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Government Takes Aim at Brunson
Poker legend Doyle Brunson seems to be in a bit of legal trouble, at least
as far as the United States government is concerned. The Securities and
Exchange Commission has been investigating Brunson’s bid to purchase World
Poker Tour operator WPT Enterprises Ltd, for over $700 million. The bid
surprised a lot of people when it was made, and sent the stock for the
company through the roof. It was the big jump in value that caught the
attention of the government regulatory agency, which began the investigation
soon after it heard the news.
Brunson almost immediately asserted his fifth amendment rights to protection
to investigators. He is one of the biggest names in poker, and this could be
part of what sent WPTE’s stock up almost 50% when his name was announced in
connection with the bid. The SEC has changed tactics a couple of times in
regards to the investigation as it tries to make an end run past the legal
team Brunson has hired. The agency is currently looking at whether Brunson
and his company broke federal securities laws with the offer itself, and
also with the publication of the bid, which was done over Brunson’s website.
The latest move by the SEC was to subpoena Brunson’s website manager,
Wallace Nakano. The agency has asserted that Nakano was in charge of
Brunson’s site at the time of the announcement of the WPTE acquisition and
could be a key witness if charges are to be laid against Brunson. It is hard
to tell exactly what is going on in this case, as it appeared as though
Brunson was out of the running for the bid when the law firm which
represented him in the deal, Goodman and Chesnoff, withdrew from the
negotiations. The move sent the stock prices spiraling downwards.
Despite this development, the legal battle Brunson finds himself in
continues. The SEC has gone after Brunson and his legal help in the past.
United States Judge Terry Means gave Chesnoff and others involved in the
case until February 21st to respond to the Security and Exchanges
Commission’s attempts to enforce the subpoenas.
In the meantime, the matter will have no effect on poker players who are
using Brunson’s site, Doyles Room, as Brunson himself does not manage the
company.
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