Chris Ferguson Shows His Face at WSOP

Disgraced and controversial poker player Chris Ferguson surprised the poker world by making an appearance at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas this weekend.
Ferguson, who played a major role in the events leading to the 2011 collapse of the US-facing online poker industry (a.k.a. Black Friday).
Besides being the target of several government investigations, Ferguson has also been the defendant in several civil suits related to Full Tilt Poker’s collapse. (As of this writing, Ferguson has not been charged with any crimes in the matter, but has settled several civil suits to the tune of several million dollars.)
One thing Ferguson hasn’t done much of in the years since Black Friday is showing his face in public. The colorful poker star who once drank up the spotlight has maintained a very low profile and this marks his first appearances at the WSOP since 2010.
In a statement to PokerNews, Ferguson dodged deep thoughts on atonement and scandal saying simply, “I’m just here to play poker.”
Reaction from his fellow WSOP players was mixed when Ferguson strolled in the Rio Convention Center at around 11 p.m. after ponying up a $10,000 entry fee for the Seven-Card Stud Championship.
One player who didn’t seem to mind Ferguson’s presence much was six-time WSOP winner Layne Flack who said, “…A lot of people are going to be confused about what to think, or how to act, and it’s easy to talk about someone when they’re not there. It’s easy to point fingers, but when they’re here, it’s not so easy, especially without all the facts.”
Ferguson’s return to the spotlight was, it turns out, extremely short-lived. The flamboyant Ferguson flamed out after only an hour and promptly left the building.