Apparently, there are still a lot of hard feeling towards Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson over the 2011 Full Tilt poker scandal as the two poker pros made their first appearance at the World Series of Poker in six years.
Lederer and Ferguson were part of a civil lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department in September 2011 alleging Full Tilt Poker was essentially a Ponzi scheme. The suit claimed Lederer and Ferguson each collected more than $40 million over a four-year period “that was directly tied to the criminal conduct” from Full Tilt, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal.
Both player’s settled the suits without an admission of wrongdoing. However, many players at Full Tilt lost their bankrolls during the scandal.
Lederer issued an apology to players prior to his appearance on the blog of poker pro Daniel Negreanu, but Fergsuson has never commented on the scandal.
“I appreciated Howard Lederer’s willingness to own it in a public statement,” Negreanu told the paper. “I’m disappointed and ashamed of Chris for showing up here after five years, after hiding for five years, and not releasing any statement as though everyone’s forgotten.
“There’s a lot of people that were hurt,” he said. “A lot of people’s bankrolls were tied up. Any human with a shred of decency would know that whether it makes a difference or not, an apology is warranted and he’s done nothing to show any remorse. And I wonder, ‘Does he even give a (expletive)?’ “
Ferguson is a five-time WSOP bracelet winner and 2000 Main Event champion. His only comment during his appearance has been “I’m just here to play poker,” according to the Review Journal.
Lederer, a two-time bracelet winner, registered for the WSOP’s $10,000 buy-in 2-7 Draw Lowball Championship, but did not cash. Ferguson has cashed in four events including a 13th-place finish in a $565 buy-in Pot-limit Omaha tournament, the paper said.
