Howard Lederer Enters the $10,000 2-7 Single Draw Championship

Published on June 12th, 2016 8:18 am EST

First Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, and now Howard Lederer.

Earlier tonight, Howard Lederer, one of the former owners of Full Tilt Poker, entered the $10,000 2-7 Single Draw Championship at the World Series of Poker. Lederer's appearance came roughly a week after Chris "Jesus" Ferguson raised many eyebrows by returning to the WSOP.

Lederer's return to the World Series of Poker came as no surprise, unlike Ferguson's return. Howard Lederer released a statement prior to the World Series of Poker in which he apologized for what happened at Full Tilt Poker 1.0. This statement, many felt, was issued in order to grease the rails for Lederer's return to the World Series of Poker.

Lederer, like Ferguson, had no comment for the media.

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Howard Lederer had been absent from the World Series of Poker since 2010. In 2011, a few months before the World Series of Poker was set to get underway, "Black Friday" took place, resulting in the shutdown of Full Tilt Poker, Pokerstars and others.

While Pokerstars would quickly rebound thanks to proper money segregation, Full Tilt Poker would eventually be declared insolvent. In the end, Full Tilt Poker's owners had been enriching themselves at the expense of their customers - when it came time to repay players following "Black Friday", Full Tilt Poker didn't have the funds to do so.

Pokerstars would eventually take over Full Tilt Poker and most of Full Tilt Poker's US customers were made whole. This development likely emboldened Lederer and Ferguson to return to the poker world, though they certainly had nothing to do with players getting paid back. With most players having been reunited with their money, however, the two pariahs of the poker world likely felt comfortable with the idea of a return to the WSOP.

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With Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer both having returned to the WSOP this year, people are now wondering which other ostracized players will also be attempting a comeback.

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Filed Under: The World Series of Poker