The Doyle Brunson – World Poker Tour dispute from last year (see previous reports) continues to attract the investigative interest of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States.
Media reports this week suggest that considerable pressure is being applied, including two attempts to subpoena Wallace Nakano who operates the online poker room that bears Brunson’s name. Nakano has refused to testify on technical grounds thus far. The reports say that the SEC subpoenas seek to uncover evidence in connection with its investigation of what it feels was a questionable bid for WPT in Brunson’s name.
Last July, the poker legend and an anonymous group of investors made an unsolicited bid to acquire the World Poker Tour for $700 million – almost twice the WPT’s market value at the time.
Brunson’s inflated bid led the WPT’s stock to skyrocket 66 percent the day the bid initiative was announced. But after the initial publicity, the bid was allowed to expire in such a manner that irate investors and speculators complained to the SEC, which commenced an investigation last December focusing on Brunson and his online poker site Doyles Room.com.
Industry observers say that the investigation is examining whether Brunson overstepped security laws with his highly-publicised bid, and whether he employed deceptive tactics in exchanging securities or made false statements in regard to the offer.
Two subpoenas have so far been served on Nakano, but his legal representatives have said that he has no intention of testifying because the subpoenas were incorrectly served and were thus invalid.