Do Fulltilt pros make more from playing or from site?

[PokerPaul]

Just wondering, but i think it must be getting close to them pulling in more income from their site than from their on the table earnings.

Unless they are just paid sponsors of the site, but somewhere i heard they actually do have ownership of it...

[cwsiggy]

When people ask them in the rooms if they own the site, the main pros are always very careful to say they are "consultants to the software design company" - wink wink. Same with Annie Duke on UB. I imagine this is a legal way around any potential troubles with Johnny Law. I'm sure they get rather fat checks at the end of each fiscal year or at least private shares that have a value they can sell. If not, and I'm wrong then they are "paid consultants to the software design company" [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[JJ97]

I was speaking to one of the FullTilt Pro's at a bar one night (long story) and he said that he donates all his FTP winnings to charity. Perhaps he is the only one, but he seemed to make it sound like that was the standard op there.

Anyway, I left with the impression that they definitely get paid to promo the site and the money they play with on the site seems meaningless to the top "name" pro's (Ivy, Harmann, Gordon, etc).

Just what I heard talking to one those guys at a bar.

JJ

[Aceshigh7]

I heard they get all their tourney buy-ins of at least $10,000 paid for by full tilt. That's pretty significant when a tourney pro's average buy-ins per year (if they play most major events) is in the $300,000 range.

[Sponger15SB]

My guess is Clonie Gowen makes more from Full Tilt than she does from playing [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[KingCon]

[ QUOTE ]
My guess is Clonie Gowen makes more from Full Tilt than she does from playing [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

VNH

[dibbs]

I'm sure it's different from player to player.


As a guess,

Ivey-Not even close.
Gowen- probly FTP.
Lingdren- nah.
Gordon- Probably FTP
Juanda- doubt it.
matusow- Nah
flack- I really have no idea.
Jdags- I doubt it.
Harman- Not even close.


Thing is though that no one really knows how much they make from endorsing the site, in any shape or form whether it be a straight cash deal per year or points of the vig or what.

The money they make from playing 3/6 on the site and talking to freaks is almost certainly not theirs. The recent Ivey/SR matches might be debateable though. Them giving it to him as a sort of publicity stunt sounds right.

To repeat a phrase used numerous times in this thread, "I heard" a while back that if any of the players end up in the green due to their table play on the site it goes to charity or freerolls on the site.

[PokerPaul]

hmmm, somehow i just don't believe the charity angle.

I think that that is what they might say publicly to people for legal reasons, and maybe they do make some donation to charity of some of those proceeds, but it may have more to do with tax sheltering.

If they are indeed just "consultants" to the site, then maybe its different, but if they own the site or part thereof, they gotta be very careful how they manage it and their income from it.

[kenberman]

[ QUOTE ]
Just wondering, but i think it must be getting close to them pulling in more income from their site than from their on the table earnings.

Unless they are just paid sponsors of the site, but somewhere i heard they actually do have ownership of it...

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd be shocked if they were not compensated (or have already been compensated) via ownership in the company. The amount of marketing dollars to compensate a team of pro's like that would be pretty staggering for a start-up site w/o a ton of revenue (compared to the big ompcanies).

[dibbs]

If the charity thing was BS I wouldnt be surprised at all, but as you mentioned the tax writeoff angle might be in their interest at great deal.

Chances are it just goes into the freerolls or back into their pockets for whatever else they need it for.