Poker pro Gordon Vayo decided to file a lawsuit against Rational Entertainment Enterprises Limited (REEL) in May 2018, alleging that the parent company’s PokerStars brand had stopped him from cashing out winnings from a poker tournament that took place in May the previous year. The pro claimed the site was illegally holding on to his prize money of $692,000. It seems the brand has now found that Vayo forged documents in the case and have now filed a countersuit for $280,000.
Vayo decided to drop the suit against PokerStars a short time ago after the lawyers for the poker room presented evidence in court regarding bank statements that had been forged along with fake internet service bills. Earlier this month, REEL decided to sue Vayo for $280,000 in a countersuit, claiming that his bad faith conduct allows the brand to seek monies to pay for attorneys’ fees.
As soon as REEL was able to determine that forged documents were involved in Vayo’s case and confronted him about it, the poker pro decided to dismiss his case and his original lawyer resigned. REEL was able to obtain information from a third party involving Vayo’s internet and bank records, learning that they had been altered and a forger had been used to create documents that gave the impression that the pro was in Canada when he participated in a SCOOP event in May 2017.
The original case by Vayo was suing PokerStars for prize money, with the pro stating that he was in Canada when he played. PokerStars had determined he was in California and had used a mobile device to access the site and compete, using a Canadian mobile internet provider to trick the brand via the IP address.
Now, Vayo is paying for his actions by being sued by PokerStars. It will be interesting to see the outcome of this case and if Vayo will have to pay up now that PokerStars is taking action against him.
About the Author
