In a move that likely won’t come as too much of a surprise to the poker world, poker portal TheHendonMob.com has ended its exclusive relationship with embattled online poker room Full Tilt Poker.
In a statement released Sunday, site management expressed its concern for the many players who signed up for Full Tilt via the site’s affiliate links or simply because of the The Hendon Mob name, saying, “Like everyone else in poker we have taken a close interest in the development of recent months and we are saddened by the problems that continue to beset Full Tilt Poker…”
We are well aware that a great deal of players including many who signed through The Hendon Mob still have money on FTP, as well as steps tickets, player points etc. going forward, and in any scenario where Full Tilt Poker resumes trading, we will as an affiliate continue to look out for the interests of our players and to try to achieve the best possible outcome regarding their funds. We do not take the loyalty of our community for granted.”
The reason given for the break in the relationship was financial:
“The Hendon Mob employs a sizable staff of full and part time people who are dedicated to maintaining and improving the database, the forum and everything else that the poker community expects from our website. We are currently running at a substantial loss and this is not sustainable in the long term.
We have therefore chosen, as well as ceasing to be Full Tilt Pros, to end The Hendon Mob.com’s exclusive relationship with Full Tilt Poker. This frees us for new opportunities, both as a website and as players and we look forward to an exciting future that we hope you will all be a part of.”
The website is the namesake of The Hendon Mob, a group of four British poker players, Joe Beevers, Ram Vaswani, and brothers Ross Boatman and Barny Boatman, who became friends at Beevers’ home game in Hendon. In the ninety’s, the quartet rose to prominence on the European poker scene, traveling everywhere together, soon becoming known as “The Hendon Mob.” The group has won close to $10 million on the live tournament circuit, but perhaps more importantly, were amongst the first poker ambassadors in Europe, helping grow the game’s popularity, particularly as the online poker boom started.
TheHendonMob.com has become one of the most important poker portals on the internet, best known for its detailed poker database which holds records of every live tournament result since live tournament results have been tracked. It has become the go-to resource for anyone who wants to a see how any poker player has fared in live events and how that player’s results compare to others. The site also features poker articles and one of the most popular poker forums on the internet.
The hearing regarding Full Tilt Poker’s suspended license is scheduled to continue today with the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC). As the decision was to hold the hearing “in camera,” or in private, the poker community is anxiously awaiting further statements from the AGCC.
