Isaac Haxton Declines Renewal of his PokerStars Team Pro Online Contract

Isaac “Ike” Haxton announced that his PokerStars Team Pro Online contract has expired and he will not be renewing it as he cannot support changes to the VIP program having boldly stated, “I believe PokerStars is behaving unethically”. On Friday Ike tweeted, “I have resigned from PokerStars in protest of the changes to the Supernova and Supernova Elite programs”, accompanied by a link to a detailed explanation posted on the poker forum where he has been a moderator for years. He wrote: “There's a lot not to like about these most recent changes and the way they've been communicated, but there's one aspect that I just can't accept. Announcing in November that players who earned Supernova and Supernova Elite status in 2015 will not receive the benefits they had expected in 2016 strikes me as dishonest and unfair. As a four time SNE, I know what it takes to rake 1M VPP in a year. It's a tough grind. For most of the players who do it, it is an all-consuming commitment more intense than most full time jobs. Many of them have relocated far from their homes and families to pursue it. Finding out, just as you approach the finish line, that your efforts will not be rewarded as you expected them to be is brutal. I cannot in good conscience continue to endorse a poker site that treats its players this way.” PokerStars announced changes to its VIP program in November 2015. Although they've tried, the company has been unable to convince players that these changes are for the best and this time Ike says they've gone too far. The severance of Ike's ties with PokerStars and the bluntness of his statements certainly doesn't paint a pretty picture for the Amaya owned site. In light of this and the $290 million lawsuit involving the state of Kentucky against Amaya, it may not be such a happy new year for the poker operator.