Cast Your Vote On The Wpt Lawsuit

[loxo 0]

Oh how I long for the innocent days of Dreamclown.

This made me smile........just like your avatar.

[Koonsy08 0]

Let's forget for a second "who's right or wrong" here. This poll question deals solely with whether or not what these seven players are doing is a good or bad thing for the poker world.

They think they are doin it for the good of the players but if it is really for the players why is there not more than 7 players suing. Cmon if it were a real issue to have a lawsuit there would be a hell of alot more than 7 players suing. Its all just laughable to me I just hope they don't do so much damage that the Government gets involved. Until recently the government for the most part has been out of the poker world all together. But with these online bills banning online poker in the books its hard to say how far they will go. Take CareKOON$Y

[hank213 1,823]

Okay, this is my one post I'm going to make regarding this monstrous topic that seems to be overwhelming the forums. I'll qualify this by saying I have not waded through the legalese of the original filing, nor am I a lawyer. This is just my perspective.The "7" seem to be saying that the WPT contract gives that company the right to use the likeness of these players to advertise any product the WPT wishes to advertise. If they were to capitalize on this for any product other than their tournaments/programming, that does seem very unfair to the players. As was said on the lawsuit website, other than their ability to play poker very well, their image is the only other lucrative item they have. Furthermore, I don't see the lawsuit, in and of itself, as that big of a negative for poker. Availing one's self of the legal system could, in fact, show that the industry is willing and capable of self-regulation, which could add further legitimacy to the poker world. However, those individuals involved in the suit must be beyond reproach. If the WPT's lawyers were to make public a few accounts of any sort of unseemingly or dishonest behavior, the damage to the image of poker as a business could be profound. I'm not saying they will, or that any even exist. I'm just saying if the "7" feel they are representing all players of these events, present and future, they damn sure better be squeaky clean or incredibly adept at spin control because their lives are going to be examined under a microscope if this thing blows up bigger in the media. I hope that the voices of discussing these issues publicly don't become too vitriolic and that, in the end, an equitable resolution can be reached.

[DCSports92GSR 0]

I'd love to be on your side Daniel, but I don't think I'm informed enough to swing either way here.

[mrdannyg 274]

I'd love to be on your side Daniel, but I don't think I'm informed enough to swing either way here.

paging Ron_Mexico...I actually voted for the pro-DN side because i didn't read the statement correctly. I agree with the Group of 7 on this issue, so ummm add one vote for them.

[SSPadawon4 0]

Daniel, i'm not trying to disrespect in anyway by saying this is biased.and maybe i completely missed something, but how exactly is this 'bad' for poker?

Because the WPT will bring out he negative side of poker, like illegal gambling, especilly online poker which is already taking a hit from the House of Reps

[jack24bauer24 0]

I know nothing about the law and haven't really read the entire thing cuz I can't say its really going to effect me one way or the other, but I think they are silly to have brought up this lawsuit as I don't see how anything the WPT is doing is wrong, but I don't think the lawsuit is going to hurt or help poker either.

[finztotheleft 0]

So far the poll numbers are 13-8. I'd hardly say that shows an overwhelming bias. Besides, no one ever said that the poll run in here resembles the entire poker world, I was just more curious than anything. They should run a poll on CardPlayer for that. Actually, running it on CardPlayer would probably get a bias opinion the other way, since most people who don't know anything about the lawsuit would just side with the 7 players.

How about a poll on whether they are right or wrong ? This poll, as worded, is difficult for me. I think they have a point and if the WPT will not bargin with them, a lawsuit is a reasonable recourse. It won't help me because I never plan on playing in a WPT event. I do agree with you that the timing could not be worse though.

[WowThats 0]

Good question to ask however not good answers to choose from. I abstain!

[Actuary 3]

blah blah blah blah blah.reply good.new topic bad.

[Zeatrix 0]

Let's forget for a second "who's right or wrong" here. This poll question deals solely with whether or not what these seven players are doing is a good or bad thing for the poker world.

This statement is ambigous. If you believe that this is a good thig for poker, then you think the players are right. If you believe it's a bad thing for poker, then you are siding with the WPT.

[CrazyJoe 0]

the only way it becomes bad for poker is if the WPT makes it bad for poker.The players have valid points and complaints, you may not agree with the anti-trust issue, but you have to agree that the likeness stuff is completely valid. Now, if the WPT decides to pull a whole bunch of other stuff into this, instead of defending themselves on the issues, than that could be bad for poker, but that would be the fault of the WPT, not the group of 7 players

[quadaces 0]

So many other threads about this topic.......LOCK IT UP!

[AceyDeucy 0]

I am not responding because while I think it's a bad thing, it's not for the reason you say.I think the trouble with the lawsuit is that it HAS to suceed, otherwise it will seriously undermine the standing of all poker players, with respect to TV. And I don't think it will succeed. I also don't think it will garner enough attention outside of the poker world to hurt poker's reputation.

[Vandees 0]

I voted no. People who are against poker are already against it. How will their perception change? Its already bad, they think its gambling, immoral, etc. Is anyone that likes poker now going to say, wow, they're suing the WPT, what greedy bastards, I'm not playing poker anymore! I doubt it. It may sway opinion on those 7 players, but so do any lawsuits/pro FB holdouts/etc where millionaires aren't getting their way. The average person who knows nothing about poker won't give a crap either way. I guarantee it.

[fckthis 0]

While the 7 have good merit, I dont think suing the WPT accomplishes anything. Thats my stance.

[rivergirl 2]

i voted no, actually for alot of reasons.I think it can only give lawmakers and lobbyists in the US more ammunition against the war of online poker (and trust me, they'll use all they can) I don't think suing everyone is the right course of action, I think the mentality of "suing" people in the US is far out of control (sry Canadian here). I think it becomes riduculousAlthough i think the 7 involved have some valid points, i often wonder why there aren't MORE names on the lawsuit. If i was filing a lawsuit against a big corporation, i would want as many names on it as possible to show a validity. It also makes me ask, if so many of the poker players agree with it, why haven't they added their names to the suit? If it's such a good idea...there would be more than 7 out of (say for arguments sake) the 100 top pros on there (i just don't know where some of them sit on the scale)I think the timings wrong, i think they should all be banning together to save online poker, cause trust me if the government wants to pass a law, it takes a mighty strong cause to stop them. (trust me)

[hockeydude36 0]

Daniel, I found This On FTP site and I couldnt Agree with it more!!!Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 9:31 am Post subject: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 players got together and filed a lawsuit against the WPT for violating anti-trust laws. They claim the WPT is anti-competitive because they make casino's sign exclusive deals where they may not host any other poker sponsered poker tournaments if they wish to host WPT events. Apparently these 7 players seem to think the only casinos in the world are the ones the WPT has exclusive deals with. In reality there are hundreds of casino's world wide that are not affiliated with the WPT and are free to host poker tournaments sponsered by other COMPETING poker companies. These players are also upset because they must sign a release granting the WPT permission to use their likeness in WPT programing and promotion. It is a pretty standard thing and ANY time you see a non SAG member on television they have signed a similar release. The greedy players that filed the suit are upset because they believe their likeness is worth something and they should be paid by the WPT for them appearing on television. Somehow these 7 players fogot that prior to the WPT they only had the chance to play for million dollar jackpots in the main event of the WSOP ONCE A YEAR. Their greed has deluded them into thinking they are entitled to play the MULTITUDE OF MILLION DOLLAR EVENTS hosted by the WPT each year. The WPT is largly responsible for the explosion of poker in america. Prior to the WPT televised poker was an obscure thing. In the wake of the WPT's sucess televised poker has become a MAINSTREAM STAPLE. But these 7 players apparently think the WPT should not be allowed to profit and they should just donate all the expensive equipment and the hundreds of man hours that go into producing a single hour of televised poker so they can PAY THE PLAYERS TO USE THEIR IMAGE. It is a thouroughly rediculous lawsuit that they have little to no chance to win. Image release forms are a STANDARD AND REQUIRED part of the television industry. Asking players to sign release forms for their image is not anti competitive as it is REQUIRED of all television shows that use non SAG members. Exclusive business relationships are a standard practice in america that generally benefits BOTH parties involved. The WPT does NOT have a lock on all casino's so any COMPETING company has a wide range of casino's that they may broadcast from. The exclusive casino deals are standard business arangements that do not impeed anybody ability to deal with the NUMEROUS casino's NOT affiliated with the WPT. The fact that the WPT does not solicit the casinos and the casino's solicit the WPT is a very damaging nail in the coffin as well. If you want to read about it there is a website at... http://www.wptlawsuit.com/ BTW the players are making a big deal about the fact that they are paying for the lawyers themselves. What they are NOT making a big deal out of is the fact that they are paying the lawyers with the big money they have earned in the last few years THANKS TO the WPT's promotion of poker in general. 3 years ago none of thes players made enough money to finance this lawsuit and the ONLY reason they have the money today is because televised poker like the WPT has made the game profitable enough for them to make small fortunes. Assumably they were happier before the flood of money came into poker. They were happer when poker rooms were closing down for lack of interest and lack of profit. The fact that the WPT turned that around and the fact that the WPT's promotion of poker has resulted in a poker room in virtually every casino has escaped these clueless greedmongers notice.