The Howard Lederer Files: Part 7

In part 7 of an exclusive interview with Howard Lederer, Lederer talks about closing a deal between Full Tilt Poker, the DOJ, and PokerStars on top of addressing Full Tilt's customers one final time before the site relaunches under PokerStars management.
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[@jeffreyg5718]

How come they took down parts 4, 5 and 6?

[@zerg9523]

Where are parts 4, 5 and 6?

[@woodwkr33]

His lack of due diligence makes him complicit in his theft.

[@EternalEffect]

Notice how he never accepts a shred of responsibility throughout the entire interview, he avoids addressing the important issues, and only answers the questions he wants to answer. Despite being one of 4 board members and heavily involved in management, he is incredibly vague and constantly attempting to pass blame to others. This is a blatant attempt to save himself.

[@CEOFIRST]

Did you not watch Part 6? or Part 5? There were huge loans against the company, Eric Lindgren, Tom Dwan and pretty much everyone else that is/was a pro player on Full Tilt and zero of them paid anything back.

[@Blay007]

It takes balls for Howard to have done this interview. No matter what the truth is, I am grateful for his words as they have put me a bit at ease. On another note, I'm glad to know Ferguson contributed to fixing the situation.

[@Dale-jr7oj]

Takes balls to rip off millions and millions of dollars. Fuck him

[@intmailmc]

How come they never asked him ONCE why he didn't pay back the 42 Million he was paid? If he really cared about getting the players paid wouldn't he do this?

[@bottleracket]

you're 100% right. Sure the interviewer sucks and there are some harder questions that should have been put to Lederer, but in the end the guy worked fucking hard to save the brand and get the sale done which it looks like will get everyone paid back. and Ferguson should get a fucking medal for returning 14 million dollars. Forget poker players. NO one on this fucking planet would return that money. NO ONE.

[@dec2]

I, for one, am glad Howard spoke out. FWIW I have big money tied up on the site. It didn't make me feel anything more than a little better about Howard, but I appreciate the inside perspective about what was being done to get my money back to me. I don't grant him much forgiveness, but I grant him a thank you.

[@ron777ish]

wow just watched this whole flipping program and this crook never did answer where the hell did the money go???? Sometimes he is able to speak quite professionally and sometimes he sounds like gilligan.

[@mychannel594]

+ron777ish Yeah he goes on and one but doesn't really say anything.

[@finnfisu]

thanks for the whole interview. this all was really interesting. howards actions and silence make a lot more sense now. I really think and also hope that he is speaking the truth here and we will see him back involved with poker. sure he did some mistakes but he worked really hard to get the players paid and finally succeeded to do that. btw. I'm one of those players too but at the moment I'm not angry at him, I'm actually grateful for his work.

[@theagenda8580]

i'm sorry but at least i made $42 million

[@cashylane5829]

his appearance changed so much from episode 1 2 3 compared to this one

[@wisdomwithwit]

And now that's it's all been over for years and people have been paid the real assholes behind this whole thing are the pros who didn't pay back what they owed the company.

[@TheReiska83]

Poor Howard! Someone should give him a hug, pat on the back then say its all ok! Buy him a jet, give him couple of hundred million dollars just cause hes such a nice man. and let by gones be by gones.. Howard Lederer to the president

[@henrygt100]

Was that the last one?

[@lolimfalling]

Yes

[@john0022]

It will but not for awhile. Pokerstars need to guarantee a few legal obligations with the DOJ before they will return their license back to full tilt poker. They are hoping that it'll be soon but they are giving any dates or promising anything.

[@stefankurzmann7702]

3.5 hours, great interview,

[@bottleracket]

That's for Ray Bitar to answer, and he will be doing that in a court of law. He is currently out on bail waiting for trial

[@rogierios]

Good I finished watching the whole interview as it brought back some respect for Howard. Of course he was just as much responsible for the mismanagement of the company in the early days, about this period he gives little information and just doesn't know the details. No structure always gives room for lies and abuse. But from the moment the back-log was known, Howard seem to know much more details and he was much more involved with finding a solution, which shows dedication to me!

[@sysprog1953]

I mostly agree with your comment. Early in the interview (parts 1, 2 etc), Lederer's answers were cautious (appears to be thoughtout before answering) as opposed to scripted, in my opinion. Many mistakes were made and I don't think that all of the truth will come out anytime in the next few years. Unfortunately this kind of situation happened to large companies serveral times in the past and mostly just affected the employees and share holders. But this fiasco affected many average people.

[@JohnLeeMD]

Awesome comment, and 100% true.

[@dozentfl1]

it would be interesting to see him playing after all this

[@stt5v2002]

If you watch the entire series, you'll see that Lederer does tell you what happened to the money. The question, of course is whether you believe him. Basically, he is saying that the player accounts and operating expense accounts were never segregated. The money went to pay for the company's costs. This would include things like advertising, licensing, paying the guy that cleans the floors, etc. It also includes "distributions" (that means paying big chunks of "profit" out to owners.

[@Conflikt420]

Oh yeah it was so nice of him to come and speak out EIGHTEEN MONTHS LATER. What was he doing the whole time? Oh right, he was SOO concerned about getting the players paid back quickly that he wouldn't put a dime of his own money (if you can call it that) back into the company. 18 months later people still aren't paid, and quite frankly, it was never very easy or quick to get your money out, even before it went insolvent and they continued taking money from people that they couldn't pay back.

[@why0engineering]

They money will go to the players. That 100 million that was in backlog (never collected) will now be paid out of Pokerstars' pocket. The 100 million is not "real" money. It was never taken from players' bank accounts. The money that the company continued to make while operating without cash, continued to be paid to company employees and shareholders or into assets like buildings owned by the company. This means all that money is gone now or was purchased by Stars in asset form.

[@fundy023]

Actually the DOJ can force him. Did you not listen to the interview at all? If they told him and the others to keep quiet or they were walking away, what would you do? Too many people on here pretending to be so angry because they lost their $10

[@steelerian44]

I have very mixed feelings about this interview. As much as I believe that HL is genuinely sorry for what happened, I'm not sure if he is more sorry for himself and his cronies, or for the 3 million customers that he screwed over. The sad thing is, we will very likely never know the whole truth about what happened with FTP and its owners/members/board. The sadder thing is, it seems like most/all of them will get away with it with no jail time.

[@cjshardcorepunkmusicvault8474]

Where the FK is part 4, 5 & 6????????

[@Hotobu]

Howard Lederer is my hero. GO HOWARD!

[@theeturnone]

before full tilt, howard had been on one of his biggest downswings of his entire life. he got into it as a money making plan(with chris's friend ray who was a crook) . a great idea in the first place. also a great site, great software. and quick payback when they did follow their own rules.what pist me off is he continued to take a paycheck from the company.even after they realized they were insolvent, months before black friday.i believe there should have been a statement or a warning somewhere

[@Conflikt420]

Howard still has his millions, and players still haven't been paid. Hope he's enjoying that new audi quattro. He owed the players his silence regarding that purchase, right?

[@tipsy09]

i have money on full tilt that i needed to owe to someone, so i was very upset. but one of the things i wasn't upset about that everyone else is, is the silence of full tilt issue. that is something you just have to accept when shit hits the fan. the problem with the masses, when things go bad, is that they are panickers. things were dealt with positively after black friday, especially in the context of the DOJ ready to come down on this "de-generate community"

[@itsthedrewshow]

i backed the video up and had to listen to howard say "because pokerstars really cares about the poker community" about 5 times.

[@MyPat911]

Where did the money go? Just over spending? Stolen? Where is all the money????!!!

[@Gforce7860]

i heard howard lederer gave the interviewer the questions to ask him.

[@Code_version]

Thats why Howard make this interview!!

[@theeturnone]

i agree totally

[@757Roy757]

TY Howard after this interview I believe you didn't do anything unethical.

[@spookyben]

From DOJ civ complaint amendment: "According to the document; “from approximately December 2006 through September 2011, at least $44,314,997.31 in United States currency that was directly tied to the criminal conduct described above was deposited into the Lederer Consulting Account.” Howard Lederer used the proceeds to fund his personal accounts, retirement funds, mortgage payments and property taxes, as well as the purchase of numerous properties and vehicles. And he tried to hold back $300k??

[@danielstrauss3847]

I really enjoyed the entire interview. I am sure there is a lot more to this than what these 7 videos showed, but at least he had the guts to come and speak out. Is he or was he a good business leader, no. I hope people get paid and this becomes a just a story. I hope he has bodyguards with him so they can kick the aXX if anyone tries to mess with him. You think all people that play Poker are Angels? He failed at leading a company for numerous reasons. Everyone should get over that!

[@n8guy]

You mean that he approved while nefarious decisions were being made behind his back, intentionally hidden from him. In my estimation, he wasn't negligent here - he was simply lied to and duped by a con man.

[@danmaxwell71]

cant believe you didn't ask him about all his cars, houses etc? what is his realationship with e-dog now and Ivey etc

[@lyoshoji9219]

the dissapointing overrall narrative of this presentation is a distinct lack of apology for the situation, to angle that a lack of processing was a major part of the cashflow issue is very strange and hard to comprehend. how does a business model that relies on deposits and losing players not be able to process player deposits? the deeper issues are much more systematic and corrupt, the people involved where at a point in time highly respected and liked , sad really

[@Dean0030]

Howard says that he did not actively create Full Tilt's problems, but that is not true. By hiring and supporting Ray Bitar, who Howard has already admitted was not qualified to run a company such as Full Tilt, Howard did actively create the situation that led to Full Tilt's problems.

[@TheBfd253]

we will never see him at WSOP again, and he should be concerned about his safety...

[@oddbarnett]

Where did all the money go? Why is this question not being asked?

[@SN011GlobeTrot]

Can't believe he stuck around for such a long interview.

[@jonnnybensin]

Howard Lederer you just got called!

[@D3xder]

This would have been a scoop for any outlet. I can't fault them for agreeing to preconditions from the subject. Taken with serious reservations, this at the very least should provoke other knowledgeable voices to give word...

[@ConnHustla]

WHat fueled this ordeal one word GREED What happened after greed took control of the boards logical reasoning resulted in a huge financial blunder. But bottom line is the 4 or 5 and who knows how many other members got shareholder profits from player deposits and will never have to pay that back in full. Worst case a 1million dollar fine maybe that will go to charity or something. Howard feels no remorse for taking this money cause he is a sociopath and should be in jail with the rest of them

[@itsthedrewshow]

"i owed the poker community my silence" -- what? breaking the silence would have shown that you possibly cared. the silence proved that you honestly don't.

[@dlv444]

No Free pass from me for any of the owners of FTP. Inaction is just as serious as any action that caused this problem. Beyond that, these guys have set back poker decades when it comes to the public's perception of poker players and poker in general. Howard takes responsibility at the end of this interview, but as always, he proceeds to state it was someone else's mistake that FTP was targeted in the first place. Even without the DOJ, FTP was destined to fail due to it's owners actions/inactions

[@JohnLeeMD]

"Accepts full responsibility" must have a different meaning in Lederer's native language of porpoise. I watched parts of the 7 videos (couldn't stand hearing him talk so much), but the only thing I heard him do is deflect responsibility, and also bring others into the line of fire.

[@JohnLeeMD]

He had the guts? Where was he all this time? No one could force him to stay silent all this time, let players hang in limbo, and spend all their deposit money presumably living the high life in Vegas or on some island.

[@Raddekk]

12:03 oh you poor fuck poor you how exhausting is it really to be on the phone and stuff

[@mtx2200]

This interview got bogged down in minutia. The interveiw failed to focus on were did the money go? Accoding to DOJ some $360 million is missing. Howard will need to come to grips that his 40 million fortune came from the customer accounts--whether he knew it or not. Same for the other owners. Look at all outgoing payments and to whom and you will find who plundered it. The owners will need to give back what they illegally took.

[@2011blueman]

Well we haven't actually been paid, so I'll believe it when I see it!

[@LesNessmann]

Holy shit guys, he said he was sorry, jeez, what else can he do??

[@cjfourty6]

except at around 22:00 when he says he accepts full responsibility for what happened hahaha

[@wEcksWhy]

What did FTP do with ALL the player base money!???

[@RiverdogAVFC]

So I know what to do if I ever co

[@dotloop81]

Howard had to pay off a lot of people to stay out of jail.

[@bottleracket]

Bitar is the one who in the end is going to have to answer for the missing the money, and he's being prosecuted for that. Lederer was negligent, yes. Ferguson was naive, yes. But these two guys in the end did more than Ivey, Juanda, Gordon, and all the other greedy pros combined to get the players money back - which it looks like is definitely going to happen. Ferguson is one of the most ethical guys in poker, and for the savages and scumbags of the poker community to shun him is wrong.

[@hobbohippy]

feel like that random comment hit a nerve and im going to apologise for that

[@SkillGame79]

Ummmmmmmm distributions, what about em??

[@2011blueman]

He owed the poker community his silence? WOW I want to just punch him in the face so bad!

[@TheWUGGLEZ]

part 6

[@theeturnone]

i dout we will see him much in the US. . i am only out a few hundred. . but have friends that are out thousands(and their backers are out thousands and thousands) these backers are out not thousands of winnings. .but thousands of dollars from just deposits and transfers to their students and team members. i dont think he is safe

[@AcesH1gh]

same I skipped to part 7 fuck like pulling teeth

[@SN011GlobeTrot]

The number one thing I've noticed watching interview vids is how much ppl love to dump on the interviewer.

[@Juventinos]

i think 6% of the time he is actually saying something, the other 94% is just bullshit, dogging answers, or problems...Full tilt owners are a bunch of cretins who all stole shit load of money off of costumers. That is still the fact here.I don't see how Pokerstars paying me back absolves them of guilt. I hope they get jail time, and after that he can show his face again. If things happened how he says here.

[@theeturnone]

no they were not. . ray should have been booted before then. . he was a losing day trader. . and i elieve thats where some of the money went. .him thinking he would turn it, or flip it. . and he reaking lost it in the stock crash

[@Courshon]

Note to the interviewer: 1) Stop saying "you know" and "kind of" in your questions. It's amateurish, and it also makes you sound like you're minimizing any potential harshness of your questions. Yes, it's entirely clear that you ARE doing this, but if stop saying "...kind of...", it will be less obvious. 2) Either take a journalism class, or take a class on how to conduct an interview. Some of this interview was really painful, and not just because of Howard's answers or evasions.

[@mychannel594]

Did anyone notice how often his tongue comes out?

[@weefeatures]

This interview would be 30 mins long if you cut out the 'i dunno's and if the interviewer spoke English and not Blargghhh

[@Shane444888]

yes, minus the US

[@TheCabIe]

He definitely had a lot of time to rehearse the things he has to say with his lawyers. Most of the stuff he says is just going in circles.

[@VegasRush]

He was looking for money Owed to the company from certain players that took loans to help the company have capital on the road to finding new investors. He was saying Dwan was committing to actually send the money if needed to help. The company was successful in the Stars deal only because of Ferguson 14 million and Lederer's work.. but Bitar should be in jail, and howard should lose his net worth. Ivey should be banned from poker period, hes a selfish, greedy, prick.

[@37thNameChoice]

"i don't know" there's your obvious answer...lol

[@henrygt100]

Somebody get Led a toothpick. What's with the constant tongue action?

[@opinionater100]

Lederer lost me completely with trying to put Tom Dwan in the picture and seek cash off him ? Dwan was the only FT face making any kind of honest statement despite being last on board to FT wagon .... Lederer took 42 million ? surely he couldve put in 1.5 million of that ? How could the interviewer not point that out ... he had most of the interview in the bag to ask tough at the end

[@ZoeTheCat]

I can't stomach listening to him anymore. Can someone tell me if he ever points a finger at those responsible for co-mingling the player pool? Does he ever comment on Bitar, Ferguson or Furst?

[@bartjohnston]

i think the interview was managed correctly, that gave him an opportunity to show how much of a liar and arrogant person he really is .......human nature, give me the money first, than ethics second

[@averagejoe9436]

Howard is a poker player...not a CEO. He got had. When u hire unqualified employees and u got 8-9 mil a week....those jacklegs are gonna rip the company off everytime. They took Howard for a ride. He got had...

[@HARMLESSPictures]

Howard's next book: How to make 400 million dollars disappear.

[@rabby77777]

sorry m8 i shouldn't b so flippant , im sure a lot of people have lost big time,

[@Trickersgame]

im one of them players and got a free 5k for the wait! ;)

[@MyPat911]

flben64 I wasn't!

[@Godfatherfan33]

wow..I had zero invested in Full Tilt so I am a completely impartial observer. What a large bunch of bullshit. ....SO..your co-owner of a company...and someone tells you your company has gone from almost a half billion dollars just laying around to the company is out of money.....and you don't have meetings that very night and you don't at least temporarily remove the head of the company? and you 'don't know' what you were thinking and who you talked to? no way.....

[@theeturnone]

i will totally get over it. with no animosity. as soon as i get my money that they said was protected and should have been in a trust. . until then i have a fisting plannd for the future. . buwhahahah

[@eagleclaww]

poker players are so naive and in denial its not even funny. This guy scammed people for millions and now everyone will believe everything lederer says and blame it all on ray bitar, even though lederer, ferguson, ivey etc was just as much at fault. They didn't just fail to run a company, they stole peoples money.

[@mikemm1456]

the interviewer is rubbish, he basically becomes his buddy by the end of this. Grill him get some proper questions into him.

[@arnenzo]

sometimes he says "we`ll talk about that later" how the hell he knows what questions he'll be asked later? he must have prepaired for them earlier i guess..

[@rengya]

I for one am grateful! I think now THIS ftp scandel (being the second big online scandel) shows the nature of a lot of these people in this business. I don't trust ANY of them!