One of the up and coming online poker sites in the industry, Victory Poker, has asked its network provider to block U.S. players.
Following the activities of “Black Friday,” Victory Poker Chief Executive Officer Dan Fleyshman stated over Twitter, “Asked the Cake Network to block U.S. players from the Victory Poker site. They are supportive of my decision. Hope it gets regulated 1 day!” The Cake Poker Network, which continues to accept action from the United States, granted Fleyshman’s request.
The loss of American players should not affect Victory Poker, according to statements made by Fleyshman over Twitter: “2/3 of our player base is international. Don’t want to mess with the U.S. government, they’re angry at the ‘Big 3’ for a reason.”
There could be a multitude of reasons for Fleyshman’s decision to bar U.S. players from Victory Poker, but the biggest one could be the potential for continued prosecution by the U.S. Department of Justice against sites who continue to fly in the face of recent legal developments.
Fleyshman lives in the United States, unlike many of the 11 people who were charged in Friday’s indictments of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and the CEREUS Network, and would be an easy target for Federal investigators if his room continues to accept U.S. action. “I’m as optimistic as they come, but when FBI, DOJ, Interpol are going after the leaders of the poker industry, it makes me a sad CEO,” Fleyshman Tweeted to his followers.
It is also possible that, as an owner of a skin site for an established network such as Cake Poker, he would not have any knowledge of procedures regarding the processing of financial transactions by the network as a whole. This is one of the central “attack points” in the Department of Justice’s indictments against the major three online poker rooms.
Over the past year, Victory Poker has been one of the most successful new sites to enter the online poker industry. As it began to grow, Victory Poker signed top flight poker professionals such as World Poker Tour (WPT) champion and World Series of Poker bracelet winner Antonio Esfandiari, WPT Season VI Player of the Year Jonathan Little, former National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner Paul Wasicka, and veteran poker player Lee Markholt.
Victory Poker also made several innovative moves by drawing in acclaimed models such as England’s Victoria Moore and former Playboy Playmate Sara Jean Underwood to do promotional photo shoots. Victory Poker itself, though, has had a difficult time finding a home.
When it first was organized in February 2010, Victory Poker was a part of the Everleaf Network, which included such rooms as Poker4Ever and Minted Poker. In September 2010, however, Fleyshman negotiated a deal to move to the Cake Poker Network, becoming one of 67 rooms on that network. According to Fleyshman, a rumored deal that would have once again moved the room to the CEREUS Network was under discussion, but eventually was dropped. “We (Victory) considered moving but didn’t,” Fleyshman stated on Twitter.
Keep it tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest “Black Friday” fallout.