Melanie, I appreciate and respect you being the first Lock pro to speak publicly about this matter. I agree with those expressing the sentiment that you shouldn't be singled out for all of the venom simply because you're the only one willing to respond.
However, I am disappointed to say that your post, while long and covering a multitude of topics, is extremely flawed and reads like an affirmation of recent Lock propaganda.
First off, much of your post focuses on the controversy of you selling pieces in the Marketplace while representing Lock. You complained that people were inappropriate in confronting you there, and insisted that your reputation in the Marketplace has been impeccable. But here's a news flash for you, Melanie:
Nobody cares about the Marketplace. That's not what this is about. People confronted you there because it was the only way to get your attention to this issue -- something you were apparently ignoring for quite a long time. I guarantee that most people wouldn't bother you in the Marketplace if they felt you were making a good faith effort to get to the bottom of the shadiness at Lock. Instead, you appeared to be practicing avoidance, so people confronted you in a place where it would be hard for you to continue ignoring the matter.
Now let's get to the more important issue: Lock itself.
Here is your explanation as to why you are not leaving Lock:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Callisto 5
No pro in his/her ethical right mind should spend years promoting a site, signing their friends and peers up through it, and then decide to peace out when issues arise and the going gets tough. I personally feel responsible for encouraging many players to join the site, and the other pros and I feel that we have a responsibility to all those players who signed up under us in good faith, making it unacceptable to abandon our responsibilities here rather than work to improve the situation.
The above paragraph is self-righteous nonsense.
Your "responsibilities" at Lock are simply to promote them and to attract new players based upon your reputation. You do not work there in a customer service or player advocate capacity. You do not have access to sensitive company information. Simply put, customer service is not your job, nor have you made any attempt in your nearly two years at Lock to assist players during the countless scandals that occurred on the site.
Indeed, even you admit that you have no power there:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Callisto 5
The pro team is mostly part of marketing and not involved in any important financial transactions or operations with regards to assets.
Absolutely true.
Your only power to improve the situation involves laying down a public ultimatum to Lock to either come completely clean, or you're walking. Either way, it improves the situation. If they come clean, the players win (or at least they will know the true situation). If you walk, it makes a powerful statement to Lock -- and the poker world as a whole -- that the site is so shady that one of their pros walked away and gave up a lucrative sponsorship in disgust.
You are not exercising this power because you want (or need) the money.
When you wear a Lock patch and appear as a pro on their website, it clearly says, "I, Melanie Weisner support Lock Poker and endorse it as a great and safe place to play."
People see your face on the website, or perhaps read your tweets, and say to themselves, "Well, I respect Melane's intelligence and judgment. She's a grinder like me. If she recommends Lock, it's got to be a great place to play!"
You talk about concern for your friends. Would you recommend to your friends to deposit money on Lock right now? What about your mother? Would you want her depositing money on Lock? If the answer is NO, then you are doing a disservice to your friends and fans by steering them toward an obviously shady site.
Moving along...
You claim that your goal with Lock right now is to get some honest answers:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Callisto 5
Our primary concern is getting answers to the cashout issues, especially in more of a concrete fashion than "they will improve."
However, you then go on to post a collection of grossly untrue and misleading Lock propaganda, which was likely spoonfed to you in Portugal by Jennifer herself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Callisto 5
Now, the pros aren't and won't be privy to the specific financials of Lock, but do know for sure that Lock, as an American-facing site, faces a lot of behind-the-scenes issues with processing (not to mention the latest transfer issues, which I can confirm are 100% a true issue and have been for some time) and volume limitations on said processing, as one might expect.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Callisto 5
Pros have been told that a lot of the cashout issues have been resolved in the wake of the resolution of money laundering and the abuse of the transfers. As of today, we have been told that Skrill cashouts will return to what they were (1-2 weeks) for ROW. We have been told that this will return to normal by June. We've also been told that playthrough requirements will be fixed and communicated properly. This post here reinforces Lock's focus on improvement rather than promotion.
Ugh. Where do I start?
How can you confirm that the latest transfer issue (i.e. the refusal to cash anyone out who had EVER received a transfer) is an "100% true issue"? What does that even mean? Are you saying that Lock has a valid reason for canceling clearly innocent people's cashouts?
You talk about the "behind-the-scenes-issues with processing", and how that somehow affects non-US players just because Lock also serves Americans. That's a complete lie. That is Lock's excuse so they can explain why they aren't paying non-US players for several months, when all other sites (including US-facing ones) manage to get it done within hours or days. You claim it's because of legitimate issues with processing, but in reality it's because Lock is broke.
You throw around terms like "money laundering" and "abuse of the transfers", as if either has been a real problem with Lock's active players. Not a single one of the myriad of longtime Lock players complaining on 2+2 is a money launderer or transfer abuser. Not one. These are all dedicated grinders
like you who play poker for a living, and just want their rightfully-owed money. Lock has stolen their money and accused them of criminal behavior.
Even if there is money laundering and so-called transfer abuse, this should be incredibly easy to determine without affecting a single innocent party. I could teach a 9-year-old how to look at an account's history and determine whether it is a legitimate player or someone receiving transfers just to cash out. It has been two weeks since these issues have been brought to light, and not a single person has been made whole. It would take all of 5 minutes to clear these falsely-accused people, many of whom were already waiting months for their cashouts. For you to dismiss these issues as "money laundering" and "transfer abuse" shows a completely cavalier attitude and naivete as to what is really going on.
The rest of your passage above begins every sentence with "We have been told". Exactly. You've been told. The person "telling" you and the other Lock pros is a habitual liar and scammer, whose only goal is to stretch out this disgusting Ponzi scheme for as long as possible.
Jennifer Larson and the rest of the Lock management team has ZERO credibility at this point. You can talk about the improvement of Skrill cashouts "by June" (why not immediately?) and the supposed proper communication of transfer playthrough requirements. These are all empty promises, and are designed to buy time. By your own admission, you have no visibility into knowing if any of these are true. Jennifer is telling you to wait another 1-2 months and everything will get better. How often did we hear that same song and dance from Shane, Rizen, and others at Lock, only to see things get WORSE, not better?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Callisto 5
Bottom line-- we've been given some concrete timeframes at this point and we're with the players here expecting to see results based on those timeframes. If Lock can make progress here, we feel that the ship can be righted.
Okay, so you've been given some concrete timeframes. Then what? Do you promise to resign if Skrill cashouts are not moving at a 1-2 week pace by June 1? Do you promise to quit Lock and publicly denounce them if they don't immediately fix this transfer-cashout fiasco and reverse the incorrect cancellations?
It sounds to me like you're just telling us to wait and see if Lock is keeping its promises, without any promise of action on your part if they don't.
I'm guessing that this is not an accidental omission, but rather leaving yourself an out to worm your way out of this commitment, blaming it on the DOJ or payment processors some other nefarious enemy of poker.
By the way, "the ship can be righted" is a great description of what Jennifer is trying to do. She's hoping that, given enough time and stalling, enough deposits will roll in between now and June so she can pay out a few players and make it look like cashouts are working again. This will then instill confidence into a lot of Lock's critics, which will translate to more deposits, and all of a sudden, the problem will appear to go away.
Except it won't. Because Lock still won't have the vast majority of the money they claim to have on deposit.
Why don't you and the other Lock pros demand that Lock hire a respected third-party company to audit their accounts and confirm that the player money is there? You don't think this action is warranted at this point? Or do you just not want to know the answer?
If you and the "other pros" are serious about getting to the bottom of this, get a hold of me, ChicagoRy, raidalot, JimAfternoon, or any of the other vocal Lock critics who can give you a list of relevant questions to ask your boss.
Otherwise, you are just paying lip service to a situation you either barely understand or displaying willful ignorance.
I look forward to your response.