In breaking news from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, Deliverance Poker has dismissed its claims against Tiltware LLC, the owners of Full Tilt Poker. The case centers on Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, a member of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event November Nine, jumping ship from Deliverance Poker to Full Tilt in the middle of the $10,000 buy-in tournament.
The short filing, which was submitted on Friday, reads in part, “Please take notice that Plaintiff Deliverance Poker… hereby voluntarily dismisses all claims in this action without prejudice as to Defendant Tiltware LLC, only. Defendant Tiltware has neither answered Plaintiff’s complaint nor filed a motion for summary judgment. Accordingly, the Plaintiff’s complaint and causes of action against Tiltware LLC may be dismissed without prejudice and without an order of the Court.”
The claims against Mizrachi, however, were not dismissed. Last month, a motion for a temporary restraining order against Full Tilt and “The Grinder” was denied. After Deliverance Poker submitted the contract signed between the site and Mizrachi, Judge James Nowlin asserted, “Even with the additional support attached to the Plaintiff’s amended pleadings, this Court is still not convinced there is ‘substantial likelihood’ that Plaintiff will prevail on the merits.”
At issue in the restraining order was whether the effective date of the contract had actually passed. According to Mizrachi’s contract, the date was assumed to be “immediately upon the closing of Deliverance of an offering of debt or equity interests in Deliverance which raises no less than one million dollars.” Austin-based Connor and Demond PLLC is serving as counsel for Deliverance Poker and the case is numbered 1:10-CV-00664-JRN.
Mizrachi turned in the run of a lifetime in the 2010 WSOP. After he was reported to be in hot water with the Internal Revenue Service, Mizrachi promptly took down the $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship for $1.6 million. He eliminated his brother, Robert Mizrachi, from the Eight Game event in fifth place and outlasted a final table that also included John Juanda and David Oppenheim.
Michael Mizrachi then made the final table of the Seven Card Stud World Championship, bowing out in sixth place for $69,000. After that, it was on to his third final table of the year in the Limit Hold’em World Championship, where “The Grinder” took eighth place for $49,000. He also made a deep run in the Main Event, becoming part of the November Nine. In less than one month, Mizrachi will come armed to the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio with the seventh largest stack at 14.5 million. If he wins, Mizrachi will share WSOP Player of the Year honors with Frank Kassela.
Deliverance Poker alleged that Mizrachi “subsequently entered into a separate contract with Defendant Tiltware. This second contract essentially replaced Plaintiff as Defendant Mizrachi’s official sponsor, thereby resulting in damages to Plaintiff.” Mizrachi is one of seven 2010 WSOP November Nine members to appear on Full Tilt’s website. The others: Filippo Candio, Joseph “subiime” Cheong, John Dolan, Matthew Jarvis, Soi Nguyen, and John “$JMONEY$” Racener.
Only three members of the group will be able to don the traditional Full Tilt Poker patch according to WSOP guidelines. Mizrachi is likely to be one of those three; however, the world’s second largest online poker site has not yet revealed its plans. The Main Event resumes on November 6th in Las Vegas, when the final nine will play down to two. Heads-up play will take place on November 8th after a one-day respite and the tournament’s conclusion can be seen on November 9th.
Stay tuned to Poker News daily for the latest litigation headlines.