A lawsuit has recently been filed against Tiltware, LLC., FullTilt Poker, and Team FullTilt members Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Andy Block, Phil Gordon, and the list goes on. The plaintiff is Clonie Gowen, who has recently been told she will no longer be representing the FullTilt website in advertisements or promotional merchandise that she has been associated with since Full Tilt Poker opened in 2004.
The problem is that since 2004, when an apparent verbal agreement was made with FullTilt Poker execs that Gowen would own 1% of the company, she has yet to receive any money for her constant promotion of the online poker room. She did in fact drum up a lot of fans for the FullTilt site, particularly in the female market, but refused a check from Howard Lederer for a quarter of a million dollars back in 2007. Perhaps she didn’t think that was a fair price, as she is now suing FT for $40 million. She was officially let go from the FullTilt Team, and her webpage was removed from FullTilt.com on November 11, 2008. FullTiltPoker.com claims her lawsuit is “meritless,” as there was never any written or legal documentation to support her endorsement of the online poker room. Whether or not the case will be settled out of court is unknown, as FullTilt would have to divulge certain financial information if it does make it to court. It can be assumed, though, that she will no longer be sporting the FullTilt Poker gear that she is known to wear almost all the time.
Gowen, once Miss Teen Oklahoma, first became popular in the poker circuit when she won first place in the WPT Ladies Night back in 2004, and recently won the 2008 World Poker Open. Her lifetime winnings total more than $1 million and she ranks #122 for Player of the Year in the 2008 POY list. Whether or not this will hurt her popularity or come back to haunt FullTilt will prove to be an interesting story in the poker community.
Back to Poker
News
|
