.
(These facts just keep coming)

Yet Oregon is #2 to Auburn???????

… and ever worse: #3 Boise State (.8846) is closer to #2 Oregon (.9060) in points than Oregon is to #1 Auburn (.9371) in points…..  What are they thinking?

Look at this: The Harris Poll (which is SUPPOSED to be figured into the BCS formula) shows the points thusly:
#1 Auburn (2611)
#2 Oregon (2818)
#3 Boise State (2668)

Yet Oregon is #2 to Auburn???????

Now look at the USA Today Poll:

#1 Auburn (.9153)
#2 Oregon (.9919)
#3 Boise State (.9376)

In fact, they show Auburn as BARELY ahead of #4 TCU (.8868)

Yet Oregon is #2 to Auburn???????

BCS is either wrong or stubborn! You tell me…

Someone PLEASE explain to me just what criteria is fed into the BCS computers that keeps Oregon from #1. I know, I know, the three guys who input data into the computers refuse to reveal that information. I’m telling them to stop, look at reality, and reconfigure their input data (and/or formula).

BCS is either wrong or stubborn! You tell me…