An online poker player who sued online poker room Poker Stars (www.pokerstars.com) for refusing to pay monies won in a tournament has withdrawn her suit.

According to an announcement by Poker Stars, the online player–Natalie Teltscher–has withdrawn her lawsuit filed last year in the Isle of Man, home base of Poker Stars.

After earning $1.2 million last year by winning a Poker Stars’ online tournament–the 2007 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event–Teltscher sued the online room when it refused to pay her her winnings.

Poker Stars claimed the woman had a substitute playing her hands during the tourney–a violation of tournament rules–and therefore disqualified her and voided her win.

A Poker Stars news release states:=A0 “Poker Stars is pleased to announce that Natalie Teltscher has recently withdrawn her claim in the Isle of Man Courts against Poker Stars. Furthermore, in discontinuing her claim, she has agreed to contribute a sum towards the legal costs incurred by Poker Stars in this matter.

“Ms. Teltscher brought her claim against Poker Stars because she was disqualified from first place of the 2007 WCOOP Main Event after Poker Stars internal investigations demonstrated beyond doubt that she had not played on the account.=C2=A0 On her disqualification, all other players were moved one place higher in the prize table and the money confiscated from her account, “The Void,” was redistributed in full, according to the amended tournament placings.

“Ms. Teltscher initially claimed that she had played the account. However, when faced with the results from Poker Stars’ investigation, she eventually admitted she hadn’t played. The decision of Mss Teltscher to withdraw her claim fully vindicates Poker Stars’ decision to disqualify her from the tournament and subsequently defend the claim, actions which were taken in order to protect the integrity of the games on offer at Poker Stars.”

Poker Stars did not reveal how it knew Teltscher had used a “ringer” or illegal substitute.

(E-mail Tom Somach at [email protected].)