Tuesday May 14, 2013 : NOTHING SINISTER IN DEPARTURE OF LOCK POKER PROS, SAYS OWNER (Update)
Second part of Gambling911 interview published
Lock Poker owner Jennifer Larson continued to explain her company's position on several high-profile issues in the second part of her exclusive interview with the information site Gambling911 Monday, dealing with customer relations, professional poker players and Cyprus banking.
The widely publicised departure of Lock poker pros Chris Moorman and Paul Volpe was dismissed by Larson as merely part of "…the natural progression when building a solid Pro team." Larson denied that there was anything sinister in Moorman's exit, and said that Lock and he had simply parted ways at the end of his contract, implying the same had been the case with Volpe.
Larson stressed that she had the greatest respect for both players, concluding that plans for a new Lock Poker pro team were in motion and that the publicity over Volpe and Moorman was "… just a timing issue and the spin doctors ran with it."
Larson also discussed alleged CRM problems at Lock, suggesting that the rapid growth of the company had left it trying keep up with an expanding player base. However, she pointed to response improvements and said the area was a "work in progress"
The Lock Poker owner denied that the company had ever done any banking in Cyprus, and said that therefore the economic crisis in that country had no impact whatsoever on Lock. Earlier reports had pointed out that Lock's biggest e-cash processor operated from Cyprus, and that the company was therefore likely to be affected by the financial meltdown, but this was not raised or addressed in the interview.
Larson returned again to the thorny issue of player-to-player transfers, saying that the facility was important because it allowed players to stake each other, and that Lock's goal was to supply services that players wanted.
She also commented on player rewards in the form of bonuses, saying whilst other companies spent millions on branding, banner advertising and marketing campaigns, these had "little or no value to players".
"This has not been our approach, which is why we can afford to be more generous," Larson said. "It is just about how you spend your money and what your priorities are. Our player lifetime value is much higher than most operators because of how we reward and value our players."
Concluding the interview, Larson conceded that the past year had been a difficult one for the company, but appeared to blame media reportage for much of her troubles. She criticised what she termed "news sites" that "…just focused on the fear they can incite with every article rather than actually reporting on anything true or valuable.
"Instead of respecting the industry that supports them, they are driving it into a fearful frenzy. This needs to change," she claimed.
"The FTP and UB debacles created a very intense level of anger, mistrust and fear. Because people lost so much overnight with very little warning it ripped the heart right out of this industry and planted a deep seed of doubt. Being one of the few operators to serve the US market we have become a target for all that anger.
"When faced with any problems that have an impact on players the uproar from the community is fierce and ugly. Instead of seeing operators as their allies, which is what we are, we are seen as the enemy. I am a person of action and few words but with the level of propaganda and media manipulation that has been mindlessly regurgitated, I decided to speak up and clear the air."
http://www.gambling911.com/poker/interview-lock-poker-ceo-jennifer-larson-part-ii-051313.html