Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson makes appearance at World Series of Poker
“Jesus” was spotted at the World Series of Poker.
Chris Ferguson, one of the central figures in the Full Tilt Poker scandal, ended his self-imposed exile late Saturday when he entered the $10,000 buy-in Seven-Card Stud Championship at the Rio Convention Center.
Ferguson registered for the tournament shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday night, and his presence caused a stir in the Amazon Ballroom and on social media as it marked his first appearance at the World Series of Poker since 2010.
Ferguson’s stay turned out to be a short one as he was eliminated a little more than an hour later and quickly left the tournament area.
Several players in the tournament declined to comment on Ferguson’s re-emergence.
Look who's back pic.twitter.com/ASPA3BNKES
— Todd Brunson (@ToddBrunson) June 5, 2016
Colossus missing another record just took a back seat to Chris "Jesus" Ferguson showing up to play WSOP 20K Stud.
— Donnie Peters (@Donnie_Peters) June 5, 2016
I truly hope Chris Ferguson wins the Stud. Good Luck
— Brandon Cantu (@brandoncantu) June 5, 2016
Be sure to check out full photo coverage from today's events at @PokerPhotoArciv #WSOP pic.twitter.com/YF9ElDFnVH
— Drew Amato (@drew_amato) June 5, 2016
Ferguson was part of a civil lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department in September 2011 alleging Full Tilt Poker was a Ponzi scheme and that Ferguson, fellow professional poker player Howard Lederer and other owners of the online card room defrauded customers out of $443.8 million.
Ferguson, who has yet to make a public statement on the subject, settled with federal prosecutors in 2013.
Nicknamed “Jesus” due to his long black hair and beard, Ferguson is a five-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and the 2000 Main Event champion. He has $5.4 million in career WSOP earnings but has been absent from the tournament circuit and poker rooms since the indictment five years ago.
