The Financial Times in London is reporting that a federal grand jury in Manhattan has been investigating Full Tilt Poker and is ready to indict the online poker site along with several players who represent the site, including Chris “Jesus” Ferguson and Howard Lederer for possible money laundering and gambling violations. The article notes that FBI agents and/or prosecutors have spoken with at least two people involved in disputes with Full Tilt Poker.
Attorneys on both sides aren’t saying anything right now, but expect more news to come out when an announcement of possible indictments in the near future.
So this Face the Ace lawsuit … yeah … you’ve got a lone amateur TV-show concept-creator trying to take on (lawyers for) PokerPROductions and NBC with claims that they stole his legally protected idea to put out a ratings-bomb game show … and therefore owe him $85 million.
OK.
Similarities between Brandon McSmith’s video pitch for All Star Poker Challenge and Face the Ace are one thing … and this video, shot outside what appears to be Poker PROductions studios in Las Vegas and posted on YouTube in July (and pointed out to us by a reader yesterday) is another:
Umm …
Click below to read the rejection letter sent almost two years earlier from Poker PROductions honcho Mori Eskandani that may or may not have put McSmith on tilt:
I’ve got a buddy named Adam who believes there’s no such thing as an original idea. Then you’ve got guys like Pauly, who, according to one of his closest friends and colleagues, “if you use the word ‘and’ in your writing he’ll think you took it from him.” (In Pauly’s defense, shady web ops around the world do steal Tao content daily, and he knows just how dirty Hollywood and Las Vegas can be …)
So in light of last week’s $85 million lawsuit against Poker PROductions, NBC Universal, and Mori Eskandani, see for yourself and decide: Does Brandon McSmith’s All Star Poker Challenge* look like ill-gotten inspiration for Face the Ace to you?
The above is a Powerpoint presentation McSmith sent me a little more than a year ago seeking feedback. Click below for my response: in a nutshell, I tell him I think this might have worked in 2006, but not now … and it needs more monkeys … but keep trying!
