If you aren't interested in reading my actual story and just want the part about them lying in public statements, scroll down to the bold/italicized portion of this post and read the chat log below it as well..

I have officially given up on PartyPoker. As someone that has been heavily involved in the high stakes poker world for over 8 years, I know the importance, and personal equity involved, in the image of the industry. I've tried extremely hard to work with this company to preserve that public image, but I've had enough.

The conversation that will be posted below is between the prior poker room manager (in NJ) Andre Ledoux and I. I cut some of the unimportant and off topic messages off, but if mods want a full chat log file, please feel free to send me a message and I have no problem providing that. I want to say now that I have absolutely no problem with Andre himself. He was simply trying to do the right thing the entire time, but the people he had to answer to were adamant about dealing with things in the worst ways possible. Andre has since been fired from Party NJ and the new manager is Shawn Manuola. Shawn is the one that finally pushed me over the edge, which I will get into more detail later.

A quick cliff notes on my issues:

1. Geo-locate was a massive massive problem at the start. Instead of having a system in place to simply boot you and allow you to log back in and still be on the tables with a disconnect bank, they chose to boot you off all tables, force you to log off, and time you out of the pots. This has since been corrected and they allow you to finish the hand you are playing before kicking you. Still, they force you off all tables while logging off, in order to retry locating you. I have no idea how much this actually cost me, because there is no way to bring the table back up and check the HH. The person I was playing is gone nearly every time as well and that action is lost.
2. Auto-Folding SBs hu. It took me months to finally realize what was causing the software glitch. About 10% of hands, it would snap fold my SB before I could even see my cards. I found out that if you click check/fold too close to the time they actually fold in the hand prior, it causes your SB to be auto folded the next hand, every time. Obviously this is a huge issue and losing 10% of buttons only contributes to the lost equity in HU matches. This problem still exists today.
3. A complete lack of professionalism from customer support. I have so many examples of this, it's too overwhelming of a task to look back and put them all in here. Anyone that plays on there knows how horrible it is. I'm sure it's well documented already.

As for timelines:

February - Complain to customer service about all these issues many many times. Nothing gets resolved. Very unresponsive.

Early March - They finally acknowledge me and request that I provide them with screen shots and HH and whatever information I have.

Late March - I start posting publicly about all of my issues. Andre gets in touch with me and exchanges Skype and Cell #.

After we spoke on the phone a few times, our Skype conversation ensues:

March 25 -
Mike
hey Andre, just wanted to give you a heads up that i just shot an email over to you with the information that I've put together. this was also sent to support ~2 weeks ago with no response. i don't have any chat saved from live support to show you how horrible it is, but I'm sure you're willing to just take my word on it. If i happen to deal with them again in the future, I will take a screen shot of it. I actually had pictures of it on my phone that I sent to my friends because it was so unbearably laughable, but since deleted them. Let me know if there's any other information that you might need.

[3/25/14, 7:18:28 PM] Andre Ledoux: ok ty
[3/25/14, 7:18:40 PM] Andre Ledoux: i will do my best here and pls keep an open line

[4/2/14, 5:21:00 PM] mikedegilio: Hey Andre. Were you able to make any progress with my issues? I'm assuming you received the email?
[4/2/14, 5:22:18 PM] Andre Ledoux: i did receive the amil and haven't received back
[4/2/14, 5:22:28 PM] Andre Ledoux: I will get to it in greater detail tomorrow
[4/2/14, 5:22:33 PM] Andre Ledoux: sorry for the delay here Mike
[4/2/14, 5:22:42 PM] Andre Ledoux: I know you have been very patient already
[4/2/14, 5:22:51 PM] mikedegilio: Ok. It's been a month since they requested information and they have still not responded to me either.
[4/2/14, 5:22:57 PM] Andre Ledoux: what specifically can I do right now aside from wifi ?
[4/2/14, 5:23:31 PM] mikedegilio: I think you're aware of all of my concerns and issues. Nothing that can be solved overnight though.
[4/2/14, 5:23:40 PM] Andre Ledoux: i am
[4/2/14, 5:23:49 PM] Andre Ledoux: and we'll get cracking on it right away
[4/2/14, 5:23:53 PM] Andre Ledoux: again sorry for delay Mike
[4/2/14, 5:24:50 PM] Andre Ledoux: agree on all fronts and im not just saying that
[4/2/14, 5:24:58 PM] Andre Ledoux: our CS to date has been abysmal
[4/5/14, 1:42:12 PM] hey. just checking to see if there's any update.
[4/8/14, 6:40:04 PM]hey, any update from support or anyone on these issues?
[4/9/14, 3:21:31 AM] Andre Ledoux: i too am not getting the level of service required here
[4/9/14, 3:22:00 AM] Andre Ledoux: I have once again sent through your email and this time marked high importance with a VERY detailed list of my expectations to supply back to you
[4/9/14, 3:22:20 AM] Andre Ledoux: again - my apologies for the delay and I would expect a reply in the coming days
[4/9/14, 7:48:49 AM] mikedegilio: Ok thanks. I also just emailed them to request a check be cancelled because my post office is only open 9-430 and they're requiring signature. I work and it is impossible for me to get there to pick it up. Saritha responded to me saying your check is at the post office and to go ahead and pick it up. This is about the tenth straight email that I've gotten a response showing they didn't even bother to read what I sent. I know I'm beating a dead horse at this point, but waking up to this nonsense is getting really redundant. Still no response from anyone on my end either regarding all the problems. It has been a month now.
[4/9/14, 7:49:30 AM] Andre Ledoux: ironic timing
[4/9/14, 7:49:48 AM] Andre Ledoux: I have just received the full detail of all of your communications with CS to date
[4/9/14, 7:50:19 AM] Andre Ledoux: I have reviewed them and agree that we need to do a much better job from a customer care standpoint
[4/9/14, 7:50:57 AM] Andre Ledoux: To that end I have just yesterday met 20 members of the newly hired NJ CS Team.
[4/9/14, 7:51:31 AM] Andre Ledoux: They are conducting a few more weeks of training to complete the full training program ahich has taken place over a 2 month period.
[4/9/14, 7:52:05 AM] Andre Ledoux: I am VERY confident that the level you will service you will receive will be positive
[4/9/14, 7:52:15 AM] Andre Ledoux: the plan is to have this Team implemented May 1
[4/9/14, 7:52:31 AM] mikedegilio: Good to hear
[4/9/14, 7:54:13 AM] Andre Ledoux: I am happy to hear that as well
[4/9/14, 7:54:33 AM] Andre Ledoux: Can you confirm that you are no longer experiencing location issues?
[4/9/14, 7:54:56 AM] mikedegilio: I still am, constantly
[4/9/14, 7:55:20 AM] mikedegilio: Sometimes within 2 minutes of being logged on and located
[4/9/14, 7:55:59 AM] mikedegilio: Get on tables and instantly get kicked off
[4/9/14, 7:57:50 AM] Andre Ledoux: okay CS hasn't received an inquiry from you since Geo made an update
[4/9/14, 7:57:56 AM] Andre Ledoux: so we were hoping it had been resolved
[4/9/14, 7:58:39 AM] mikedegilio: Nope just getting tired of repeating myself, especially to a cs team that can't comprehend English.. Haha
[4/9/14, 7:59:26 AM] Andre Ledoux: as far as getting kicked off the tables vs remaining seated when location cannot be determined is not something CS can help with. This will have to come from teh Prodcut Team. I will chase this up once again to discover what possible reason we have for this. I assume it was put in place due to regualatory requirements but if other sites in NJ treat location disconnections it is worth noting what is optimal.
[4/9/14, 7:59:46 AM] Andre Ledoux: Nope just getting tired of repeating myself, especially to a cs team that can't comprehend English.. HahaI can reach deep, and I promise you, if this can’t be resolved, I will feel obligated to spread word of the disaster that Party currently is.
[4/9/14, 8:00:30 AM] Andre Ledoux: Mike: I want to be clear that I realize the level of service to date has not been to the level of quality it needs to be at
[4/9/14, 8:00:42 AM] mikedegilio: Yea I know
[4/9/14, 8:02:13 AM] Andre Ledoux: however I would once again ask for your patience with us and specifically to not threaten us in a public forum. Of course freedom of speech is quite possibly the best thing about the US but if you are such a key inlfuencer as you have indicated, I would ask that you publically acknowledge that we are looking to work with you here to accomplaish seamless gameplay and of course quality service.
[4/9/14, 8:03:06 AM] Andre Ledoux: last thing from me: Geolocation has plagued NJ online poker to date
[4/9/14, 8:03:27 AM] Andre Ledoux: It is our aim to improve this particular topic above all else
[4/9/14, 8:03:56 AM] Andre Ledoux: I will personally keep you updated as anything changes re: Geo on this end
[4/9/14, 8:04:04 AM] Andre Ledoux: and ask that you do the same with me, thx
[4/9/14, 8:04:06 AM] mikedegilio: I would gladly post new positive information. As much as I appreciate you taking to time to help resolve this for me, still, nothing has been resolved and still, today, I'm getting ridiculous responses from cs and booted constantly.
[4/9/14, 8:04:50 AM] Andre Ledoux: Based on the communication I can safely say that this sits with our Geo provider.
[4/9/14, 8:05:10 AM] mikedegilio: So if you'd like me to post that one person is working with me, but everything else is a disaster still, I can do that, but that's about the extent of it and seems counter productive
[4/9/14, 8:05:37 AM] Andre Ledoux: We have inquired with them and are awaiting a response though I know they are most likely not going to dive deep in teh request.
[4/9/14, 8:05:47 AM] Andre Ledoux: which is of course unfortunate.

We then had a long convo that I will give cliffs on. WPT Shootout tournament for the live event. I think it was a 15k seat or something. Right before the tournament, it disappeared from the lobby. Gone from "My tournaments" tab. Tournament started and no lobby or table popped up. Before and during the tournament, I was in contact with live chat. They had no idea what was going on and told me they would get back to me. They never did. About 50 minutes into the tournament, a table pops up. Apparently the software was created incorrectly. If you got a bye, you just weren't able to see the tournament as existing. Luckily, I happened to still be logged in and was at my computer when it decided to pop up. Andre confirmed this was a screw up and that it didn't work right. Not sure if any other 2p2 guys had this issue as well.

Now, onto the $500 "High Roller" Debacle
The payouts were butchered. Party made an official statement that was a complete lie.
A link to the thread about it: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/22...issue-1438189/
The quote from Party: "Dear NJCOP Event #14 Players,

In response to some of the concerns raised here and elsewhere about the payout structure used for NJCOP Event #14, please note that our intent for this event was always for it to pay just two positions, and advertised it with $20K guaranteed for first place and $10K guaranteed for second place.

Some feedback we received in advance of releasing the final NJCOP schedule was to add a high-roller event, and to consider an extremely steep payout structures – perhaps even winner-take-all – as there was strong interest in that format. So we added this event with this structure to the schedule intentionally, and regret that we did not advertise this structure more as a feature of the event as the actual turnout and post-event comments indicate we might have had even greater participation.

Our poker software shows payout structures clearly in each tournament’s lobby, and they update in almost-real-time as players register and rebuy (though there is sometimes a slight delay when add-ons are made). The registration lobby for this event did show the payout structure correctly at all times. Players who registered before the $30K guarantee was met would have seen that only two places were being paid, and players who registered after the guarantee was met would have seen the same thing. So while we recognize advance communication was not great about exactly what might happen once (and if) the $30K guarantee was exceeded, the prize payout details were available for players to see before deciding whether/not to play. Therefore, we do stand by our payout structure for NJCOP Event #14 and will not be revisiting it.

We apologize for the negative experience some of you had in this event, as this was the one dim spot in an otherwise successful first NJCOP (two missed guarantees of 15 events being considered a reasonable start). We will take greater care in the future about emphasizing special payout structures when scheduling similar events, and hope you all return for those series.

Thank you for playing on partypoker.

Best regards,

Party Rep"

Now, for my conversation with Andre about it..

[4/21/14, 10:46:46 PM] mikedegilio: 3 times tonight i've had 3 or 4 heads up games going and got kicked off and lost all the action. is there any update on these issues? it's going on 2 months now that I've not received a response. I know you mentioned a new team starting may 1, am I going to have to wait until then to have anyone look into this?
[4/27/14, 6:27:37 PM] mikedegilio: hey you around?
[4/27/14, 6:29:03 PM] Andre Ledoux: i am how u Mike?
[4/27/14, 6:29:14 PM] mikedegilio: good. never heard back from my last message
[4/27/14, 6:29:17 PM] mikedegilio: also have another problem
[4/27/14, 6:29:39 PM] Andre Ledoux: yeah man my CS team starts Monday and i am not in the office till tues
[4/27/14, 6:29:47 PM] Andre Ledoux: i am 100% jumping on your case asap with them
[4/27/14, 6:29:51 PM] Andre Ledoux: whats up?
[4/27/14, 6:29:58 PM] mikedegilio: lol just got booted mid tournament again
[4/27/14, 6:30:00 PM] mikedegilio: but anyways
[4/27/14, 6:30:02 PM] mikedegilio: $500 NJCOP
[4/27/14, 6:30:08 PM] mikedegilio: they butchered the payouts
[4/27/14, 6:30:10 PM] Andre Ledoux: yeah the payouts...
[4/27/14, 6:30:11 PM] mikedegilio: it's paying top 2
[4/27/14, 6:30:17 PM] mikedegilio: and jamie just confirmed it won't be changed
[4/27/14, 6:30:19 PM] mikedegilio: how is that allowed
[4/27/14, 6:30:33 PM] Andre Ledoux: On 4/27/14, at 6:27 PM, Andre Ledoux wrote:
> okay clearly the payouts are effed
they were always intended to pay 20K for 1st and 10K for second then adjust to pay added spots when GTD was reached.
My apologies..


[4/27/14, 6:30:40 PM] Andre Ledoux: this is what i juts wrote in another thread
[4/27/14, 6:30:45 PM] mikedegilio: everyone is complaining at the tables
[4/27/14, 6:30:51 PM] Andre Ledoux: i can understand
[4/27/14, 6:30:58 PM] Andre Ledoux: it is a mistake
[4/27/14, 6:30:59 PM] mikedegilio: you run 1 big buying since opening
[4/27/14, 6:31:02 PM] mikedegilio: and butcher it
[4/27/14, 6:31:04 PM] mikedegilio: that's real bad
[4/27/14, 6:31:07 PM] Andre Ledoux: thx Mike
[4/27/14, 6:31:22 PM] mikedegilio: how is this going to be dealt with?
[4/27/14, 6:31:34 PM] Andre Ledoux: What would you like me to do?
[4/27/14, 6:31:34 PM] mikedegilio: just paying top 2 and saying sorry to everyone?
[4/27/14, 6:31:41 PM] mikedegilio: i'm asking what you are doing in general
[4/27/14, 6:31:42 PM] mikedegilio: not for me
[4/27/14, 6:32:10 PM] Andre Ledoux: And I am asking what you could see me doing to reconcile it?
[4/27/14, 6:32:12 PM] mikedegilio: by you i mean party
[4/27/14, 6:32:17 PM] Andre Ledoux: I understand
[4/27/14, 6:32:17 PM] mikedegilio: idk
[4/27/14, 6:32:25 PM] mikedegilio: clearly something has to be done tho lol
[4/27/14, 6:32:52 PM] Andre Ledoux: When you think of it pls lemme know...seriously
[4/27/14, 6:32:58 PM] Andre Ledoux: Couldnt a deal be made?
[4/27/14, 6:33:07 PM] mikedegilio: feel like nothing would be satisfying for all
[4/27/14, 6:33:29 PM] mikedegilio: even if you refunded like 3rd-15th
[4/27/14, 6:33:47 PM] mikedegilio: people will complain that they were forced to play crazy b.c they had to play to win even with 120 left
[4/27/14, 6:33:54 PM] mikedegilio: changes the dynamic completely
[4/27/14, 6:34:15 PM] mikedegilio: i don't really mind it to be honest, but any casual player trying to grind out a cash is going to be irate over this
[4/27/14, 6:34:29 PM] mikedegilio: they pretty much set 500 on fire
[4/27/14, 6:39:25 PM] Andre Ledoux: I dont think we have a lot of casual players in this event
[4/27/14, 6:39:35 PM] Andre Ledoux: look - i get the poitn and we clearly effed this up
[4/27/14, 6:39:44 PM] Andre Ledoux: i need to find out if FT deal making is still live
[4/27/14, 6:39:59 PM] mikedegilio: ya i'm just trying to figure something out as well b.c everyone is pissed in chat
[4/27/14, 6:40:21 PM] mikedegilio: they're clearly casual players
[4/27/14, 6:40:28 PM] mikedegilio: because they have no idea what they're talking about lol
[4/27/14, 6:41:01 PM] Andre Ledoux: ok
[4/27/14, 6:42:03 PM] mikedegilio: registration is still open
[4/27/14, 6:42:07 PM] mikedegilio: can't you adjust payouts?
[4/27/14, 6:42:56 PM] Andre Ledoux: nope
[4/27/14, 6:42:59 PM] Andre Ledoux: DGE
[4/27/14, 6:43:13 PM] Andre Ledoux: cant make any changes if the event is 5 BUSINESS DAYS away
[4/27/14, 6:43:25 PM] mikedegilio: what is DGE?
[4/27/14, 6:43:41 PM] Andre Ledoux: division of gaming enforcement
[4/27/14, 6:43:52 PM] mikedegilio: oh ok
[4/27/14, 6:46:58 PM] mikedegilio: most people are saying cancel it and they want a refund
[4/27/14, 6:47:05 PM] mikedegilio: which i know isn't possible
[4/27/14, 6:47:12 PM] mikedegilio: that's where their head is at tho
[4/27/14, 6:47:45 PM] Andre Ledoux: are they avg stack and saying that?
[4/27/14, 6:49:22 PM] mikedegilio: 9k
[4/27/14, 6:49:25 PM] mikedegilio: start is 5
[4/27/14, 6:49:29 PM] mikedegilio: another just busted but was start stack
[4/27/14, 6:52:12 PM] Andre Ledoux: ok we are looking into any and all possibilities to reconcile
[4/27/14, 6:52:17 PM] mikedegilio: alright thanks
[4/27/14, 6:52:25 PM] Andre Ledoux: of course
[4/27/14, 10:13:06 PM] Andre Ledoux: so no decision will be made until tomorrow if anyhting is done at all
[4/27/14, 10:13:17 PM] mikedegilio: ok thanks for the update
[4/27/14, 10:13:35 PM] Andre Ledoux: yw and thx for heads up as usual
[4/27/14, 10:13:51 PM] Andre Ledoux: r u in any remaining event?
[4/27/14, 10:13:59 PM] mikedegilio: nope

[4/28/14, 6:38:01 PM] Andre Ledoux: hello sir
[4/28/14, 6:38:05 PM] Andre Ledoux: gotta minute?
[4/28/14, 6:38:07 PM] mikedegilio: yep
[4/28/14, 6:38:14 PM] Andre Ledoux: could i ask you a favor?
[4/28/14, 6:38:28 PM] mikedegilio: sure
[4/28/14, 6:38:54 PM] Andre Ledoux: Would you delete your comment here: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/22...issue-1438189/ ?
[4/28/14, 6:39:08 PM] mikedegilio: ? am i incorrect?
[4/28/14, 6:39:20 PM] Andre Ledoux: I trust that everyhitng that is discussed here between you and I stays here between you and I.
[4/28/14, 6:39:35 PM] Andre Ledoux: I am addressing this very issue right now by way of approvals through my MGMT.
[4/28/14, 6:39:41 PM] mikedegilio: didn't realize it was a secret
[4/28/14, 6:39:58 PM] Andre Ledoux: I dont want them knowing that I am sharing such things as internal processes re: DGE etc with our customres.
[4/28/14, 6:40:05 PM] mikedegilio: ok
[4/28/14, 6:40:44 PM] Andre Ledoux: I prolly shouldnt but in times like these I do so people like yourself understand that my hands were tied in fact should i have been able to change the structure in T-5 biz days
[4/28/14, 6:41:49 PM] Andre Ledoux: the fact remains that the last thing i want to do is for the DGE to think i am railroading them or wtvr (yes - they do look thru 2p2)
[4/28/14, 6:42:31 PM] mikedegilio: i wouldn't say it is necessarily throwing them under the bus tho. merely stating fact
[4/28/14, 6:42:48 PM] mikedegilio: in accordance with state rule xxx... whatever
[4/28/14, 6:43:08 PM] Andre Ledoux: agreed - tbh my mgmt will knwo for sure that u and i are in contact and the things you wrote about are a bit proprietary
[4/28/14, 6:43:17 PM] Andre Ledoux: stuff i would prefer wasnt on 2+2
[4/28/14, 6:43:24 PM] Andre Ledoux: i should have disclosed that originally
[4/28/14, 6:43:29 PM] Andre Ledoux: your choice juts my request
[4/28/14, 6:43:33 PM] Andre Ledoux: 8just
[4/28/14, 6:43:36 PM] Andre Ledoux: lol *just
[4/28/14, 6:43:37 PM] mikedegilio: i already deleted it
[4/28/14, 6:43:42 PM] Andre Ledoux: tyvm Mike
[4/28/14, 6:43:53 PM] Andre Ledoux: I do want to make good on yesterday's gaffe
[4/28/14, 6:44:05 PM] Andre Ledoux: I am thinking an invite only 10K freeroll for all that participated. thoguhts?
[4/28/14, 6:44:10 PM] Andre Ledoux: *thoughts
[4/28/14, 6:45:05 PM] mikedegilio: just realize that i'm being pulled in two directions here. i'm friends with a lot of people seeking answers and i'm also trying to show an appreciation for your assistance whereas most others have no line of communication to anyone
[4/28/14, 6:45:33 PM] mikedegilio: put yourself in my shoes as someone that is getting answers from a company that refuses to answer anyone else
[4/28/14, 6:45:40 PM] mikedegilio: yet it's being requested that i stay quiet
[4/28/14, 6:46:10 PM] Andre Ledoux: agreed - not a desirable situation
[4/28/14, 6:46:18 PM] Andre Ledoux: as mentioned ad nuaseum for you i can imagine
[4/28/14, 6:46:33 PM] Andre Ledoux: with our localized support now in place I expect much MUCH better service
[4/28/14, 6:47:06 PM] Andre Ledoux: and the players you speak of will receive much more informed answers and feel the 'openess' of the line of communication..
[4/28/14, 6:47:20 PM] Andre Ledoux: until then it is on me to rep the label and that is what i intend to do
[4/28/14, 6:47:34 PM] Andre Ledoux: it is not on you obv to explain our position despite your understanding of it
[4/28/14, 6:47:40 PM] mikedegilio: and back to your last question, that's all preference really. i just think that it needs to acknowledged as a mistake and something in general needs to be offered
[4/28/14, 6:48:06 PM] Andre Ledoux: understood - agree that a 10K freeroll would suffice?
[4/28/14, 6:48:11 PM] Andre Ledoux: or no comment is fine too
[4/28/14, 6:48:18 PM] mikedegilio: i don't really have an opinion on compensation tbh
[4/28/14, 6:48:28 PM] mikedegilio: it's just one of those hard to satisfy everyone type situations
[4/28/14, 6:48:36 PM] Andre Ledoux: it certainly is
[4/28/14, 6:48:43 PM] mikedegilio: the vast majority will most likely just want an apology and at least a slight offering
[4/28/14, 6:48:54 PM] mikedegilio: regardless you will have disgruntled players
[4/28/14, 6:49:01 PM] mikedegilio: unless you offered a complete refund obviously
[4/28/14, 6:49:27 PM] mikedegilio: i don't know what the #s would be
[4/28/14, 6:49:40 PM] mikedegilio: but to me, it actually makes sense to do a free roll for anyone placing 3-149th
[4/28/14, 6:49:41 PM] Andre Ledoux: yeah i couldn't justify a 100% refund
[4/28/14, 6:49:51 PM] mikedegilio: for the amount that was supposed to technically be distributed to those places
[4/28/14, 6:50:02 PM] Andre Ledoux: On 4/28/14, at 6:49 PM, mikedegilio wrote:
> but to me, it actually makes sense to do a free roll for anyone placing 3-149th
exactly
[4/28/14, 6:50:09 PM] Andre Ledoux: fyi just followed u on twitter
[4/28/14, 6:50:12 PM] mikedegilio: i think it did say 20/10 for 1/2?
[4/28/14, 6:50:41 PM] Andre Ledoux: On 4/28/14, at 6:49 PM, mikedegilio wrote:
> for the amount that was supposed to technically be distributed to those places
I considered this but the cost was very high considering the extra $ went to 1&2
[4/28/14, 6:50:43 PM] mikedegilio: and it was supposed to trickle down from there, correct?
[4/28/14, 6:50:47 PM] Andre Ledoux: of course
[4/28/14, 6:50:53 PM] Andre Ledoux: it wil be in my response
[4/28/14, 6:51:08 PM] mikedegilio: yea, so theoretically that is the correct thing to do
[4/28/14, 6:51:20 PM] Andre Ledoux: it is just VERY costly
[4/28/14, 6:51:20 PM] mikedegilio: if you want 0 complainers for the minimum cost
[4/28/14, 6:51:25 PM] Andre Ledoux: agree
[4/28/14, 6:51:31 PM] Andre Ledoux: we'll see ty as always Mike
[4/28/14, 6:51:36 PM] mikedegilio: yep

Onto the next issue..

[5/28/14, 10:16:23 AM] mikedegilio: Hey are you here?
[5/28/14, 10:25:02 AM] mikedegilio: I just got an email telling me I just logged in and I'm not home or in nj to log on and nobody has my password. I called support and they told me they think it could be an error and that they would escalate it.. Pretty alarming.
[5/28/14, 10:56:02 AM] mikedegilio: Just got another saying I've logged in again. I can't change my password from NY. Don't know what to do..
[5/28/14, 10:56:12 AM] Andre Ledoux: sorry in mtgs give me a bit?
[5/28/14, 10:56:18 AM] Andre Ledoux: im not sure what i can do Mike my aplogies
[5/28/14, 10:56:26 AM] Andre Ledoux: and in backk 2 back mtgs all day
[5/28/14, 10:56:38 AM] mikedegilio: Any way to disable my account temporarily or something?
[5/28/14, 10:57:00 AM] Andre Ledoux: so someone else is logging into your account?
[5/28/14, 10:57:04 AM] mikedegilio: Idk
[5/28/14, 10:57:11 AM] mikedegilio: I'm getting emails saying I just logged on
[5/28/14, 10:57:19 AM] mikedegilio: 0 people know my password
[5/28/14, 10:57:20 AM] Andre Ledoux: and you obv arent correct?
[5/28/14, 10:57:27 AM] mikedegilio: No I'm at work in ny
[5/28/14, 10:57:57 AM] mikedegilio: I called support and they said they think its a delayed email from a previous days login
[5/28/14, 10:58:08 AM] mikedegilio: But I've never had that happen. And now I just received another
[5/28/14, 10:58:19 AM] Andre Ledoux: they may be correct
[5/28/14, 10:58:26 AM] Andre Ledoux: the email service could be lagging
[5/28/14, 10:58:29 AM] Andre Ledoux: it has happened before
[5/28/14, 10:58:38 AM] mikedegilio: Ok
[5/28/14, 11:00:21 AM] mikedegilio: I'm sure you can understand why possible explanations isn't completely easing my mind.

Andddd next issue..

[5/29/14, 6:45:32 PM] mikedegilio: hey. do you know why all the heads up tables are missing?
[5/30/14, 8:07:14 AM] Andre Ledoux: i do not know why they were missing but i assume all set now?
[5/30/14, 8:58:22 PM] mikedegilio: no, they are still missing and nobody understands why
[5/31/14, 1:05:56 PM] mikedegilio: Any update on this?
[6/1/14, 7:15:56 AM] Andre Ledoux: looking into it again
[6/1/14, 7:16:03 AM] Andre Ledoux: nvr heard back first request
[6/1/14, 7:16:10 AM] Andre Ledoux: obv u mean cash games right?
[6/1/14, 11:43:50 AM] mikedegilio: yes, cash games
[6/1/14, 11:44:11 AM] Andre Ledoux: right ok
[6/1/14, 11:44:15 AM] Andre Ledoux: i only see 3 stakes
[6/1/14, 11:44:28 AM] mikedegilio: they removed 3-6 and 5-10 for some reason
[6/1/14, 11:44:40 AM] mikedegilio: 5-10 6 max was missing the other day too
[6/1/14, 11:44:49 AM] Andre Ledoux: ok i have submitted an inquiry
[6/1/14, 11:44:57 AM] Andre Ledoux: i'll keep u posted sorry for delay
[6/1/14, 11:45:02 AM] mikedegilio: alright thanks
[6/1/14, 2:00:36 PM] Andre Ledoux: HU tables are back
[6/1/14, 2:00:45 PM] mikedegilio: yep, i saw. thanks
[6/1/14, 2:00:56 PM] Andre Ledoux: welcome and srry

Andre then asked me to come to their office to join in on a company meeting. We threw some ideas around and talked about all of the issues. We then went out for dinner and drinks. I was promised that not only would all of my prior issues be looked into and taken care of, but I would also be compensated for taking the time to contribute and help them improve their site. Clearly, none of these things ever happened.
The Party crew was great, but very unprofessional. They spilled a lot of information about players. Who they were investigating for multi accounting and colluding, etc. They also told a story of a guy that played blackjack a ton. Apparently they set up their rewards system incorrectly for that game and instead of receiving 1 point for every $100 wagered, people were being rewarded 1 point for every $5 wagered. Something along those lines. Apparently he played a ton, got heaps of points, and was redeeming them for iPads and stuff. They told me that they cancelled his orders and removed the points from his account. I find this very absurd. If it were me in that situation, I'd be way too lazy to break down the math of how many points I'm receiving vs money lost and trying to see if it's a mess up. I would have just assumed their rewards system was sweet and just mindlessly played. I don't know if the guy was trying to take advantage of the system or was just a degen, but either way, I think taking those points back and not refunding him his losses at the actual game is pretty messed up. Who's to say his large volume wasn't 100% because of the rewards system and that he had no malicious intentions at all? Just figured I'd share that story, because I found it interesting.

Like I said in the beginning, Andre was fired in June. Shawn Manuola is now the head guy over there. So.. my interaction with Shawn..

He sends me an email asking me to join them in a meeting to help them brainstorm and come up with some ideas for the company and whatever. I emailed back telling him I am disgusted with Party and that he should take a look at my prior correspondence with them and resolve my 8 month old issue before requesting my help. He apologized and said he would absolutely have it looked into right away. 3 weeks goes by and I hear nothing. I send him another email asking for an update. 2 more weeks go by and I receive no response. I email him again. I then get 6 calls from a foreign number (how much do those cost me a minute?). The person barely speaks English, but tells me that Shawn had him call to resolve my case. He said they have no record of my issues and asked me to tell them everything all over again. I said absolutely not and I want to speak to Shawn. He told me that is not possible because Shawn asked him to take care of it. I hang up and email Shawn, pissed off about him trying to pass off his responsibility and ignoring my emails. So professional.. He then emails me back saying he is sorry and was not trying to pass off the responsibility. This was on a Friday. He asks me to meet with him and their front end manager Monday evening. He asks me what time works for me. I respond telling him that would be great and that I can meet from 5pm on. Monday comes and he never responds to me or follows through with this. I emailed him that night expressing my disgust. It is now Thursday and he has not responded to that email either...

I just wanted to show everyone what is really going on behind the scenes at this disgrace of a company. Not only are you able to see how unprofessional they are, but I wanted to give everyone proof of their blatant lies in public statements. If anyone has any questions, or mods want any copies of chat logs or anything like that, please feel free to shoot me a message.

Mike. I find your passion & intensity regarding why you feel the way you do very admirable. Nevertheless, for your peace of mind, I hope Andre wasn't let go in large part due to your encounters with him.

Geolocation & payout blunders are one thing, but colluding & or multi-accounting is what makes me weary.

As of late, I've grown suspicious that players are having their names changed. Again, I'm paranoid by nature so maybe I'm not the most credible person.

All I know is that if some people are creating an edge for themselves by cheating & taking angles , I'd like such behavior brought to the surface.

As for yourself, just b/c you said you quit Party Poker, doesn't mean you meant quit "forever." Thus, if you decide to come back, someone like me won't hold it against you. Swallow some pride, & get ur a-ss back on the site & have fun. Who gives a snap that you told all of NJ you quit Party Poker. Don't worry, us New Jerseyians are known for being full of sh-it anyhow.
So, come back & start cleaning tables out like you do. You don't have to be the voice forever. You said what you felt was necessary & now you can let time pass & soon you can fly under the radar again & just sit down & play the game you love & leave all this added anxiety behind you.

I think we tend complicate many aspects of life, & thus, what was once tended for enjoyment purposes turns out to be a subconsciously fabricated detailed horror show.

At the end of the day, the game is a blast

God i hope Stars gets it right when they come to NJ had no idea how bad it was.

Hello,

Just to acknowledge that we have seen this thread and that we are, and have, been working on a resolution to the issues brought up within it. We will revert back in the near future.

Best regards,
Party Rep

"Still, they force you off all tables while logging off, in order to retry locating you."

minor footnote but if you are using windows you can close the client with the task manager and when you log back in you go right back to your tables.

Thanks for sharing OP.

Everyone that has played a moderate amount of hands or tournaments, has had problems with Party and Borgata sites since the beginning.

We are almost 11 months into the experiment, Numerous players have said the same - they are frustrated to the point of abandoning the two sites.

However, we play on. Hoping that the problems will be corrected, or until a better option presents itself.

A high % of the time the software, the tournament payouts, the promised promotions and the cash games go on without incident. BUT .... when they do fail, and they have failed ..... a professional, well thought out, business response is in order. THAT HAS NOT HAPPENED - FOR MONTHS.

This is supposed to be the Open Forum promoted and paid for by PARTY. The Party and Borgata representatives have NEVER used it properly. It is understood that through all of the stumbles, the Party_Rep for New Jersey has had Zero decision making ability. The present Party_Rep is in no better position than his/her predecessors to answer any allegations:

OP has tried to resolve problems without the NJDGE investigating. Unfortunately, in his case he should utilize the option given to every player using the sites on the http://www.njdge.org/inquiriespatroncomplaints.html

Does Joe Lupo, Senior Vice President of the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa, the person at the top of the management chain know what is happening with his online poker sites? He should.

Yikes. Revert back to what? I was under the impression that things had generally improved, despite the problems still being encountered.

Please let Shawn know that i have been waiting outside of your hoboken office since monday and i really appreciate her no showing a meeting that she requested i be at. Stay classy.

Thank you for this information. I have alerted the DGE about the issues and have linked them to this thread. Please feel free to keep sharing your stories.

one hunter down a ton more to go

Sometimes this works for me, sometimes not. A lot of times i wind up with half the tables saying I am in NJ and the other Half not.

mbn to have food and drinks with team party. its a shame they aren't as serious about this business as we all would like them to be.

I really wanna know how hard is it to be party poker rep on this site? Pay me a little something and ill do it. Customer service should be as big a concern as your geo location problems.

The Problem is besides Ultimate. These companies outsource their customer service and you are talking to someone that can not locate NJ on a map

Another interesting tidbit that I missed in the OP..

[5/11/14, 10:59:51 AM] mikedegilio: hey, you here?
[5/11/14, 10:59:57 AM] Andre Ledoux: i am
[5/11/14, 11:00:11 AM] mikedegilio: what's up with the high roller comment on 2p2? totally contradicts what you told me
[5/11/14, 11:00:21 AM] Andre Ledoux: talk?
[5/11/14, 11:00:26 AM] Andre Ledoux: i can explain better verbally
[5/11/14, 11:00:38 AM] Andre Ledoux: if its here i need to go bet my headphones
[5/11/14, 11:00:39 AM] mikedegilio: can't at the moment
[5/11/14, 11:00:43 AM] Andre Ledoux: *get
[5/11/14, 11:00:48 AM] Andre Ledoux: ok lemme know when u have 5m
[5/11/14, 11:07:43 AM] mikedegilio: alright i can talk real quick
[5/11/14, 11:07:57 AM] Andre Ledoux: whats your #?
[5/11/14, 11:08:08 AM] mikedegilio: just do Skype voice?
[5/11/14, 11:08:21 AM] Andre Ledoux: have to get headphones 1 min pls
[5/11/14, 11:37:59 AM] mikedegilio: Call 29 minutes 13 seconds

When speaking with Andre, he explained what happened as this: He knew it was a screw up and he wanted to rectify the situation. This was clearly evidenced by the conversation I posted previously. He admitted there was a problem and it needed to be rectified. When speaking with bwin/party (not party nj, but the head guys for party worldwide), they at first acknowledged this. They told him to wait it out and see what becomes of it before dealing with it. Once the thread popped up on here and lots of people were complaining, Andre requested that something be done. He was told that nothing would be done at this time, and that they want to wait a few more days to see how the thread plays out. They said they felt like it could just blow over and people would forget about the mistake. This was the reason why they didn't make a public statement until days after everything happened. They then decided to deny any wrongdoing because they felt that not enough damage had been done to the company image to warrant wanting to compensate people for what they were entitled to.

Cliffs:

Party NJ tells Worldwide Party they made a mistake and players are owed compensation
WW Party says hold off and hopefully it just blows over
Days later WW Party makes official statement denying any wrongdoing after it being admitted that they did indeed make a mistake.

Nice cover up..

i left party 2 months ago for wsop, best decision ive made. party support is absolutely atrocious.

Party poker rep was never seen again the end

Yea, they have still done nothing to resolve any of this.

This stuff is a disgrace. It's interesting that this exchange proves that they do take the comments of players in the community with a degree of seriousness based on their attitudes of "let's see if it just blows over or if people are still complaining in x days." Awful people, awful product. The disconnects are still so common. Every time I'm playing a session party/borgata will just close down for no apparent reason in the midst of playing.

I feel your pain ! i had an issue with party support over a ticket I had in my account that I had earned and it up and vanished . contacted support and it took them 2 months to finally get back to me. then I had an issue with money
and it was a virtual NIGHTMARE to deal with these people , so bad in fact that
don't even deposit on the site anymore for fear of getting screwed and support not knowing how to solve the issue they are that bad !

To address what someone said about collusion and name changes. A person I know from Skype who maybe played 50k to 100k hands this year (not much) told me they emailed parties support and threatened them with leaving if they didn't change his user name. It's confirmed he is now under a different name. This makes sense as I see some regs completely disappear and new similar regs take their place. If this is the case it's quite atrocious unless everyone can do it.

Just received this message from a party poker representative:

Hi,
Please be advised that we have deleted your comments that contained the personal information of a representative of partypoker.

Please refrain from posting comments like "i have been waiting outside your office" (regardless of the context) as these can be interpreted as threats of violence. (also please note I am paraphrasing)


A bunch of people have been posting about their numerous issues, so I posted the contact information for the head person (number and email) so they could contact them and get something done about it. They are now threatening me about posting such information. This information was the footer of an email. They act like they reached out personally and gave me their personal information that was for my eyes only.

Oh yea, Shawn also asked me to come in for a meeting to resolve everything. She then no showed, so I made a post in here saying something along the lines of still waiting at the office for her to show. They are claiming that it is a threat and are removing all my posts.. I was INVITED to come to the office for a meeting. Outside of your minds. Keep trying to silence the people that are outing your joke of a company. I won't quit.

Wow those are some dirty, dirty moves by party. I'll be making absolute sure to tell every one I know who plays on party about all of this dirt. They would have been better not to do EVEN MORE things to upset you. Really gross and upsetting.

Thanks for keeping us all updated here

Bumping this in light of recent events. I find it hilarious that I refused to play for like 9 months, was bored yesterday and played the GSSS events, and was disconnected nonstop. Have screen shots of flopping sets and getting booted. Shame on me for giving them business again.

FWIW, to update the actual thread, Party has still not done a single thing about any of this. Having limited options is the only reason they get any business at all. They are a complete disgrace. I've never seen such a large company blatantly spit in the faces of their customers and continually get away with it. I can't wait to see them crash and burn when PS gets here, it's inevitable.

I feel your pain regarding the crashes.

Conversely, I can not seem to grasp how people can be a part of something for a lengthy period of time & not naturally have some feelings of loyalty toward that something.

Jkidd your thread is filled with such burning negativity. Thus, I'm assuming that's why the volume of feedback you've received has been rather minimal.

Most of us posses the loyalty mechanism. Some more than others quite obviously.

Yes party poker has their flaws, but they have been very helpful & compensating to many of their complaining players.

Again, I do respect your passion & energy , but I'm rather suspicious that your disloyalty to many business in your circle is similar to your disloyalty to party poker.

For most of us, we use party poker as our pastime & playground when were not fighting through our real lives. I love party poker & it's getting to the point where your beginning to make me feel the desires to defend my fun past time to a higher degree.

I'm not here for a controversy or verbal dispute by any means. I love all walks of life, but you may be crossing some of the genuine loyalists out there.

I'm rather surprised party poker let's you play anymore. Your not necessarily good for their business. I think we can agree on that.