Weekly Flop: Bitar Broke & Dying, Ivey Poker Down, Matusow Nearly Paralyzed

If karma truly does exist, then Ray Bitar is getting it back tenfold. The former Full Tilt Poker CEO is allegedly dying and flat broke...

The launch of the Ivey Poker Facebook app was short lived since it's already been taken off the market. However, the reason why is actually a positive one...

In news that came out of left field, Mike 'The Mouth' Matusow was nearly paralyzed during surgery. Find out the details on all of these stories in the Weekly Flop.

Ray Bitar has no money and is close to death

Many believe that Ray Bitar got a sweetheart deal for his role in bilking former Full Tilt Poker players out of hundreds of millions of dollars. Sure he had $40 million in assets taken by the US government, but he also avoided serious jail time due to a life-threatening heart condition. The latter had some people speculating that Bitar was making his heart problem seem worse than it was to get sympathy.

But former Full Tilt Red Pro Allen Cunningham recently posted on TwoPlusTwo (under 'Allen C') that Bitar is "unlikely to live more than a couple years and is nearly penniless." This of course drew some responses from posters, especially when Cunningham claimed that Bitar "didn't get away with anything." Here are a few of the negative comments:

• Nothing less than he deserves


• If you’re looking for sympathy for this filthy monster, you’re in the wrong place.


• He should be in jail for the rest of his life for however long that is.


• I guess flying in lobsta from Maine on a private helicopter doesn't bode well for the BR.

Based on these posts, it appears that even with his life completely deteriorated, Bitar will never get forgiveness from certain FTP players.

Ivey Poker App shut down while eyeing Bigger Future

It's only been a year since the Ivey Poker app launched on Facebook. But already, the Ivey League website, headed by 10-time WSOP champ Phil Ivey, sent their customers and followers a letter stating that the app has been shut down.

However, Ivey League claims that this shut-down is "just the first step in our evolution" as they "prepare to launch an even bigger and better gaming experience in 2015." What this bigger and better gaming experience is will be anybody's guess. But perhaps the short launch was just to get some feedback from players?

In any case, Ivey League's bread and butter will continue to be their training services, which feature top pros like Patrik Antonius, Dan Smith, Mike Leah and Ivey himself.

Mike Matusow almost paralyzed by spinal surgery

In an age where poker pros tweet about every other meal they eat, it's weird that Mike Matusow getting spinal surgery slipped under the radar. It comes as even more of a shock that he was almost paralyzed due to complications from the surgery. But as PokerStrategy.com reports, Matusow luckily recovered from the paralysis scare and will be fine.

Perhaps the reason why this was such a hush-hush ordeal is because Matusow isn't the most consistent guy on social media. As loud and brash as he is at the table, The Mouth doesn't tweet very often - except maybe to defend himself against Ted Forrest's allegations that he doesn't pay up on prop bets.

It's nice to hear that Matusow is doing well and can continue his poker career, which includes four WSOP gold bracelets and over $9 million in tournament winnings.