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The core of the dispute is the player release form that is demanded by the WPT at the time that players enter one of their tournaments. It was the concern of the litigants that their signing of the forms, which control the use of their image at that event, might in fact violate or prejudice other activities or agreements which they have entered into in connection with varying endorsement and other deals conditional on their celebrity. If they refused to sign the release forms, the players would be excluded from future WPT events, and they claimed that based on terms of anti-trust law, this amounted to a violation of their rights.
The World Poker Tournament made a statement in which it commented on the settlement, in which it emphasized that while not constituting any from of admission of wrongdoing, the company still wished to resolve the matter.
Steve Lipscomb, the WPTE founder and CEO, has commented that while the WPTE will continue to deny any liability or wrongdoing, it does want to settle any differences with the players thus allowing the tour to focus on its continued growth instead of on litigation. He said that they would be glad to place the dispute behind them, and to look forward to working with all players so as to increase the sport of poker.
Chris Ferguson has described the settlement as being as fair for all poker players as possible. He says that the WPTE is happy to have reached an agreement that is equally fair to all players, and to have established a new release form that clears up certain ambiguities that previously existed in how players' images could be used. The WPTE he says, is especially pleased that this new release will be appropriate to all poker players who wish to partake in WPT tournaments and events. He also notes that the WPTE has in the past created some of the best poker events in the world, and that they are excited that these professional players will participate in them once again.
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