In December last year we reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating a $700 million offer for California-based WPT Enterprises (World Poker Tour) made on behalf of Doyle Brunson by the Las Vegas law firm Goodman & Chesnoff PC. This week the news surfaced that the SEC has now subpoenaed Wallace Nakano, the operator of DoylesRoom.com, twice as part of it's investigation.
According to the SEC, the news of the take-over bid under investigation was first published on DoylesRoom.com, the website run by Wallace Nakano. The bid was much higher than the market value of WPT Enterprises at the time, and WPT's share price soared 49 percent to $29.50 as a result. The price went down just as fast after Brunson and his attorneys ignored requests for more information from WPT Enterprises. The offer expired shortly after.
Doyle Brunson is a poker legend and a two-time winner of the World Series of Poker, and it's a pity to see him connected to a story like this, even though it's not known at this point whether Brunson or his associates violated the anti-fraud provisions of the 1934 Securities Exchange Act.
However, it's not encouraging that Brunson and his attorneys have refused to cooperate with the SEC's investigation in the past. This week the news surfaced that the operator of DoylesRoom.com, Walllace Nakano, has been subpoenaed by the SEC twice seeking to force testimony. Mr. Nakano also refused to cooperate, claiming the subpoenas weren't properly served (they were send to his brother), and that he has no information on the take-over bid.