The US poker pro – Gordon Vayo, who is best known for his runner-up finish in the 2016 WSOP Main Event, says that PokerStars is engaged in fraudulent and unlawful activities. Yes, you heard it right! Vayo, based out of Los Angeles, has recently filed a lawsuit against the online poker operator – PokerStars for refusing to pay him $700,000 in winnings from the high-stake SCOOP event held way back in May 2017.
The online poker operator has claimed that it cannot pay Vayo his payout because he was playing SCOOP or at least a part of it from within the US. Online gaming is prohibited in the US, except the four states. PokerStars does not hold a license for the online poker operations in any of the four states of the US. Vayo refutes this claim by saying that he has played the whole tournament in Canada, not in the US.
Vayo has filed a lawsuit in the US Court for the Central District of California. The lawsuit talks about the counts of fraud, breach of contract, and false advertising. Vayo has also argued that he has provided enough evidence that he played the SCOOP tournament from within Canada where PokerStars had authorized online play within that country’s borders.
However, PokerStars has maintained that Vayo played at least a part of the tournament from within the US and because of that reason his funds could not be released.
Vayo also claims that PokerStars has threatened to counter-sue him over the matter and therefore he is asking for punitive damages and attorney’s fees along with his winning amount from the Scoop tourney.