Is there any hope for players? Probably not.
Poker players burned by the recently reported closure of Jao Poker, an early stage, US-facing start-up online poker operator fronted by an energetic promoter and poker player named Tam Nguyen, can hardly say they were not warned.
Forums and online poker media publications have been flagging the potential dangers of using the operator for months, noting questionable online payment processing, obscure software, a Ponzi-like multi-level marketing strategy and a scheme that charged affiliates a fee for the privilege of working with the operator!
Nguyen himself appears to have been a combative marketer/communicator, not averse to attacking critics and players in the most abusive terms – never a good indicator for a supposedly professional business person.
In more recent times the player complaints have started to reflect payment difficulties, even using cyber currency, culminating in this week’s events which included an email allegedly from Nguyen advising the immediate closure of the enterprise…with little indication that players would be paid what they are owed.
“If we have any updates on Jaopoker and members poker balances we will let you know in the communitypokerchat,” the mail says, leaving players hanging.
Nguyen also took to social media, using Facebook to advise interested parties:
“I don’t have anyone’s money. I didn’t own the site. Jao is like any other business. You do well and thrive or try to do well and still fail. For those who joined the ride it was good while it lasted.”
Fortunately, Jao was not in business long enough to amass a significant player base. That’s perhaps just as well, because the site claimed that it was licensed in Cambodia, which doesn’t bode well for any official licensing intervention.