Black Friday 2011: How Poker Players Remember the FBI Shutdown

On April 15, 2011, users worldwide saw a message that the domains of Full Tilt, PokerStars, Absolute Poker, and Ultimate Bet were seized by the FBI. This event, known as Black Friday, had a profound impact on the poker community, particularly professional players.

Many professional poker players lost significant amounts of money and contracts due to the shutdown. Bryan Horton, for instance, lost around 90% of his savings which were stored on PokerStars. Phil Galfond tweeted about selling a slide the day after the shutdown, attempting to lighten the mood. Dylan Linde was having breakfast with apestyles in Austin when he heard the news, while Cole South was logged into Full Tilt and could not be logged out, but new players could not log in.

Justin Smith woke up to 20 missed calls and messages, which was unusual at the time. Brian Devonshire and Miikka Anttonen helped a friend withdraw money from FTP. Brian Picchioli was playing the first day of LAPT in Lima and tried to withdraw money. Joe Toll was on his way to pay taxes when he got a call from Chris Fitch about the shutdown. Brian Balsbough was playing golf with Tai Stewart when they received numerous calls about the shutdown. Daniel Negreanu received a call from an FBI agent asking how to withdraw money from FTP. Bryan Balsbough had to call many of his clients, including Daniel Negreanu, Phil Helmuth, Doyle Brunson, and Antonio Esfandiari, to inform them about the shutdown. One of Bryan Balsbough's clients refused a $7.5 million guarantee from PokerStars. Ben Lamb was playing in the Bellagio and described the atmosphere as very gloomy. Justin Bonomo and Isaac Haxton discussed their lost jobs and money in a hot tub. Phil Helmuth was on a charity trip to the Middle East and had to sign a big contract with Full Tilt. Phil Galfond was playing two tables on FTP and discussed whether they were still playing for real money. Matt Salsberg deposited $400 into his FTP account immediately after hearing the news. Kit Mike Gorodinsky was in Boston and took a photo with Sgt_Hot_Stuff before noon. Brandon Myers had just lost around $100k on FTP in multi-entry tournaments.