Popular YouTubers Ludwig Ahgren and Alexandra Botez say that content creators have gone unpaid for work done on ACR Poker — a problem that stems from a dispute with a third-party talent agency, the site says.
Ahgren's claims came in a response to a question on a recent livestream: "Of all the sponsors you've done, which one do you regret the most?"
"The sponsor that I regret the most is a poker company I used to work with called American Card Room (sic)," Ahgren said. "I was only sponsored to play poker. They did have a casino but I never got sponsored to play the casino, only poker."
Ahgren's regret starts with the fact that they didn't pay him but extends to other issues related to payouts from the site.
"And the money I won to play poker, I would gamble on their site, and it was so hard to take my money out. And if it was hard for me, that means it was hard for the other people I was promoting it to. So I stopped working with them because I think they're a dogsh*t site."
Thomas Keeling, aka SrslySirius on Twitter/X, posted the clip along with a screenshot from another streamer, "Wubby" (@PaymoneyWubby), who said he is currently litigating an unpaid sponsorship with ACR Poker from 2022.
Scott Ball: No comment
Botez, an up-and-coming poker personality and popular chess streamer, quoted the clip with a response on Twitter/X that points some of the blame at End Game Talent, an agency that acted as a middleman between streamers and clients.
"ACR hasn’t paid out dozens of creators for sponsored streams from well over a year ago, myself included," Botez said on X. "ACR contracted @EndGameTalent and blames them for ripping them off. While that complicates things, I spoke with ACR CEO [Phil Nagy] who promised to make things right but instead ghosted. They are not trustworthy."
End Game Talent's president was Scott Ball, a two-time WSOP bracelet winner with over $1.8 million in earnings, according to The Hendon Mob. The agency's website has been shuttered and they are no longer active on social media. Court records from L.A. County show a default judgment from late June 2024 for $718,331 against the company from a breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by Loaded, LLC, another talent agency for streamers.
It's not the first time disputes have arisen over End Game Talent. Mike Matusow named Ball in a series of accusations on Episode 60 of The Mouthpiece podcast in January 2021, including the "grenading" of the agency after an investment of $1.1 million by Phil Hellmuth and others.
Ball was last seen around poker this summer when he cashed 11 times between online and live tournaments at the WSOP. He declined to comment when contacted by PokerOrg.
ACR Poker responds
We contacted ACR Poker, and a spokesperson told us that its arrangement with a third-party talent agency ended with serious disputes over the compensation of streamers.
"ACR Poker engaged a third-party agency to arrange brand marketing by streamers they purported to represent. Every streamer worked under their own talent agency. ACR paid the central agency, which was to pay the streamers through their respective talent agents.
That arrangement unfortunately ended with serious disputes about whether the central agency stiffed or underpaid the various talent agencies or their individual streamer clients.
ACR stands by our positive track record with sponsored players, marketing campaigns, and streamers' talent agencies. The company that reportedly failed to pay talent agencies is believed to have been sued by the streamers' talent agencies.”
Ahgren clarifies key points
Ahgren returned to Twitter/X on Sunday night to clarify a few key points, confirming that the payments were handled through End Game Talent and that he was paid, albeit over a year late.
"When I tried going through ACR directly the head of End Game found out and called me and told me he and the CEO of ACR were very good friends and that was foolish of me."
The streamer said he was paid out shortly after and never did another deal with either group.
"This was my experience from years ago unsure how either entity operates now."
