July 20 - A lawsuit is being filed against the
World Poker Tour Enterprises (WPTE)
in the US District Court in Los Angeles by seven professional poker players over
the use of their likenesses and access to play in the televised tournaments.
Four of the seven poker players include Howard Lederer, Greg Raymer, Chris
'Jesus' Ferguson and Joseph Hachem, winner of the 2005 World Series of Poker
main event.
The lawsuit accuses World Poker Tour Enterprises of colluding with member casinos to prevent players
from entering tournaments unless they forfeit their rights, which amounts to
price fixing and group boycotts.
According to the lead attorney for the players, Jeffrey Kessler, the lawsuit
seeks damages as well as to void contracts the players had signed in the past
for tournaments.
In Howard Lederer's situation, video clips of him playing in a World Poker Tour
tournament
were used in a WPT video game that directly competed with another video game,
'World Championship Poker', that him and his sister Annie Duke appear in.
July 20 - A lawsuit is being filed against the
World Poker Tour Enterprises (WPTE)
in the US District Court in Los Angeles by seven professional poker players over
the use of their likenesses and access to play in the televised tournaments.
