World Poker Tour Responds To Lawsuit - 08-27-06

August 27 - The World Poker Tour has fired back at the lawsuit filed against it by seven well known poker professionals. The company has retained the services of a high profile Washington based law firm, and from their response all indications are that this could get ugly...

The news that the World Poker Tour was being sued by seven top poker players was strategically made known during the recent World Series of Poker in Las Vegas (what better stage could ony possible choose?) The lawsuit cites anti-trust violations, and other infringements on players rights. In short, the players are saying the World Poker Tour infringes on their rights to pursue their own commercial gains by associating with other brands as they please.

The WPT has finally responded with a curve ball of their own. The response places the lawsuit in an interesting light.

Makan Delrahim of the Washington D.C. based firm Brownstein, Hyatt and Farber has been retained to represent the WPTE. Delrahim is a highly respected and well known anti trust lawyer.

In the response, the WPT say that the allegations are "misleading and without merit," and that the are "disappointed that the action was even filed".

What makes the 22 page response particularly interesting is a complete attempt to turn the tables of legitimacy and put the spotlight right back on the plaintiffs. The response argues that the association that the pro's have with online poker rooms actually places the WPT at an unfair advantage. It goes further to say that if these players profit from poker rooms that take illegal play from US citizens, they are putting the WPT at risk, as the WPT's own poker site does not take play from US citizens. The answer further implies that by promoting online poker rooms in the US, the players are subsidizing the TV shows that these poker rooms produce themselves, thereby competing with the WPT.

I hope for their own sake the players have a damn good lawyer on the job..

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