Riddick Bowe – another unhappy PokerStars player
Former heavyweight boxing champion Riddick Bowe enlisted the help of Twitter yesterday to call out PokerStars support, the latest in a long line of big names struggling to get answers from them.
https://twitter.com/riddickbowe/status/1250489367220703236?s=20
Riddick ‘Big Daddy’ Bowe, who became undisputed heavyweight champion of the world back in 1992 after defeating Evander Holyfield, isn’t known for his poker.
However, like many thousands of others during the coronavirus lockdown, it seems he has taken to cards to pass the time.
Or rather, he would do if he could actually get a game on PokerStars, though partypoker seem to be fans of the big man and vice versa…
https://twitter.com/riddickbowe/status/1250488799546748928?s=20
Passing the time on Twitter while waiting for PokerStars to get back to him, Bowe engaged with boxing and poker fans alike – many of whom shared their tales of woe about PokerStars execrable support.
https://twitter.com/DalLittle83/status/1250491115343577090?s=20
Perhaps it was Bowe’s huge public following that saw him get an answer in record time or the fact that the giant pugilist only ever lost once and isn’t a man to mess around.
Others, however, have had to jump through extra hoops to get any help with their PokerStars problems.
Californian pro Alex Keating has spent 45 days trying to get his money off the site, but his ‘cheque’ didn’t look quite right somehow…
PSA : @StarsSupport @PokerStars is not letting me either play my money, cash out my money, or transfer my money. have 100k in there. They have given me this form. Has anyone seen it before ? pic.twitter.com/WuNgNK1Fvh
— Alex Keating (@HeadsUpGoalie) April 15, 2020
Although responsible gaming requires paperwork and evidence on the site’s side, a month and a half are beyond the pale when you have $100k tied up.
A measure of last resort seemed to do the trick though…
Lo and behold, a few hours later and Alex got a response…
Update : I got a phone call from @PokerStars @StarsSupport and it looks like they are resolving the issue
— Alex Keating (@HeadsUpGoalie) April 15, 2020
Difficult times such as these can cause backlogs and issues of course, but PokerStars has turned to ignore their customers into an art form, as we have reported multiple times over recent years.
Lots of problems with PokerStars
Freezing accounts with no reason given is one of the biggest complaints from players, and just two weeks ago another high-profile case appeared.
Highstakes US pro Alex Foxen took a very public stand on Twitter, a regular plea according to his tweet…
1/2Semi-annual plea for support from pokerstars using public pressure🚨@PokerStars my account was closed today for no reason. There has been no explanation as far as why and there doesn't seem to be any intention to do so. I've been playing the biggest buy ins live/online.
— Alex Foxen (@WAFoxen) March 27, 2020
As we reported at the time, despite – or perhaps because of – winning more than $2.4million in on the site over the years, even Foxen has had to fight to get anywhere with PokerStars support.
Our previous advice to players has been to take your issue public on Twitter – and if you have some success you can then decide whether you need to change poker room or not.
For the likes of Riddick Bowe and other high-profile customers, the chances of a reply are decent as we have seen.
For the less-famous, hopefully, if enough players shout loud enough, PokerStars will invest time and money into looking after the people who pay their wages.
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