Having been stopped at the door, Las Vegas pro Nick DiVella has gone online with his petition to ban former Full Tilt Poker owner Howard Lederer from Aria.
Yesterday he posted an open letter to the “Executive Management of Aria Casino/Poker Room.”
“This movement goes for Bellagio & any other poker event around the world,” DiVella wrote on Twitter. “Aria is my favorite place to play, wish I didn’t pick on them.”
His efforts have already gained traction around the world, with both support and backlash from the poker community.
“I think players should feel free to make him feel unwelcome and I think it takes some real audacity on his part to show up, but I hope Aria doesn’t give in to the pressure of the petition,” pro Isaac Haxton said. “Casinos are not in the habit of barring white collar criminals and as of now Howard isn’t even convicted of anything.”
Pro Tim West told DiVella, “great job on taking initiative Nick. Can’t believe that fkr has the balls to frequent Aria/Bellagio. Playing Festa (al Lago) just ridic.”
World Poker Tour Host and pro Tony Dunst, who occasionally plays in the same live cash games as DiVella, pointed out that players should have the right to speak up when they’re upset.
“It is the casinos job to cater to their customers, so why can’t those customers come together to socially self-regulate their industry and communicate their wishes to the casino?” Dunst said. “It doesn’t surprise me that people would make the choice to frequent a different poker room instead of bumping into someone they despise at their usual room, so what’s wrong with telling the casino staff how you feel about it in writing?”
In an exclusive interview with pokerfuse, DiVella said he wasn’t surprised that his effort to petition inside Aria was stopped. After collecting only a few signatures, he was pulled into a meeting with poker room staff, who told him they must remain “neutral on the situation,” though they would present the concern to upper management.
“The point of the petition was to get it into the hands of upper management and get national attention, and it did within hours,” he said. “The debate is great for poker and its long term effects. Hopefully some big named players will chime in with their opinions but more importantly a solution.”
MGM officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the petition which has amassed 128 signatures prior to the publishing of this article.
If Aria and other MGM properties continued to allow Lederer to play, DiVella said he would start grinding at Venetian.
Last month, as Lederer returned to the enclosed Ivey Room at Aria and glass-encased Bobby’s Room at Bellagio, both casinos planted security guards in front of the doors. He played at Aria as recently as Sunday.
Lederer has been implicated by the US Department of Justice in the Black Friday fraud and money laundering scheme, though he has not been criminally charged. Before playing live, DiVella earned his living at Rush tables on FTP. He won’t say how much he has stuck on Full Tilt, and insists his efforts are more about principle than the money.
The DoJ has a civil suit against Lederer for more than $40m, and he has implied that some of his bank accounts may have been frozen by the DOJ as part of the ongoing case.
DiVella believes Lederer’s presence at the poker tables threatens the integrity of the game.
“In some aspects poker has a bad reputation and there are no repercussions for those who tarnish that reputation,” DiVella said. “I don’t know what will come of this petition, but yes a governing body or something to that effect would be ideal. I haven’t put much thought into what my role would be in the governing body. This is bigger than him and bigger than Aria but it has to start somewhere.”
