Lederer and Ferguson Competing at 2017 WSOP

In 2016, Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson made their first appearances at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas since the Full Tilt Poker scandal broke in 2011. Despite their public apologies a few weeks before the Series began, the poker community clearly demonstrated that it is unlikely to ever forgive the two former Full Tilt executives for the site’s demise, and the millions of dollars they allegedly paid themselves from the player funds that should have been kept in segregated accounts.
At this year’s WSOP, the unholy duo subsequently wasted no time in entering the fray once more, and on June 6th took part in Event #10: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em, together with Andy Bloch, where their appearance stirred further resentment amongst disgusted members of the poker playing fraternity. Amongst the twitter messages posted following their unpopular return was one by top pro Valentin Vornicu, who wrote:
“Chris Jesus Ferguson at my table. Currently Andy Bloch playing for his team – gonna secure a quick bust for all poker players @WSOP #tagteam”.
The sentiment was echoed all around social media, with another poster going by the name ‘pushallin’ commenting; “How insulting. Pkr community doesn’t want you guys.”
Fortunately, Lederer, Ferguson and Bloch were eventually ousted from the event by John Hulett and Deepinder Singh in an A-Q versus A-K situation, and as poker fans breathed a sigh of relief, David Worden hit the nail on the head after he tweeted:
“#wsop10 says farewell to the team of old full time scammers of Bloch, Lederer, and Ferguson #seemsfitting.”
Despite being eliminated from Event #10, Lederer and Ferguson picked up $898 for their 81st place finish, and since then Ferguson has gone on to cash in Event #11: $1,500 Dealers Choice – 6 Handed, after finishing in 44th place for $2,335. In the meantime, if last year is anything to go by, Ferguson is likely to be a regular feature for players over the next month and a half, as in 2016 he cashed in a total of 10 events, including making it all the way to the final table of Event #39: $10,000 No Limit Hold’em 6-Handed Championship, where he eventually finished in 4th place for $183,989.