The dispute between Phil Ivey, Marc Goodwin and Ram Vaswani over their golfing game has grown futher once again with Daniel Negreanu indirectly commenting on the situation through his infamous blog. 'Kid Poker' changed their names to 'Wasvani' and 'Badmin' but then stated, "Now, to be fair, I've only heard one side of the story, but it seems like the evidence is overwhelmingly compelling in favor of my friend." This open admittance that he hadn't heard both sides left himself open to criticism, with Barny Boatman, one of Ram's oldest friends in Poker, duly obliging, posting the following on the Hendon Mob Forum:"Daniel.
I have just read your blog in which you complain of your friend's treatment and the hands of a couple of “hustlers”. I understand that you have jumbled the letters in their names, although as a chronic dyslexic this makes absolutely no difference to me. As is your intention, the whole world of course knows exactly who you are talking about.
I feel that I know you fairly well, both through our meetings across the poker table and through your public persona. I often cite you as one of the people in poker I most admire and I know that your take on any issue connected with poker is always going to be worth hearing.
That is why I am particularly disappointed that you have made a public pronouncement on a private matter about which - as you readily accept - you do not have all the facts, and have only heard from one side.
I quote from your blog: 'You played for days and days, continued to raise the stake unprovoked, set the rules for the game...'
The first two words are spot on, but everything beyond that tells me that your information is not exactly from the horse's mouth, and I don't think we should be playing Chinese Whispers with people's reputations.
I do not know your buddy very well but he has always struck me in the past as a good guy. I do not doubt that he feels aggrieved, and I would not dream of making a public judgment about a dispute he is involved in; Particularly when I have never discussed it with him. Notwithstanding the pressure to find regular content for your blog, it is a shame that you do not accord my buddy the same courtesy.Ram is a man of infinite patience and very few words. For the past few months he has maintained a dignified public silence whilst seeing his character attacked and misinformation spread. I know he does not feel under any obligation to respond to the flamers and gossips, and I don't suppose he will thank me for writing this, but I feel it's time I made one very simple observation.
Of all the people I have known both inside and outside poker, none is more fundamentally honest and thoroughly honorable than Ram Vaswani. No one who has spent any time with him on or off the poker table would ever seriously question that. This is not to imply otherwise about any other party, it is simply that I know this about Ram to the extent that I would stake my life on it.
Even if I did not know the facts of the case I would therefore be quite certain that he would have to have a very good reason, and certainly to be utterly convinced in his own mind, if he were to dispute a gambling debt.
I know that this matter is already in the public domain and that you are only repeating in good faith what you have been told. Perhaps by way of balance though, you might feel it would be appropriate to publish this letter.
All the very best.
Barny Boatman"
Marc Goodwin also posted a short update on the Blondpoker Forum: "Hi all, hope you are all ok. Just thought I would let you know that i am in Vegas to meet up with Phil. We met in Monte Carlo and he brought his own arbitrator lol, so nothing was resolved. We agreed to get an independent one and whatever their conclusion we all agree to abide by it and put the matter to bed. We will let you all know the outcome. As the self appointed voice of reason we thought we would use Mr Negreanu. We know he has a balanced view on all matters and always listens to both sides before making a judgment. On that basis he is our first choice. All the best Marc."
Obviously knowing his blog entries can cause a stir, Negreanu referred to his post regarding the golf game in his next entry, "As for my last blog, and my reasoning behind it, I felt as though the portrayal of my friend through other blogs and hearsay was completely unfair. Much had been said and/or written about the incident, and I felt like only one side of the story was made public. Had the other side of the story not been made public first, I never in a million years would have discussed a private matter in my blog. However, once it was already written about in other posts and blogs, it ceased to be a private matter."With the matter yet to be fully resolved acceptably by all the involved parties, it remains to be seen if something will be discussed or agreed upon at the upcoming WPT event at the Bellagio. Nevertheless, we will attempt to keep you fully informed should further details emerge.