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Poker pro Bryn Kenney, the number one player on the all-time money list with over $90 million in career live tournament earnings, has filed a lawsuit against GGPoker’s parent company, NSUS Group, for tens of millions of dollars.
In the lawsuit, filed in Nevada in August, Kenney claims that GGPoker CEO Mansoo “Michael” Kim promised him cyclical affiliate payments and a 5% equity stake in GGPoker. In addition to the breach of contract claims, he also alleges fraudulent inducement and is seeking punitive damages and a court-ordered accounting of company records.”
On September 23, Kim filed a motion to dismiss the case. A hearing is scheduled for November 12.
Kenney, a former GGPoker ambassador, claims the company reneged on a deal that would have seen him receive a 5% ownership stake in the company. This was back in 2018, long before GGPoker was as popular as it is today and before Daniel Negreanu became the face of the company.
Of course, NSUS Group purchased the World Series of Poker in 2024 for $500 million.
Did Kenney Build GGPoker or Tarnish the Brand?
The lawsuit claims that NSUS Group and GGPoker “made deliberate misrepresentations to Plaintiff Kenney to induce Mr. Kenney to stake his reputation, personal finances, and years of labor to transform GGPoker from a failing, distrusted platform into the most recognized online poker room in the world.
“Having obtained benefit of Mr. Kenney’s extraordinary contributions, Defendants then methodically dishonored every material promise they made to him.”
Kenney claims to have recruited “thousands” of players to GGPoker between 2018 and 2025, under the promise of “weekly payments on revenue-based commissions”, as well as a 5% equity stake in the online poker platform. In addition to being a site ambassador, Kenney claims he was the “de facto head of game management”, “built every high roller tournament on GGPoker from scratch”, and “persuaded Mansoo Kim against business decisions that would have made GGPoker’s eventual ascent to number one in the world impossible.”
Kenney also claims that Kim assured him that adequate anti-cheating teams were in place back in 2018 and that the CEO failed to act when substantial cheating concerns arose. Kenney also states that Kim failed to pay out $6 million to players, and Kenney paid $1 million out of his own pocket to make a player whole.
Kenney also states that GGPoker recruited American players and allowed these players to use the platform, which would be illegal, regardless of which state they played in. He also claims GGPoker reclassified players and agents he recruited, which caused him to miss out on being paid millions of dollars in commissions.
Despite Kenney’s undeniable contributions to GGPoker, it’s impossible to speak about Kenney and GGPoker without bringing up numerous cheating allegations.
In 2022, Kenney was famously accused by Martin Zamani of running a “cult-like cheating operation” in which Kenney forced his stable to cheat online at GGPoker and PartyPoker. Players who refused would have, allegedly, risked getting kicked out of the stable and losing their staking. Players were allegedly forced to eat a vegan diet, obey Kenney’s every demand, and visit shamans that would put frog poison into freshly opened wounds.
Kenney has denied all cheating allegations.
