PokerStars vs Gordon Vayo – the court case is over

The case that we have observed for some time (it started back in 2017) has officially reached its end. Conflict between PS and Gordon Vayo is over.

Back in 2017 Gordon Vayo, finalist from the Main Event at WSOP 2016, won a SCOOP tournament at PokerStars. He managed to withdraw about 85-100k out of 692 thousand he scooped. The rest of the funds was frozen by PokerStars, as their security department announced Vayo was playing from the USA at that time and it goes against the terms of use.

Vayo was claiming he played out of Canada and went to court with a lawsuit. In the middle of November it turned out he fabricated evidence to prove his claims. He even went as far as to forge bank documents.

PokerStars lawyers demanded from him to return 290k it cost them to battle it out in the court of law.

The day before yesterdat USbets.com informed that PS lawyers withdrew from these claims. We do not know if Vayo will be questioned relating the forgery, but the clash with PokerStars is over. None of the parties commented on the incident.

The most important question is why has PokerStars agreed to end the pursuit? After all it was quite a bit of money. Now the company operates legally in New Jersey, but next year they will also enter Pennsylvania. There are 12.8 million residents there so the potential is huge.

At the end of November PokerStars received a licence to operate in Pennsylvania. PS partner there is the Mounty Airy Casino Resort. The deal was signed in the middle of August. Gambling law in Pennsylvania reuires such a partnership with a brick and mortar casino. The permission will allow them to offer games online and in the future they will be able to add sports betting (The Stars Group, PS owner, has also got the booking brand BetStars), but they will need a separate licence for that.

We can also add that TSG has also signed an agreement with Eldorado Resorts. It's about the 13 states where Eldorado has casinos. (not Pennsylvaniia and New Jersey, where TSG has other partners) and it will be valid for the next 20 years.

It's likely that in some time Pennsylvania and other states will share their online poker players' pool. Currently such a pool is present in New Jersey (9 million citizens), Nevada (in this state PS will not be able to offer their services due to bad actor clause) and Delaware (there the only operator present is 888 Holdings).

Considering the situation and the fact PokerStars is preparing to enter another market they probably do not need a scandal that American media would comment. Court battle with Vayo could prove long and dirty. Probably it's worth sacrificing the $280,000 to ensure silence.

You make an account and deposit money from US? NP BRO
You won 700K? Sorry gotta protect yo US ass from gambling
Shady as fuck imo

Vayo was quoted in Forbes as saying that PokerStars: "H]as engaged in a practice of approving U.S. citizens and residents for play on the PokerStars.com site, allowing and encouraging them to play on the site, happily taking their money – in many cases for years. Then, after a U.S. citizen or resident wins a significant amount of money on the PokerStars.com site, Defendant conducts a sham investigation into the user’s activities and the location of the user’s access of the site, placing the onus on the player to retroactively prove that it is 'inconceivable' that his or her play could have originated from within the United States, in order to gin up a pretext to deny payment."

Pretty much this in other words.

edit: oh whoops i confused this guy with someone else

what was the recentish one where some micro stakes players made a huge FT and payed a good player to play for him and that reg started big talking the deal discussion and got caught?

On December 09 2018 11:38 FrinkX wrote: edit: oh whoops i confused this guy with someone else what was the recentish one where some micro stakes players made a huge FT and payed a good player to play for him and that reg started big talking the deal discussion and got caught?

This one:
https://www.liquidpoker.net/news/1159...day_Million_been_banned_for_ghosting_