Top Players File a Lawsuit Against the World Poker Tour

A group of world famous poker players will be taking on poker's most prestigious organization, The World Poker Tour.

A lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Federal District Court by seven players against World Poker Tour Enterprises alleging that the World Poker Tour, and its partner casinos have unlawfully conspired to eliminate competition, and violated the intellectual property rights of these players.

The seven plaintiffs in the suit are Annie Duke, Andy Bloch, Howard Lederer, current WSOP Champ Joe Hachem, 2004 Champ Greg Raymer, Phil Gordon, and Chris Ferguson. The seven players held a press conference at the Rio this morning to announce the filing of the lawsuit, and show a united front toward the goal of 'leveling the playing field for all players' when it comes to players rights at World Poker Tour events. The issue is the player release agreement, they say it violates their rights.

This has been a major issue in the past because the agreement gives the WPT the rights to the players names, which will violate alot of contacts that some of the bigger players already have with other sponsors and companies. Some big players have refused to play in the WPT because of these issues. The purpose is to get the terms in the agreement changed and they are also seeking punitive damages.