Doyle Brunson And The Doylesroom.com Bust

Following last weeks indictment of Doylesroom.com, the poker room’s namesake Doyle Brunson said he felt confident he is not a target for federal investigators.
At the time of the indictment by authorities in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein commented:
“It is illegal for Internet gambling enterprises to do business in Maryland, regardless of where the website operator is located. We cannot allow foreign website operators to flout the law simply because their headquarters are based outside the country.”
However, despite the 77 year-old poker legend’s association and stock holding with the website, it appears Doyle Brunson’s role was purely to help promote the site.
Consequently, Brunson was not mentioned on the illegal gambling and money laundering charges levelled against site owners ThrillX Systems and K23 Group.
In addition, in recent times Brunson moved to distance himself from the business and last month released an official statement which read:
“Reluctantly, I have decided to terminate my endorsement contract with Doylesroom.com. It pains me to leave at this time. I have aspirations of reentering the online poker business when the United States Government passes legislation, that officially legalize online poker sites. Doylesroom management has decided to continue to serve U.S. customers. Although they believe they have the right to market the name Doylesroom and to use my name and likeness for a period of time, I have asked them not to. Good luck-Shuffle up and deal.”
As an extra defence, Brunson also claims that like many others, he believed that online poker was legal in the States and so he was not violating any laws.
Therefore, ‘The Godfather of Poker,’ as he is affectionately known, is unlikely to face any future problems from investigators, in the same way other sponsored pros will not be held responsible for the affairs of their employers.
With that weight off his mind, maybe Brunson can now concentrate on the important matter in hand of winning for himself an 11th WSOP bracelet at the 2011 World Series Of Poker currently underway in Las Vegas.