Howard Lederer über Full Tilt Poker- Es tut mir Leid

Rechtzeitig zum Ende von Full Tilt hat sich Howard Lederer mit einem Statement gemeldet. Der ehemalige Chef des Poker Rooms übernimmt die Verantwortung beim Debakel rund um die fehlenden Spielergelder.

Die Saga Full Tilt Poker endete mit dem Wechsel zu PokerStars. Wer jedoch lange genug dabei ist, der weiß, dass das eigentliche Ende der Black Friday und die Aufdeckung der Missstände war.

Nachdem das FBI und das DoJ gegen die drei großen Anbieter vorging, wurde bekannt, dass rund $130 Millionen an Spielergelder bei FTP fehlten. PokerStars einigte sich mit dem DoJ, kaufte FTP auf und bezahlte die internationalen Spieler. Die vom DoJ beauftragte Garden City Group kümmerte sich um die US-Amerikaner, ein Prozess, der immer noch andauert.

Nun hat sich Howard Lederer gemeldete. Das letzte Mal sprach der Amerikaner im Rahmen der Lederer Files mit PokerNews. Nun hat er eine Entschuldigung an die Poker-Community verfasst. Kurioserweise bat er seinen ‚Erzfeind‘ Daniel Negreanu darum, das Statement auf Full Contact Poker zu veröffentlichen. Negreanu kam der Bitte nach und entschuldigte sich seinerseits dafür, dass er damals recht unreif indirekt zu Gewalt gegen Lederer aufrief.

Howard Lederers Entschuldigung ist nicht knappgehalten, doch ob Lederer wirklich aufrichtig handelt, oder sich nur wieder als Poker-Pro etablieren möchte, sei dahingestellt. Der Amerikaner nimmt zwar „die volle Schuld“ auf sich, gibt jedoch gleichzeitig an, damals keine Kontrolle über FTP gehabt zu haben, so dass er sich im Prinzip nur die Aufsichtspflicht ankreidet.

Allerdings beschreibt Lederer auch, dass er noch lange Zeit nach dem Black Friday sich selbst als das Opfer sah und es dauerte, bis er seine Verantwortung verstand. Das volle Statement gibt es hier im Original:

„I am writing to apologize to everyone in the poker community, especially to all the players who had money on Full Tilt Poker on April 15, 2011. When Full Tilt Poker closed in 2011, there was a shortfall in funds, a distressed sale to recover those funds, and a long delay in repaying players. Throughout this period, there was little explanation for the delay, and no apology. Players felt lied to. They trusted the site, and they trusted me, and I didn’t live up to that trust.

I take full responsibility for Full Tilt’s failure to protect player deposits leading up to Black Friday. The shortfall in player deposits should never have happened. I should have provided better oversight or made sure that responsible others provided that oversight. I was a founder in the company that launched Full Tilt, and I became the face of the company’s management in the poker community. Many of our players played on the site because they trusted me.

Even though I was no longer overseeing day to day operations, my inattention in the two years leading up to Black Friday imperiled players’ deposits. My involvement in Full Tilt from 2003-2008 put me in a unique position of trust—a trust that I disappointed by failing to ensure that Full Tilt was properly governed when I stepped away in 2008. My failure to make sure proper oversight was in place when I left resulted in the situation that began to unfold on Black Friday. Players were not able to get their money back for a minimum of a year and a half, and, for many, it has been much longer. I’ve been a poker player my entire adult life. I know the importance of having access to one’s bankroll. The lost opportunity, frustration, and anxiety many of FTP’s customers experienced in the intervening years is unacceptable. I cannot be sorry enough for what happened.

During Full Tilt’s rise, I received a lot of praise. I couldn’t see it at the time, but I let the headlines change me. In the first couple of years after Black Friday I made lots of excuses, to my friends, my family and myself, for why I wasn’t the bad guy or big-headed or wrong. In the months immediately following the crisis, I focused a lot of energy on trying to refute allegations that were factually untrue. I convinced myself that I was a victim of circumstance and that criticism was being unfairly directed toward me instead of others. I was missing the bigger picture.

At a wedding in the fall of 2014, I was sitting with a friend, talking about Full Tilt. I was grumbling about how unfair my lot in life had become. My friend didn’t let me off the hook. I’m paraphrasing here, but he said, “Howard, it doesn’t matter whether you knew about the shortfall or what you did to help players get paid. These players feel like you lied to them. You were the face of the company in the poker community. Thousands of players played on the site because they trusted you. Many pros represented the site because they thought you were in control. And you happily accepted the accolades while falling short of their trust.”

At the time, my friend’s response felt like a slap in the face, but it is clear to me now that it was fair. An apology is not enough, but it is what I am able to offer to the poker community in the wake of a travesty that I should not have allowed to happen. I am sorry.“