- Gordon was a prominent part of the Full Tilt Poker team - according to his Wikipedia profile, Gordon was part of a group that helped to design the Full Tilt Poker software. Gordon had a background in computer science and did very well for himself after the start-up that he was a part of, Netsys Technologies, was acquired by Cisco Systems.
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Phil Gordon is a professional poker player, author, and commentator, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Phil Gordon is one of the most recognizable faces from the poker world and especially from the TV era during the ‘poker boom’. Gordon has achieved enormous things over the past 20 years. After earning his degree in computer science at Georgia Institute of Technology, he went on to become a millionaire during the internet boom of the 90′s.
Mayor Phil Gordon
Phil Gordon incorporated Strategic Technical Services LLC (STS) in 2010 as a small group of highly specialized engineers providing support for the U. S. Navy’s Fleet Ballistic Missile Program via the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Crane Indiana. He has steadily grown STS since that time, establishing a virtual company with employees located across the United States working for commercial, aerospace, and Federal customers on projects from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, to the Kodiak Launch Complex in Kodiak, Alaska.
From 2000 to 2010, Mr. Gordon consulted to several large engineering firms engaged in supporting DoD agencies, primarily on strategic programs for the Navy and Missile Defense Agency. A primary area of interest and technology implementation for these customers was the development of capabilities to assemble component and subsystem models from various government contractors that used diverse engineering platforms into larger-scale models useful for in-service engineering investigations and product improvement initiatives.
From 1996 to 2000, Mr. Gordon was the Vice President of Engineering for a large composite product design and manufacturing company. His focus at that time was on the design and development of the first automated automotive test fixtures using carbon fiber structures with embedded sensors, robotic handling capabilities, and data export to statistical process control systems. These test fixtures were used by first-tier component manufacturers to take precise in-process measurements. The technologies that Mr. Gordon developed were patented and represented a quantum leap forward in product quality assessments for these clients and their customers as they were the first commercially available test fixtures able to achieve automotive industry reliability and repeatability standards.
Prior to this time, Mr. Gordon worked for the Naval Avionics Center for 12 years as a project manager of a team that designed and manufactured support equipment for the Fleet Ballistic Missile System. He came to the Naval Avionics Center after working for a consumer electronics manufacturing company that was entering the cellular mobile phone marketplace, where he developed his first patented product designs.
After being included in a class-action lawsuit filed against Full Tilt Poker last month, Phil Gordon immediately went to work to clear his name from any illegal activity involving the embattled company. He hired Maurice Suh of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher of Los Angeles to press a civil suit filed by a group of poker players seeking the return of $150 million in funds frozen in U.S. players’ accounts on the site.
This week, Gordon was dismissed with prejudice as a defendant in the case after his legal representatives argued that Gordon “never participated in any management decisions or operational roles at Full Tilt.” Gordon was cleared of any fraud and money laundering allegations.
“I have always held myself to the highest standards of conduct,” Gordon said in a statement. “As part of that, I have repeatedly emphasized that Full Tilt should repay the U.S. players as quickly as possible.”
Plaintiffs Steve Segal, Nick Hammer, Robin Hougdahl, and Todd Terry filed the lawsuit against the online poker site on June 30, seeking the return of U.S. player funds and for damages under the RICO statute. They claimed that U.S. players have been wrongfully denied access to an estimated $150 million in funds they deposited on the site and that Full Tilt Poker has misled players into thinking their funds are safe.
According to the firm, Gordon is the only individual to have been dismissed from the suit, as the case against Team Full Tilt members Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Phil Ivey, Jennifer Harman, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Allen Cunningham, Gus Hansen, John Juanda, Patrik Antonius and Erick Lindgren is still ongoing. Indicted Full Tilt founders Ray Bitar and Nelson Burtnick and multiple “John Does” are also mentioned in the suit.
“No money changed hands as part of this dismissal,” Suh said on behalf of his client. “The allegations about Mr. Gordon in the lawsuit were completely wrong, and I am glad that the plaintiffs agreed with us on that score early in the lawsuit. Mr. Gordon believes that Full Tilt’s top priority should be the repayment of all players.”
Following the ruling, the plaintiffs “moved to impose a constructive trust on Full Tilt,” according to a report by eGaming Review, meaning “Full Tilt’s funds could be held under court supervision during the pendency of the case.”
Gordon, like Lederer and Ferguson, was noticeably absent for much of the World Series of Poker this summer. Although he has cut down his time at the felt in recent years and focused more of his attention on his Bad Beat on Cancer Foundation, Gordon skipped the majority of the events in Las Vegas — including the Main Event, where he finished fourth in 2001 for $400,000. That remains his biggest cash to date.
Phil Gordon's Little Green Book
Gordon’s last cash on the tournament circuit came at the NBC National Heads Up Poker Championship in March where he took ninth for $30,000. In total, Gordon has more than $1.4 million in tournament earnings, including a victory at the World Poker Tour Bay 101 Shooting Star event for $360,000 in 2004.