Formal Complaint — Playground Poker Club (Unjustified and Uncommunicated Ban; Continuing Refusal to Provide Written Cause)

To: Dispute Resolution Officer, Kahnawà:ke Gaming Commission Via: [email protected] Date: 14 April 2026

Re: Formal Complaint — Unjustified and Uncommunicated Ban by Playground Poker Club (KGC Poker Room Licensee); Ongoing Refusal to Provide Written Cause or Appeal Mechanism

1. Complainant

* Name: [the patron] * Email: [patron email] * Mobile: [phone] * Status: Patron of Playground Poker Club since shortly after its opening in 2010.

2. Licensee

* Operator: Playground Poker Club ("Playground") * Location: 1500 Route 138, Kahnawà:ke, Québec, J0L 1B0 * Licenses held: KGC Poker Room license (land-based); the parent "Playground" entity also holds a KGC Electronic Gaming Device license.

3. Nature of the Complaint

In or about March 2024, I was banned from Playground Poker Club under the following circumstances:

* I arrived at Playground at approximately 6:00 AM for a planned poker session, having travelled from the Ottawa region. * My player card was locked at the cage. A duty manager advised me verbally that I had been banned. * The duty manager candidly admitted that the only record available to him was "a note that a Poker Manager Placed the Note" — with no further cause, incident reference, or supporting detail. * I have never received any written notice of the ban, any statement of the rule or policy alleged to have been breached, any evidence, or any description of a review or appeal mechanism.

To my knowledge, the only stated basis ever informally communicated is a vague reference to "rude behavior" — a characterization offered without any contemporaneous documentation, any specific incident, or any identified complainant-employee.

4. Steps Taken to Resolve with the Licensee (KGC Prerequisite)

Pursuant to the Commission's requirement that player complaints be first submitted to the licensee for review, I made extensive written efforts to resolve the matter directly with Playground over a seven-month period:

Date (UTC) Subject Recipient(s) Response 2024-03-24 Urgent: Seeking Executive Intervention [email protected] None in writing 2024-03-28 (×3) Urgent: Seeking Executive Intervention (resent) Nick Montanaro; Andrea Read None in writing 2024-03-29 Attempted to Return Your Call Andrew Johnson Single telephone call previously; no call-back extension; no written follow-up 2024-03-30 Critical Reflection on Organizational Direction and Culture Playground Executive Team None in writing 2024-10-05 (Fw) Formal escalation with full facts [email protected], CC: Mackenzie Kirby (CEO), Andrew Johnson, Nick Montanaro, Sean Fiorillo, Martin Lamer, Guy Ahmaranian, Nick Guerin, Phil Sabbah, Pantelis Vranas None in writing 2024-10-05 / 10-06 Escalation to World Poker Tour (Adam Pliska, CEO; Angelica Hael; David Polgreen; Warren Woodall) given Playground's role as a WPT-sanctioned venue WPT executives; Playground executives CC'd None in writing

In total: at least eleven written communications to Playground across a seven-month period, to at least nine named executives including the Chief Executive Officer, with zero written responses from the licensee on the merits.

Original email files with intact headers are preserved and will be furnished to the Commission in any format requested.

5. Continuing Nature of the Harm (Timing)

I wish to address the Commission's 6-month filing window transparently.

The subject matter of this complaint is not limited to the historical act of banning. It is Playground's continuing refusal, as of the date of this complaint, to provide any written cause for the ban or any review mechanism, notwithstanding extensive written requests. Each day on which the ban remains in force without stated cause, and each unanswered written communication, constitutes a fresh instance of the conduct complained of.

Moreover, the ban has caused specific and identifiable current harm within the past six months:

* The WPT Global Winter Classic was hosted at Playground from January 18 to February 1, 2026 — an internationally sanctioned event from which I was excluded solely by virtue of the unresolved ban. * The WSOP Circuit is scheduled at Playground from May 10 to May 25, 2026 — a further planned exclusion absent resolution.

Because Playground functions as a significant venue for internationally sanctioned live poker tournaments in Canada, the practical effect of the ban extends beyond access to Playground's own premises and amounts to a de facto exclusion from portions of the Canadian live tournament circuit.

6. Disclosure re: Public Forum Rule

In the interest of full transparency with the Commission, I disclose the following:

* In 2024, I briefly maintained a website at rudeban.com which referenced my experience of being banned without written notice. The URL was explicitly named to Playground executives and to WPT in my October 6, 2024 email (included in the evidence set). * The domain lapsed during 2025 and the site was offline for an extended period. * I re-acquired the domain on 14 April 2026, the same date as this filing. * As of the date of this complaint, rudeban.com does not publish any substantive content concerning the subject matter of this filing. I have elected to withhold publication of any new substantive content pending the Commission's review, specifically so that this complaint is not complicated by the public-forum consideration. * I am not currently maintaining any active public commentary, social-media campaign, or forum discussion concerning this complaint, and I do not intend to commence any such activity while the Commission's review is in progress.

I make this disclosure voluntarily and proactively so the Commission may assess the applicability of the public-forum clause with complete and current information. Should the Commission have any guidance as to what activity is or is not compatible with the continuation of this complaint, I would welcome it.

7. Relief Requested

1. Open a formal file and assign a case reference number. 2. Require Playground, as a condition of its continued KGC licenses, to provide me in writing with: (i) the specific cause of the ban, (ii) the rule or policy said to have been breached, (iii) any contemporaneous documentation relied upon, and (iv) a description of any internal review or appeal mechanism available to a banned patron. 3. Investigate Playground's apparent policy and practice of excluding patrons without documented cause, without written notice, and without any accessible review mechanism, as these practices appear inconsistent with the fairness and transparency expectations ordinarily associated with a KGC licensee. 4. Provide me with a written determination of the Commission's findings, regardless of outcome, which I may retain as part of my records.

8. Evidence

The following is preserved and will be furnished on request:

* Twelve (12) original email messages (December 2023 through October 2024), with full headers, addressed to Playground and WPT executives — evidencing both the substance of the complaint and the pattern of non-response. * A contemporaneous index of named recipients across those messages. * Any further documentation the Commission requests.

9. Declaration

The information set out above is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge. I am the person named at Section 1; I am the patron whose access is at issue; and I am filing this complaint on my own behalf.

I would be grateful for written acknowledgement of receipt and the assignment of a case reference number at the Commission's earliest convenience.