{"id":27174,"date":"2021-04-03T17:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-03T22:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/?p=27174"},"modified":"2021-03-29T05:31:12","modified_gmt":"2021-03-29T10:31:12","slug":"what-ever-happened-to-chris-ferguson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/what-ever-happened-to-chris-ferguson\/","title":{"rendered":"What Ever Happened To Chris \u201cJesus\u201d Ferguson?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chris “Jesus” Ferguson was one of the most prominent people during the early days of the poker boom. He was one of the key figures behind Full Tilt Poker<\/a>, a name that still lives in the memories of players all over the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although he’s today a pariah of the community,\nthe man nicknamed “Jesus” for his trademark long hair was once a\nfavorite among players and poker fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ferguson has always demonstrated a unique\npassion for the game, and his mathematical background helped him create a\nrather impressive career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His calm and composed demeanor at the tables\nand his desire to bring poker to the masses made him very popular in the 2000s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, his involvement with Full Tilt – the\nthing he was so proud of – would turn out to be his demise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the events of Black Friday in April of 2011, Chris Ferguson failed to take responsibility or even offer a sincere apology for possibly the biggest scandal in online poker history.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The poker community would never forgive this,\nand for a good reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the sudden closure of Full Tilt was just\nan inconvenience for some, many players had their entire bankrolls locked up on\nthe site. Their livelihood was at stake and their futures looked very\nuncertain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, Ferguson and others didn’t seem very\nsympathetic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly after Black Friday, “Jesus”\npretty much disappeared from public life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once a very prominent figure and a regular staple of shows such as Poker After Dark<\/a><\/em> and High Stakes Poker<\/a><\/em>, Ferguson was pretty much gone without a trace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what really happened to Chris Ferguson\nafter the Full Tilt fiasco? What\u2019s he been up to, and is he trying to claw his\nway back inside the poker community?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Settlement<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Chris
Image: YouTube<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When Full Tilt went under, players focused\nmostly on what would happen next in terms of their money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it became clear that the room didn’t have\nplayer funds, it created a big fuss in the community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one knew what would come next, and many\npeople had tens, and even hundreds of thousands locked away on the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the public mostly focusing on the bigger\npicture, the people responsible for the fiasco were focused on protecting their\nown interests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris \u201cJesus\u201d Ferguson was one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although he was no longer one of the top people\nin Full Tilt in 2011, the DOJ still found evidence that he was at least\npartially aware of what was happening and did nothing to prevent it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first order of business was to avoid any\ncriminal persecution as those charges could actually involve prison time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, in 2013, Ferguson managed to reach a\nsettlement with the DOJ, forfeiting all funds in the infamous \u201cFerguson\nAccount\u201d and agreed to pay over $2.3 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a part of the settlement, Ferguson had also\nagreed to give up on any potential monetary claims he had against Full Tilt. Before\nits lights went out, he calimed the room owed him millions in remunerations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, \u201cJesus\u201d did have to pay some money, but no\none knows exactly how much money was in the mysterious account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was much more important is that the\nsettlement made it clear that he admitted to no wrongdoing in the whole\nscandal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although poorer, he was a free man and no\nlonger had to worry about the DOJ coming after him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Much Was Ferguson To Blame for Full Tilt Fiasco?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To this day, it remains unclear how big\nFerguson’s responsibility was in the Full Tilt scandal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to him, he was unaware of what was\nhappening behind the scenes but he did admit that he was at fault for not being\nmore involved and paying more attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, Ferguson has tried to reintegrate\ninto the poker community, and in 2018, he published a short video (which has\nbeen removed since). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The video was an apology of sorts. But for many\nthis was way too little, way too late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Chris Ferguson nominated for Apology of the Year by Global Poker Awards! pic.twitter.com\/eXyTU3WKe2<\/a><\/p>— Pokerlolz (@pokerlolz) March 22, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote>