Full Tilt Poker claims Ivey owes site "a large sum of money"

2 June 2011

By Aaron Todd

The breakup between Phil Ivey and Full Tilt Poker appears to be mutual, but neither side is going away quietly. A day after Ivey announced he was suing the site — which owes American online poker players an estimated $150 million — the site gave a terse response, accusing Ivey of derailing the companies efforts to repay those players.

"In an effort to further enrich himself at the expense of others, Mr. Ivey appears to have timed his lawsuit to thwart pending deals with several parties that would put money back in players’ pockets," reads a portion of the statement from Tiltware, the software and marketing company behind Full Tilt. "In fact, Mr. Ivey has been invited -- and has declined -- to take actions that could assist the company in these efforts, including paying back a large sum of money he owes the site."

Ivey's lawsuit, filed in Clark County, Nevada yesterday, claims that Full Tilt did not inform him that the U.S. Attorney's office in the Southern District of New York had given the company "repeated warnings and clear notice that their conduct was illegal in the United States." As such, the suit claims that Full Tilt was in breach of contract and as a result Ivey should no longer have to comply with his contract's "non-competition covenant."

Ivey says he will not play in the World Series of Poker this year unless and until Full Tilt pays American players.

Full Tilt Poker claims Ivey owes site "a large sum of money" is republished from Online.CasinoCity.com.