Ferguson denied the allegations through a lawyer, and the case was ultimately dismissed after PokerStars bought Full Tilt and negotiated a plan with the U.S. The DOJ detailed that approximately $390 million was owed to Full Tilt Poker Players worldwide, including about $150 million to American players. Later that year, this complaint was amended to include allegations that Ferguson, along with Ray Bitar, Howard Lederer and Rafe Furst had defrauded players, and that Full Tilt Poker was a "global Ponzi scheme." On April 15, 2011, a date that became poker's 'Black Friday', the United States Department of Justice issued an indictment against the founders of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker charging bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling Many believe that Ferguson's many poker accomplishments are tainted by his involvement in the Full Tilt Poker scandal.
The final table of the 2000 WSOP Main Event was immortalized in the 2004 book 'Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker' by Jim McManus. Cloutier heads-up, handing Cloutier his fourth top-five finish in the Main Event, and his second runner-up finish after losing to Bill Smith in 1985. He won his first WSOP bracelet in 200 in a $2,500 Seven Card Stud tournament, and followed that up with a win in the 2000 WSOP Main Event for $1,500,000. His first six WSOP cashes were top 10 finishes in various formats, including Razz, A-5 Draw as well as No-Limit and Pot-Limit Hold'em. Having picked up the nickname "Jesus" because of his long brown hair and beard, Ferguson regularly wore sunglasses and a trademark cowboy hot, and was considered almost unreadable by his opponents. He regularly travelled around California to play poker tournaments, and cashed in his first WSOP event in 1995. Having first started playing poker as a child, his first recorded cash came in March, 1993. Biographyįerguson was born in Los Angeles, California on April 11, 1963. In 2017, the year he won his sixth WSOP bracelet, he was named WSOP Player of the Year. He is also known for his involvement in the Full Tilt Poker Scandal, an online poker company that Ferguson founded and was a director of.ĭuring his career he has won six WSOP bracelets and the 2008 NBC Heads-Up Poker Championship. Chris "Jesus" Ferguson is an American poker player who won the 2000 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.