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Thread: Aruba Poker Players Championship likely a ponzi scheme -- owners Bryan Oulton and Sandy Swarzbaugh are non-responsive

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    Aruba Poker Players Championship likely a ponzi scheme -- owners Bryan Oulton and Sandy Swarzbaugh are non-responsive

    This does not look good guys. Not sure if I can post a link to another site here:

    http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29...cheme-1643662/

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    I can most say with a fairly high level of certainty that, yes, the Aruba Poker Players Championship is/was a scam and a ponzi scheme.

    Here are the cliffs of the 2+2 thread posted above:

    - There used to be a yearly tournament in Aruba sponsored by UB. This obviously fell apart when UB died, but two guys (Bryan Oulton & Sandy Swartzbaugh) started up a new tournament series called the Poker Players Championship to replace it.

    - Eventually, as many as 14 other casinos were running PPC tournaments. All were in the eastern US. Even Harrah's North Kansas City was running PPC events.

    - The PPC employed various people, including bloggers, journalists, and tournament staff members. Many of these people were slow-paid for various sums of money, including many small debts under $500.

    - Many of the PPC events in the US involved satellites to the big Aruba tournament. While regular events had their money handled by the casinos where they took place (meaning the PPC couldn't steal it), satellites pay the tour operator (PPC), trusting that the event will actually take place.

    - These satellite prizes also included travel expenses, which was to be reimbursed upon the player showing up to Aruba.

    - This is the 5th year of the PPC. Each year, they have had an odd payout situation where the winners are only paid $10,000 maximum on the spot, and then are paid 15-20 days later back in the US. This obviously sounds very shady, but the excuse was the fact that you have to declare more than $10k cash brought back into the US, as well as their claim that it took 2-3 weeks to move the buyin money out of Aruba "due to Aruban law".

    - Starting in 2015 (and perhaps earlier), the top winners in the even were slow-paid when back in the US. The winner, Vincent Fiorenza, apparently took months to receive the full $106k he won. However, Fiorenza supposedly only complained privately to friends, and never went public about it. This is not verified, but I believe it.

    - It all came crashing down this year. The tournament took place in November 2016. The top 7 did not get paid more than $10k. Apparently they did pay the full $10,600 to Jose Montes (8th place), probably because it was so close to $10k. (This would seem to contradict their claim that they never pay more than $10k, though!) Everyone 9th and below also got paid, including Charder who cashed for $9k: http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=376423 ... However, first place (Stephen Deutsch) was $133k, and apparently was not paid yet more than $10k, nor were any of the other top 7 finishers.

    - Players were stalled as usual, but it's been 1 1/2 months, and nobody has been paid further.

    - On November 21, Sandy (one of the owners) sent out a Facebook message looking for "investors" into the PPC. This was 2 weeks AFTER the event was complete, and people still hadn't been paid:

    Andy,

    Hope all is well. Need to get you back to Aruba next year.

    Based on our growth, we have an opportunity we wanted to send your way.

    The PPC Poker Tour just wrapped up its most successful season yet.
    PPC Poker Tour - Season 4 (2016)

    * 30 events
    * 10 states
    * 5th annual PPC Aruba World Championship
    * 2016 PPC Aruba Main Event prize pool - $554,743

    As we move into 2017, our 5th tour season, we are at an exciting point of critical mass that will be take the tour from 30 stops nationwide to 50 in 2017, followed by 100 total in 2018. We will also be adding 2 additional scaled down Aruba events as well leading into our PPC Aruba World Championship in October of 2017. In addition, we are in talks with some high-end sponsors to become the "Title Sponsor" of the tour for years to come.

    We are currently looking for our 2nd round of funding to take us to the next level. Investors that join our team will be coming in during our largest growth spurt to date. It's time that we take that big step to be the
    largest poker tour in the world when it comes to overall stops.

    For the first time since inception in 2010, we will be offering up to 50% equity in the PPC and are looking for a few new investors to push us to the next level. We both feel the time is right to bring on some new partners.

    If you'd like us to send over more details, forward your email and we'll send our investment options next week.

    Thanks again and wishing you a great holiday season.

    Sincerely,
    Sandy Swartzbaugh
    Commissioner - PPC Poker Tour
    sandy@ppcpokertour.com
    Twitter: @ppcpokertour
    Office: 954.773.8086

    - Sandy Swartzbaugh and Bryan Oulton have since deleted their Twitter accounts, after initially blocking anyone asking them questons about the situation. They are deleting messages on the PPC's Facebook page asking about the money. They are not answering to anyone, but are receiving Facebook communications.

    - Many reports have since surfaced on 2+2 regarding shady behavior of both owners.

    - Even PFA Radio's friendly "competition" (Mark Hoke) was apparently a victim. He was hired as a reporter for a subsequent PPC Event (Marlyand Live! Champion of Champions), where Sandy and Mike apparently ducked out early and vanished, likely due to heat regarding owing all kinds of money to people. (They claimed they were going to a Ravens football game, and never came back.) This was posted on 2+2 regarding Hoke, by a guy named Richard Hebert, who once worked at Maryland Live as a tournament director:

    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Hebert
    On day two of the $75k GTD, I approached their blogger (Mark Hoke) and asked why he drew the short straw. He looked at me confused, and asked what I was talking about.

    I responded "Well, Bryan and Sandy are headed to the Ravens/Dolphins game, looks like you are here running the whole show! Who's cheerio's did you piss in buddy?"

    Mark slammed both fists on the table and yelled out a few foul words, followed by the statement, "Those motherfuckers are dodging me, goddamn them! I haven't been paid since before Aruba! My rent is due, my electricity is about to be cut off in Vegas, and they're just jerking around having a good goddamn time with my money!" (this is about as close as I remember it. Maybe the curse words are out of order, but you get the point)

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    Here are Sandy Swartzbaugh and Bryan Oulton (left and right, respectively. The guy sitting is a tournament winner.)


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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    I'm amazed at how stupid some poker players are.

    While I'm not sure how many knew they wouldn't get more than $10k on the spot, those that knew it should have raised red flags immediately.

    In fact, even if people got paid in prior years, they should have raised a red flag on this situation.

    First off, the reason for not paying people on the spot ("$10k cash limit to be brought back to the states") is garbage. You can bring whatever you want, but just have to declare it. This is the player's problem, and not the tour's problem, so the players should always be paid in full unless they request otherwise. There are countless foreign tours, and the PPC Aruba is the only tour where people were only paid a maximum of $10k on the spot. How did smart, experienced tournament pros like Charder fall for this line of crap?

    Second, even if they're blaming the government of Aruba for the long delay (authorizing the movement of the money from the casino in Aruba to the tour in the US), how do they explain how the previous incarnation of the tour (when it was affiliated with UB) paid people in full on the spot? Nobody bothered to ask this?

    Did anyone even bother to approach the casino and ask if there was any law preventing them from being paid on the spot?

    It sounds to me like these were likable conmen (everyone kept posting how they were "chill guys" and "really nice" -- just like most scammers), and nobody wanted to ask these tough questions about this ridiculous, non-standard situation.

    If I knew about this "pay $10k now, get the rest later in the US in a few weeks" nonsense, I would have cried foul about this long ago.

    Instead, we had to wait until people got scammed for this nonsensical payout scheme to be made public.

    There really is a sucker born every minute.

    I feel sorry for the victims, especially the ones who didn't know they wouldn't be paid on the spot. Imagine winning $133k in a live tournament, only to learn later you'll never see $123k of it.

    Still, if you ever see any weird, non-standard behavior from any poker tournament which isn't fully backed by a major casino in the US, you need to run the other way.

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    One other thing I should point out.

    Unless you own the venues where these tournament take place (or unless the venue agrees to let you run it there for free), the profit margins on these poker tours is pretty low.

    If you have to pay for bloggers and other extraneous employees, the profit margins are even lower, or perhaps even disappear.

    If you are paying for travel expenses for satellite winners (unless these travel expenses are built into the prize pool of the satellites), those profit margins get even lower.

    And if you want to live an extravagant lifestyle on the earnings through the above, you're not going to be able to, and will likely find yourself tempted to find ways to steal or "borrow from" the prize money if you're a piece of shit and lack morals.

    Basically there are only three ways to run a highly profitable poker tour:

    1) Own the venue, like the WSOP does

    2) Make money through media partnerships, like the WPT does/did

    3) Arrange favorable deals with the venues and manage everything properly from a business standpoint, like Pokerstars/EPT does/did


    These fly-by-night "poker tours" will finish in the red (or barely make any money) if they're simply renting space or splitting proceeds with the venues, and then paying their own expenses.

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    Also, with most of the players (presumably) being ones who satellited in, how did these guys even explain why all the cash was stuck in Aruba?

    Satellited players' buyins were still in the owners' coffers in the US the whole time. There wasn't money to be moved.

    Just amazes me what stupid lines poker players will fall for, provided they think "the games are good".

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    both owners twitter accounts were deleted in the last 24-48 hours and seems that they are scrapping their website as well...

    hope these guys get a little chocolate lovin' behind bars...

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    One Percenter Pooh's Avatar
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    You've got the midget Hercules and the guy who ate all the profits right there folks.

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    Weird... Bryan Oulton's father killed his mom in 2010 with a mallet.

    The reason he stated?

    She was "interfering with Bryan's poker tour".

    http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/br...924-story.html

    Too bad she isn't still alive. Perhaps some more interference would have prevented this.

    I wonder if she saw him doing shady things back then, gave him a hard time about it, and his dad freaked out and beat her to death with a mallet.

    Florida, everyone.

     
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      Shizzmoney: fucking Florida

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    One Percenter Pooh's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
    Weird... Bryan Oulton's father killed his mom in 2010 with a mallet.

    The reason he stated?

    She was "interfering with Bryan's poker tour".

    http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/br...924-story.html

    Too bad she isn't still alive. Perhaps some more interference would have prevented this.

    I wonder if she saw him doing shady things back then, gave him a hard time about it, and his dad freaked out and beat her to death with a mallet.

    Florida, everyone.
    With all due respect, look in the mirror sir. You live in the most socialist state in the world. I'll take a mallet to the head to your politics any day of the week. You're so embarrassed you can't even vote because you know it means shit.

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    Gold Shizzmoney's Avatar
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    Bardah and Massey used to be some of the pros that would play in the Foxwoods PPC events. Thanks to the fail owners, not a good look for them

    Here is a quick list of all properties that ran PPC events in 2016 that have patrons probably affected by the reimbursement:

    Foxwoods
    Maryland Live
    Tampa Bay Downs
    The Isle Pompano Park
    Tampa Greyhound Track
    Daytona Beach Kennel Club
    Ho-Chuck Gaming Wisconsin
    Naples/Ft Myers Greyhound
    Horseshoe Tunica
    St. Croix Casino Turtle Lake
    Magic City Casino Miami
    Playground Poker Club
    Horseshoe Council Bluffs
    Harrah's North Kansas City
    Last edited by Shizzmoney; 12-25-2016 at 03:00 PM.
    http://www.miraclecovers.com

    "Donk down, that’s what you say to someone after they have lost 28K straight?" - Phil Hellmuth, online

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    met this sandy guy a cpl years playing some cash and joked around with him. He went on a hilarious rant how much he hates his job dealing with casino stooges all the time, I massively LMAO

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    Can't blame Bardah or Massey at all for this... unless they knew something before the rest of us did (which I've seen no evidence as such).

    I don't like Massey. He was a dick to me at a WSOP table. However, he has never been accused of any dishonest or scammy behavior, and has a good reputation as far as I know.

    I like Ronnie Bardah. Friendly, upbeat guy, and never been part of any scandal.

    Looks like they just took a job with a crappy poker tour.

     
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      thesidedish: I like massey, he's just a smartass

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    Anyone who won a 2017 satellite seat in one of the US based casinos, I would suggest you approach the casino and demand cash for the full value of the package, including travel.

    They have reduced their website down to a placeholder at this point: http://ppcpokertour.com/

    Between that, the deleted Twitter, and the countless stories/posts on the web about the scam that was the 2016 Aruba PPC, it's clear that this thing isn't happening. Even if it does, nobody should be expected to want to play in it (after all, you probably won't get paid if you win!)

    The casinos running PPC events (such as Maryland Live) bear some responsibility here. While they probably have limited (or no) liability for what occurs at the Aruba PPC, they do have the requirement to make sure the prize you're awarded on their property is indeed redeemable. In this case, it is not.

    If they refuse, you should contact the gaming commission overseeing the casino immediately, as well as threaten to take this to the media.

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    Bronze Game Protect's Avatar
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    Everyone could check within 20 minutes that you have to report the export of more than US $11,000 to the custom in Aruba, that is all.

    The satelites played at casinos in the US had terms and conditions. Check the terms and conditions...

    Was the PPC a "satelite only" live tournament or were players able to pay the buy in at the cashier of the casino? Usually the casino who perfom the main event collect the buy ins, announce the prizes and pays the prizes. There might be a liability of the casino in Aruba. Might be worth to check.

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Game Protect View Post
    Everyone could check within 20 minutes that you have to report the export of more than US $11,000 to the custom in Aruba, that is all.

    The satelites played at casinos in the US had terms and conditions. Check the terms and conditions...

    Was the PPC a "satelite only" live tournament or were players able to pay the buy in at the cashier of the casino? Usually the casino who perfom the main event collect the buy ins, announce the prizes and pays the prizes. There might be a liability of the casino in Aruba. Might be worth to check.
    Good point. I wonder if anyone called the casino about this yet and questioned why THEY didn't pay the prize.

    Unless players agreed in advance to allow Bryan and Sandy pay them, I agree this seems like they may be liable.

    I mentioned on radio that the players may also have remedy by complaining to Hilton corporate, as the tournament took place at the Hilton in Palm Beach, Aruba. It's probably a franchise, but corporate can still assert standards and pressure upon it.

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    They also gave 4 free seats to the 2016 Aruba event to 4 DJs during some satellite event promo: http://ppcpokertour.com/2016/04/20/3...cc-ppcseason4/

    Pretty easy to give away "free" seats when you never actually contribute the money to the prizepool.

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    Silver AhoosierA's Avatar
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    Looks like they've been hit with a lawsuit

    https://www.pokernews.com/news/2017/...rder-26695.htm

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    I'm friends with Mark Hoke and have asked him if he would come on the Fraud show to talk about this. He said he would entertain the idea once he has permission from his attorney to speak about it publicly.

     
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      LarryLaffer: only if we can do ASS PUSSY MOUTH segment
      
      Dan Druff: let me know if/when he can

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AhoosierA View Post
    Looks like they've been hit with a lawsuit

    https://www.pokernews.com/news/2017/...rder-26695.htm
    Good to see the suit also involves Maryland Live!

    They should be forced to cough up. at the very least, the full value of the packages won for 2017.

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