Two high-profile poker players announced this week that they will no longer represent Lock Poker. Both Chris moorman1Moorman and Paul paulgees81 Volpe (pictured) informed the public of their decisions via Twitter and, as their names no longer appear on Lock Poker’s website, it looks like the defections are effective immediately.

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Both players’ decisions seem to stem from severe cashout problems the poker room is having that have caused its reputation to bottom out. Moorman wrote on his @Moorman1 Twitter account, “I have decided not to renew my contract with Lock. I sincerely hope Lock is able to overcome its current problems and for the sake of online poker their situation is resolved.”

Volpe (@paulgees81), shared similar sentiments, writing, “Wanted to say I have left @lockpoker. Wanted to thank them 4 giving me the opportunity. Hope poker becomes legal and they can resolve all the issues that they’re having.”

Lock Poker, while not one of the biggest poker sites in the world, has remained in the public eye primarily because it is one of the leading sites on the Revolution Gaming Network, one of the few places online that Americans still play real money poker. Unfortunately for those Americans, the site is currently going through what many are calling a cashout “crisis.”

Dating back to late 2012, cashouts from the site are taking, quite literally, months. Rest-of-world customers are typically looking at wait times of around three months, while Americans are facing waits of five months or more. Most players who have requested withdrawals have had their requests approved (though that usually takes about a month), but after that, nothing. Even those who receive a notice that a check has been shipped via FedEx often don’t see it in a timely manner.

Here are several examples of the headaches people are experiencing (from the Two Plus Two forums):

Poster “derSchwartz” requested a check on December 12 and reported that it was verified on January 13. Two months later on March 14, he received an e-mail saying he would receive the check via FedEx in 7 to 10 days. He has yet to receive his check. Oddly, on April 5, he asked about it and was assured it was on its way to Florida even though he lives in Oregon. He has inquired multiple times since and has always been told it was coming soon.

Poster “mdw90” requested a check on December 5, had it verified on January 9, and received a FedEx notification on March 14. He has yet to receive his check, despite being told on April 15 that it was on its way.

Poster “BraveJayhawk” requested a check on November 19 and had it verified on December 31. His FedEx notification came on March 14, but he has not seen his money.

Those players who actually got their money had to wait quite a while:

Poster “sighpow” requested a cashout on October 25, got it verified two months later on December 27, and finally received a check on February 14. He initiated another payout in December and had it take a similar length of time.

Poster “Tcrowley” requested a check on December 29, received a FedEx e-mail on March 14, and got a check on April 9.

Poster “Jmoney10” requested a check on December 21, received a FedEx e-mail on March 14, and got a check on April 9.

As if the extreme cashout delays haven’t been bad enough, Lock Poker customers were infuriated when the poker room instituted a policy of not allowing funds acquired via player-to-player transfers to be cashed out. Lock Poker’s terms state that P2P funds are subject to 1:1 play-through requirements before they can be withdrawn, but the site does not appear to be honoring that anymore. Lock Poker has tried to justify the decision, citing money laundering and the decline value of Lock Poker dollars as concerns.

As a result of all of the cashout issues, Lock Poker pros have come under tremendous heat from the poker community, with many people directly questioning their integrity for continuing to actively promote a site where player funds seem to be in great danger of never being returned.

PocketFives does not endorse playing on rake-based online poker rooms in the United States outside of Nevada. Instead, we recommend HogWild Pokerand Replay Poker, which are both free play sites.

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