Cake Poker sued in Canadian court for allegedly stealing contributors’ ideas

Bryce-Vincent-Geoffrey
Cake Legal and Business Development Director Bryce Vincent Geoffrey
PokerScout.com is reporting that the Cake Poker Network is being sued in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada for allegedly bilking some early contributors out of compensation for their ideas. On April 5, Legacy Entertainment principals Ryan Bennett and François Piette filed suit against Cake Poker (Canada), which is registered in Vancouver, BC, as well as Cake Gaming NV, Yummy Entertainment and three other Cake-related businesses, plus individuals including Nicholaos Mellios, Christopher Ruck, Ian Winter and other shareholders.

The plaintiffs allege that such innovations as multi-level marketing and the use of “photo real images” on a poker site were among their unique contributions to Cake’s success. (Just in case it’s not clear, the pair are not claiming to have invented the actual concept of photography.) For these and other brainstorms, they claim they were to receive a 20% stake in the company. Instead, the plaintiffs claim they received the back of Cake’s ungrateful hand and a pair of one-way tickets to Palookaville. Suitably outraged, the plaintiffs are beseeching the court to find Cake guilty of breach of contract, misrepresentation and conspiracy, and to give the plucky plaintiffs their rightful 20% slice of Cake. (The full text of the court filing can be read here.)

CalvinAyre.com finds it odd that Cake’s in-house legal counsel Bryce Vincent Geoffrey was not included on the list of individuals from which the plaintiffs are seeking redress, as he was reportedly responsible for much of the restructuring that lies at the heart of this alleged fraud case. Geoffrey has a well-earned reputation for his inverse Midas touch – in that, everything he touches seems to turn to shit. For the record, CalvinAyre.com is preparing an in-depth investigative series on these shenanigans, which we imagine will be of considerable interest to our industry audience. Buckle up and stay tuned.