Not only was I ADMONISHED for approaching Bruce with an idea (in the “hallway”, no less – there really was no hallway, just a small, open, public area), Larry Lubin had the temerity to actually compare Bibbero to Bill Gates and the company to Microsoft, when explaining why I should NOT be approaching him. I only lasted as long as I did, because I was able to present them with many different talents of mine along the way.

I’ve worked in a few industries and have owned my own company for several years now. I recognize intelligent, capable, dedicated, hard-working people when I encounter them. And there were MANY who went through the SLC’s revolving door, simply at the whim of the ever-fickle duo at the helm there. The combined resumes of these folks would be sufficient to start a successful Fortune 500 company. Their vacillating was nothing short of despicable and shameful.

As someone who was there longer than almost anyone (5+ months), the perpetual displays of hubris, incompetence and flagrant misappropriation, were enough to make even the savviest employees question this “company’s” foundation and purpose.

In fact, malcontents (one employee, with barely more than a high school education, issued sexist, racist and homophobic threats on several occasions) were allowed to remain, simply because Bruce Bibbero felt a kindred spirit in him. More than one employee threatened lawsuits over this one sociopath (who indeed had to take “leave” in order to accommodate jail time for the Cobb County judicial system), who anywhere else, would have been fired on the spot…several times over.

I don’t feel sorry, though, for the head investor. At all. Any person relinquishing that level of monetary backing, should have been paying much finer attention to said investment…and asking many more questions along the way. I actually have to inquire as to how one could possibly achieve that level of monetary success, and yet fall into this kind of trap.

FWIW, I’ve created a Linkedin group for “SLC Alumni,” so feel free to look us up, join and share your stories there.

Thanks.

The way my husband described it, the marketers were under constant pressure to just sell tickets, sell tickets, sell tickets, even though the most basic details of the event had never been confirmed. There was always talk of contracts that were “in the mail,” or “on the way,” but they never seemed to arrive. Nonetheless, the marketers were told to promote the event as if these details were already confirmed.

Every aspect of the marketing was tightly controlled by Bruce Bibbero, and he held regular meetings to coach the marketers on exactly what they were supposed to say and how to say it. Aside from what they were told in these meetings, the marketers were actually not allowed to have ANY other information about the company or the event. They were also not allowed to see any of the contracts, or corroborate the information they were given.

Despite this high level of control by Bruce, the marketers were made to sign contracts saying that they were being hired as independent contractors, and disclaimers saying that they assumed full liability for any information that they gave to potential customers. So, if SLC tries a “blame the marketers” approach with anyone, don’t fall for it.

I guess it’s possible that SLC will actually refund people’s money, but I have to say I have my doubts. Contrary to what that September 1 email says, my husband and I heard at the end of August that SLC’s financial backer had pulled out. So if that’s true, it looks like the company was operating and paying salaries for another month with revenue that they got from some other source. I sincerely hope I’m wrong, but I’m guessing that the company is out of money.

However, even if the company is out of money, Bruce Bibbero is most certainly not. I’m guessing that, by the time any lawsuits are filed, there won’t be any documentation left showing the high level of control that Bruce Bibbero exercised over SLC’s operations. But the reason I’m posting this is because I have some.

My husband fortunately left SLC before any tickets were ever sold, but while he was still there, I was actually saving documents in anticipation of a possible lawsuit. I was afraid that Bruce was going to take the money for the tickets, “cancel” the tournament, run with the money, and then shift the liability for the losses onto my husband and the other marketers. So I kept an archive of every company document I could get my hands on, including internal emails and notes from the meetings between Bruce and the marketers, etc.

I’m not going to reveal my identity here or make any of this information generally available because SLC made my husband sign a pretty broad nondisclosure agreement, and I don’t want to expose him to legal liability. But I did want to let people know that the information is out there, in case it is needed for any legal action against SLC or Bruce Bibbero personally. I will continue to check this blog and the comments on a regular basis to see if any such need arises. I don’t have much about the tournament itself because the marketers were not allowed to have that information, but anything that relates to deceptive marketing, I might be able to help with.

Bruce Bibbero and Larry Lubin have closed the doors. The investor has pulled support out from the event. The whole event has carried a smell of rancid meat from the start. Other events promoted by Bruce have been followed by suits and people refusing to touch anything he is involved with ever again.

While I was there for a relatively short time, I documented over 20 people hired and fired for various reasons. Those who “succeeded” within the company did so at the loss of pride, self worth and sleep. Those who got out usually did so by getting fired for doing the right thing or trying to do what Bruce demanded. Low pay and empty promises were the stick. The big pay off at the end was the carrot which has ended in failure. The event was a great idea and could have been successful in better hands.

We were told to promote the event using incomplete information, legends that did not have a signed contract, and dates that changed often. Potential clients became skeptical. Some marketers used false information and presented false claims to potential clients. When this was presented to Bruce as an issue, little was done, the results were often rewarded (one of the reasons I was given for my being fired). Results were the focus, truth was often the victim. Success at any cost was company policy as promoted by Bruce.

I do not have confirmation of what has happened to the monies that people have already paid into event fees. However, it would seem that only a handful of the 2100 tickets were ever sold. Maybe less than 100. While I was there, we were never able to see the contracts or related documents. We were told that they were available, being worked on, not something we should worry about, the lawyer was handling it. We were told to go forward on faith and a promise. I would be surprised if there is anything available to get paid back.

At best the SLC was run poorly by people who did not know what they were doing and will likely get a visit in the night by some “friend” from Vegas. A more accurate view makes the event look like a Ponzi scheme that was ripe with fraud and hidden intent whether a poker tournament ever occurred or not. There is documented tax fraud. There is high pay for the principles. There is a long list of people and companies who have put something into this event, and none of them is likely to get anything back. I suspect that Bruce and Larry will be looking over their shoulders for a long time to come. The suits alone should keep them busy for awhile.

As they say what happens in Vegas (the original event location) stays in Vegas.

================================

The management of this event (Bruce, Lubin and a few others) were easily the most inept people I’ve ever worked for in my life. They had no clue how to run a proper sales office, set up their website properly, follow up with customers, plan or run an event. The motto that they happily threw around at the office was “were goin’ not knowin’.

They hired / fired / had quit over 80 people in the time that they were around. Most of the people they fired were the best talent that they had and the ones that could have made a difference. These people were also the ones that were “challenging how they were doing things” and thats the underlying reason why they were fired.

So many people that went to work there left after just a couple days because they could not believe how f’d up the place was.

As someone who has been involved with events for a long time, it was clear from the minute I got there that this thing was headed for disaster. These people would have difficulty planning a home game for 8 people, much less put on an event for 2100.

They chose the wrong dates (hurricane season in the bahamas right after everyone wraps up their summer vacationing), the wrong place (generally speaking, people west of the mississippi have no interest in the bahamas) the wrong price point ($10k today, really?) and then they set up the wrong infrastructure to sell the event (no proper phone system, CRM, lead gen system, marketing plan, and poor management that was all “out of place” (think second baseman playing quarterback)

There is no April, 2010 event. The office was closed today (10/5 at noon.)

I feel terrible for everyone out there who won a seat, spent $ on non refundable items and got screwed. Bibero should personally have to pay each of you back in full. (I have his cell number if anyone wants it)

With regard to 2100 seats at $10,000 each. Last I heard they had sold less than 100 seats…none of them for anywhere close to $10k. Most for around 4-6k.

They were told a million times to stop promoting “up to a 10 million dollar prize pool” and to offer a minimum guaranteed prize instead but they had no interest in listening.

The person I truly feel the worst for (although he can afford it) is the investor that backed this event. All SLC did was pay out HUGE salaries to the people at the top of the food chain and waste the investor’s money.

For obvious reasons, I’m also posting under anonymous. I’ll put my hand on a stack of bibles right now though that everything I’ve written here is true. Post back if you want that phone number. I also have the cell and home number of the # 2 person in charge, Bibero’s cheerleader, Gale Parker.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/sep/29/venetian-company-owes-173550-after-poker-tourney-c/