Hi all,


The PPA Board was informed late last week that Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson were choosing to step down from the PPA Board. This is now official, so I can share it with you: http://theppa.org/about/board.

This seems like it can only be good

I agree with this decision. Now play the players FTP.

Why were they on the board in the first place?

PPA lol

Great decision.

We're doing our part.

Did either of them give a statement as to their decision to step down?

didnt know they were on the ppa board. No wonder the ppa sucks. How much money did they steal

y u no legalise online poker

About time. Having FTP owners on the board of the PPA was a conflict of interest from day 1.

Also, FWIW this means Skall and I control 33% of the Board seats.

So they are still hiding from the public lol

I assume they felt some pressure, great public move by the PPA, congrats.

Long overdue and welcome change.

Needed change.

Thanks

I don't know, would of been nice to have a rep in the prison system imo.

who cares? they aren't important to poker, and neither is the ppa

why?

I'm sorry is that supposed to be a good thing? You seem to be fair when asked a tough question. The other guy is very defensive and petty in the face of even slight criticism, at times it seems as thats the only responses he gives. Those types of back and forth need to stop if you want to be taken seriously and grow your base moving forward. It makes the whole ppa look bad and is a contributing factor in my choice not on join or contribute. You have a lot of work to do to regain your base, and make up for lost time peddleing others interests.

Good in that it's probably the correct decision for the PPA going forward. As far as the prospects for us getting our money from Tilt, I'm not sure I like what this move signifies from FTP. Was probably inevitable tho with the pressure they have to be feeling following yesterday's non announcement.

I would guess it's because they were two widely recognized pros who also happened to be part owners of the second biggest poker site servicing the U.S. market. Up until Black Friday their interests in a regulated and open US online poker market were fairly aligned with poker players' interest and they had alot of money to throw at the collective goal. Obviously, as this move signifies, our current interests may no longer be so closely aligned.

Brooks54 lol...say what u will but I think it would be hard to argue that the PPA isn't a net positive for us players. I don't think the same can be said of these "background noise" posts that have been filling the forums lately.

Public communication is a separate issue than board membership.

Skall and TE may do things you disagree with, but they have never done anything to indicate that they wont put players interests first. Its a big step in the right direction.

Was this a paying job, if so it was the greatest double dip ever

What did they bring to the board, Howard was a pro poker player before he was a pro poker player right? And Chris has some educational background that may have qualified him but was it relevant to be on the board here? Look at the remaining board members; lawyer, lawyer, D.C insider, former senator, and Linda Johnson a poker industry insider.

Sure Howard and Chris had controlling interest in FTP, but if they ran the day to day operations of FTP it would be clear they failed on multiple fronts, making for bad board members. And it would be redundant to have three poker players/ industry insiders on the board imo. And if they had money to give, just donate it like everyone else. They stood to make a killing if Ipoker had been regulated before black friday, and still may if we ever get legislation passed, so of coarse they wanted to help the PPA, as most players want the same goal.

Your assumption may be right, but hope they were not on the board just because they owned FTP and were rich.

WTF @ this post.

First off, are you saying Linda Johnson was more deserving of a spot on the board than Howard and Chris? That's completely ridiculous. Who cares if she's an "industry insider", so are like 50 people on 2p2.

The bottom line is that having educated, well spoken, rich, famous(for poker) people on the board is good for the exposure of the PPA. If the board were just 8 random ass lawyers nobody had ever heard of it would have been harder for them to get new members.

Many things can be said of the direction the PPA took, and whether Howard/Chris has much to do with that as PPA Board members, but I don't see anything wrong with them being members anymore than I do anyone else really.

I don't disagree that, from an exposure stand point Howard and Chris would be +EV. But I was talking about the running of the operations of the PPA which I would think Linda would be more qualified than those two.

If you wanted exposure why would the PPA not attempt to make Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, or Daniel Negreanu board members. And do you really think the board members are the ones that draw members? Make Howard or Chris a spokesperson not a board member.

And if the 50 people on 2+2 have the same business experience that she has then they, imo, would be equally qualified, but I assume they do not as she has been around for a long time.

And you really don't think that people with a huge stake in FTP don't stand to benefit more than the other members of the board if Ipoker was legalized?