This week, owners of up and coming poker staking site Pro Poker Exchange made the decision to cease operations, citing a potential violation of the Securities Act of 1933. Just a few days removed from signing World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton and NeverWinPoker.com owner Bryan Micon, Pro Poker Exchange made the call.
A press release that is scheduled to be distributed explained the situation that Linda Johnson, Jim Leitner, and other Pro Poker Exchange founders faced: “We have been told that we are ‘selling an interest in someone else’s opportunity to earn money,’ which makes it an unregistered security that is being offered to the public without qualifying the investor and without a prospectus. After further research and consultation, it looks like this is a very grey area.” Rather than risk continuing operations and then ending up in court, company officials elected to halt operations immediately.
The press release also indicated that the company’s withdrawal from the industry was not an indication that others involved in the business of staking poker players were breaking the law. The company stated, “We are in no means giving a legal opinion, but are erring on the side of caution.” The warning about the Securities Act of 1933 came from a lawyer who is known by one of the owners. Staking opportunities for the recently-completed WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic were the first ones offered.
Mike Sexton was recently signed by Pro Poker Exchange and owns one of the most familiar voices and faces in the industry. As the man behind the World Poker Tour (WPT) alongside Vince Van Patten, he was instrumental in launching the WPT back in 2002. Coupled with the introduction of the hole card camera and Chris Moneymaker’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) win, the WPT aided the start of the modern poker boom. Sexton won a Limit Seven Card Stud High-Low event during the 1989 WSOP. It remains his only WSOP win to date, although he has racked up a total of 44 cashes to his name. He is also a monthly contributor to Poker News Daily.
Bryan Micon’s site, NeverWinPoker.com, is one of the premier online poker forums. Micon is joined on the site by Dustin Woolf and Todd Witteles. The latter is known as “Dan Druff” online and was one of the key interview subjects by CBS News program “60 Minutes.” Micon made a deep run in the 2006 WSOP Main Event, taking home $123,000. During the same year, he pocketed $74,000 for ninth place in a $2,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament. He logged one cash during the 2008 tournament series, finishing 15th in a $1,500 No Limit event that was ultimately won by Danish poker pro Jesper Hougaard.
Others on the roster for ProPokerExchange included Tom McEvoy, the winner of the 1983 WSOP Main Event. Doyle Brunson finished third in that event after dominating the marquee tournament in the late 1970s. McEvoy has 36 WSOP cashes over the course of his career for a total of $1.3 million. He has also authored a slew of poker books, including “Championship Hold’em” and “How to Win No Limit Hold’em Tournaments,” which he co-wrote with T.J. Cloutier and Don Vines, respectively.
Also available for backing on the ProPokerExchange was Mark Gregorich, who authored part of “Super System II,” a recent update to the timeless classic. He was the commentator for “Poker Superstars I” and also contributes to Card Player Magazine, one of the largest poker print periodicals in the world. Gregorich took fifth for £17,188 in a £2,500 buy-in HORSE event during the 2008 WSOP Europe. He finished 11th in the $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship during the 2007 WSOP and owns nearly a half-million dollars in WSOP earnings.
