Howard “The Professor” Lederer offered his general apologies this week to former Full Tilt Poker players…five years on from the debacle that saw the company fold and the news broke that player accounts had not been segregated and protected (see previous reports).
Lederer, a former director of the company before it was rescued and players paid by Pokerstars parent The Rational Group, chose Daniel Negreanu’s website Full Contact Journal to publish his long and detailed apology here:
In it, Lederer acknowledges:
* He had responsibility for the failure of Full Tilt to protect player balances in the run-up to April 2011 federal enforcement actions against the company and others commonly known as “Black Friday”;
* Explains that he had not been overseeing current operational matters at FTP since 2008, and concedes that as a director he had not paid the required amount of attention to financial issues in the two years prior to Black Friday, and this had consequences for player deposits;
*.Admits that in the aftermath of Black Friday he focused on fighting what he regarded as factually inaccurate accusations, missing the bigger picture and what was expected of him by the players and the industry;
* Reveals that the brutal truth of his position and lack of respect for players and the industry was brought home to him by an unnamed friend who addressed his shortcomings in a frank exchange of views. This caused him to re-evaluate his attitudes and perceptions and acknowledge his failings;
* That he realises his apology is late and will be found unacceptable by many, describing it as “…not enough, but it is what I am able to offer to the poker community in the wake of a travesty that I should not have allowed to happen. I am sorry.”
In a footnote to Lederer’s letter of apology, Negreanu opines that it expresses genuine contrition, although he suspects that Lederer wants to again play poker in public without being subjected to the abuse and anger of players who find it hard to forgive his historical behaviour.
Negreanu, a fierce and open critic of Lederer’s conduct in the past, appears to have moved on and accepted the former FT director’s regrets.