A lawsuit has been filed against Conservative Review TV (CRTV) for $20 million by a Las Vegas billionaire and poker player, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. That in itself isn’t exactly newsworthy, but the fact that the suit was filed by one of the company’s owners adds a nice twist.
Cary Katz, who founded Poker Central, which is now owned by CRTV, is suing in an attempt to recover money from a loan he provided in June 2017. Apart from founding Poker Central, Katz is also part owner of CRTV. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “The lawsuit alleges that CRTV, through manager Elizabeth Wood, agreed in July to repay a principal sum of $10 million, along with 5 percent annual interest. It claims Wood executed a second promissory note in January with the same terms. This month Katz issued ‘a written demand for payment,’ and the company informed Mr. Katz that it would not be able to perform its obligation.”
Katz is a high roller who has won almost $14 million in live poker action. He has two wins for more than $1.4 million each, including a fifth-place finish at the Monte Carlo One Drop Extravaganza in October 2016 for $1.9 million and a title win at the $99,700 Super High Roller tournament at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in January, where he pocketed $1.49 million.
The lawsuit has theorists clambering for an explanation, puzzled at how someone could sue his own company. Some have offered their opinions, with one user on the 2+2 poker forums, DrSayre, providing an almost plausible reason. He believes that it is part of a larger argument between CRTV and a former radio host of the company, Mark Steyn. The story goes that Katz and CRTV had fired Steyn and launched a lawsuit against him for $10 million. Last month, a New York Supreme Court judge ruled in favor of Steyn, and ordered that he be paid $4 million.
DrSayre wrote, “In early 2017, shortly after CRTV launched, Mark Steyn (one of the 3 original hosts on CRTV) and CRTV had a falling out and Mark Steyn was let go… it sounds like this lawsuit is an attempt by Katz to avoid having to pay Mark Steyn. From what I can tell, Im [sic] not sure it has much to do with PokerGo.” PokerGo is used extensively to view matches on Poker Central.
With litigation costs through the roof, it probably will cost Katz more to win the lawsuit than if he and CRTV simply arranged to pay the settlement ordered by the judge.
