The latest rumors about embattled Full Tilt Poker and their fall from grace had unknown European investors set to buy up the beleaguered franchise. Now ERG Magazine is reporting that those investors are only interested in certain UK and Ireland based parts of the company. The word is that they want nothing to do with anything facing the United States.
Many industry watchers think that such a deal has very little chance of being completed in time for the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) hearing slated to take place in London on Thursday July 28, 2011. Most believe that Full Tilt Poker will not be allowed to restart operations with their AGCC License without some sort of financial deal in place by that time.
Whether or not a deal for just some of the assets does take place, will non-US players return to the brand if they do not see US player balances being paid?
Everyone in the poker world seems to be wondering what fate will come of Full Tilt Poker, the deposed leader of online poker (along with its rival, the still-standing Poker Stars). The news out of FullTilt of late seems like nothing but a litany of dismal headlines. Here’s a rough chronology of the latest string of unfortunate events for all things Full Tilt Poker.
On June 29, after a three-month silence on the subject, the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) finally responded to the U.S. Department of Justice’s allegations of Black Friday (April 15, 2011) against Full Tilt Poker by suspending the sites license to operate pending a July 26 hearing in London. A few days later, ARJEL, the French equivalent, did the same.
Before this, even European players unaffected by the closure of FullTilt’s U.S. operations were defecting en masse to other poker sites, no doubt partly over concerns about FullTilt’s ability to pay back dislodged U.S. players the unused funds in their accounts with the site. Now, even those European players remaining at the site will have to find a new place to play while this gets ironed out.
On June 30 a class action lawsuit was officially filed against Full Tilt Poker. On the positive side, however, former Team Full Tilt member Phil Ivey has dropped his own personal lawsuit against the site. So maybe all’s not entirely bleak.
Even if Full Tilt emerges triumphant from its July 26 hearing, the question still lingers like a dark cloud: Will Full Tilt Poker recover from this debacle?
The Poker Players Alliance just posted a guide to what poker players might try, to get their money back from Full-Tilt, Absolute and the other operators who won’t, or can’t, return deposits. Although I don’t agree with everything the PPA’s say – for example, I think many U.S. courts would throw out claims by players as debts associated with gambling – they raise the important and immediate point: If you are going to file a claim for part of the millions of dollars seized by the U.S. federal government in bank accounts around the world on April 15th, you only have until July 15, 2011.
You don’t need a lawyer to file, but you should get one. The PPA’s lawyers were worried that a player might be hit with fines if the court decides the claims are frivolous. I’m more concerned that you have to file the claim form under oath, swearing that you have an ownership interest in an account you may not have even known existed. Perjury is a real crime, with real penalties. And both I and the PPA attorneys agree that the additional papers you will have to file within 21 day after filing the claim form, should be written by a lawyer.
The reason you might have the right to file a claim is that the Department of Justice decided that at least some of the bank accounts would be seized under what is known as a civil forfeiture. Criminal cases are limited to the government and the defendants. Civil cases involving the seizure of the poker operators’ and payment processors’ bank accounts are open to anyone who has a good faith claim on the money.
But there is a tight time limit. The DoJ published its notice of intent to seize the online poker funds on May 16, 2011. Claimants have only 60 days to file their verified (meaning under oath) claim with the U.S. District Court Clerk in Manhattan; that means before the end of the day on Friday, July 15, 2011. You can file electronically.
Extensions are possible, but they would require either getting a court order or an agreement with the prosecutors. In fact, the PokerStars companies, Absolute and Full-Tilt all were given until September 30, 2011, to file their claims. But I doubt either the DoJ or federal Judge Leonard B. Sand would agree to give more time to a mere player.
Some claims have already been filed. The first was by Chad Elie, who claims an ownership or possessory interest in a third of the accounts seized. Chad is the Las Vegas defendant who married former Playmate Destiny Davis the day after he was arrested in connection with Black Friday. He is out on $250,000 bail.
Other claims have been filed. The second was by LST Financial, Inc., which calls itself “a full-service, third-party financial processor and service bureau.” It is claiming an interest in five bank accounts in Texas and North Carolina seized from Four Oaks Bank and Trust. MAS, Inc., claims money seized from Hawaii National Bank. And, Ultra Safe Pay says it is the owner of the funds seized from Umpqua Bank in Roseburg, Oregon.
Should you file a claim? You probably don’t have much chance of success, unless you have a communication that mentions one of the bank accounts listed in the Complaint. They are on the pages immediately preceding the claim form in the PPA paper. You want to find a name or number that matches an email from a payment processor or online poker operator.
Even then, there are some risks. I don’t think the judge would punish a player if the claim failed. But the DoJ will now have your name and identifying information. There is no federal crime against playing poker online. But you can be sure that if you are claiming hundreds of thousands of dollars that you will have your taxes audited.
After weeks of conflicting news on the Full Tilt Poker situation, two startling developments are beginning to unfold.
First, rumors are circulating that there is a new captain leading the ship. At the most recent board of directors’ meeting, wanted man Ray Bitar was voted out of his role as CEO. Obviously, this has been a much anticipated move, considering that a new investor would be much more hesitant to save Full Tilt when it is being led by a man running from the feds.
In a possibly related note, rumors are also floating through the net that the Alderney Gambling Control Commission will be revoking the suspension on Full Tilt’s license by this weekend. It has been well known that Full Tilt Poker has been working toward this end, and it seems that their goal is finally coming to fruition. It is very likely that this move was made capable due to the removal of Bitar as CEO.
We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they are made available.
The last week of June wasn’t just the end of the ’10-’11 Fiscal Year. It was also the official end of Full Tilt Poker. A descent that started on April 15 of this year, thereafter considered by the online poker world to be Black Friday, ended last week when Full Tilt Poker closed its doors, in all probability for good.
To be clear on this FullTiltPoker.com was already closed to US players after Black Friday. But now, as of a week ago, Full Tilt Poker is closed to everyone, no matter where in the world they may live. The action to close Full Tilt Poker’s international operations last Wednesday, June 29, 2011, was taken by British Channel Island regulators.
Full Tilt Poker has yet to pay back some $150 million in American player funds frozen along with the rest of Full Tilt’s American assets. And now, they stand to owe millions more to their players left high and dry in the rest of the world. FTP is attempting to raise the funds needed to issue all these necessary (and overdue) refunds by selling majority ownership stake in the Irish parent company of Full Tilt Poker, Pocket Kings to Europan investors.
The US Attorney’s Office, meanwhile, is still said to be seeking around $3 billion in damages from Full Tilt Poker and the other two poker sites named in Black Friday’s seizure, Poker Stars and Absolute Poker. Poker Stars, incidentally, has paid back all $120 million it owed to its American players ousted in the shutdown of their American operations, while Absolute Poker has yet to pay back a dime of American player funds since that dark day in online poker history.
The LA Times is reporting that European investors are poised to buy a majority stake in Pocket Kings, the parent company of Full Tilt Poker. So far this is the only report on the matter, but the Times got this quote from Phil Ivey’s lawyer, David Chesnoff “Mr. Ivey intends to dismiss his lawsuit as he believes Full Tilt is taking steps to see that the players are paid.” No statements directly from Full Tilt Poker were obtained but the report says “Attorneys close to Full Tilt said that the deal reached Thursday was part of broader negotiations to clear up its legal problems with Alderney and U.S. prosecutors.”
This should be tentative good news for US players with money on Full Tilt Poker. Any attempt to resurrect the brand should probably include paying players their outstanding balances. The report does not name the investors in any detail, and does not go as far as to say that US players are guaranteed to be paid.
It seems a bit odd that the LA Times broke this story. Usually news like this comes from more poker-centric sources. The story does have a couple inaccuracies. It states that three sites were “shut down” by the US government. PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Bet. In one paragraph of the story they correctly mention that those “three” sites still operate outside the US and then in the next paragraph they call them “shut down”.
I am sure more information should become available soon. Check Holdem Poker Chat for up to the date information
All real money play throughout the world has been suspended and players who were in the middle of online poker tournaments were booted off the site. Full Tilt Poker’s website says the servers being down is due to “Scheduled Maintenance”. Players who have tried to access the servers are saying they “can not connect”.
This sudden license suspension seems to have caught at least one Full Tilt Poker Pro by surprise, “Seems like Alderney regulatory body (where ftp’s license is) just shut down ftp. Wow I think?” Tweeted Tom Dwan this morning.
We’ll continue to follow this story for you and bring you updates as they become available.
UPDATE: There is rumor going around that Full Tilt Poker wlil re-open in a few hours and operate without a license. They will remove all Alderney logo’s and edit the Terms and Conditions. They will also having banking issues as no banks or credit card companies will apprive transactions with an unlicensed operator.
Moneybookers has also sent out a message to it’s users stating: As a Moneybookers customer, you already know you are the most important part of our business. We always make sure you receive the safest service. For this reason we have stopped accepting deposits made to Full Tilt Poker.
There are extraordinary circumstances behind this situation which are beyond our control. We will not comment on these, just take appropriate action that protects our customers.
BREAKING NEWS: The Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) has suspended the licences for Full Tilt Poker. Full Tilt is required to suspend all operations from within the jurisdiction immediately.
The AGCC said in a statement this morning: “The decision to suspend these licenses follows a special investigation prompted by the indictments unsealed by US Attorney General’s Office in the Southern District of New York on 15th April 2011, during which grounds were found to indicate that these licensees and their business associates were operating contrary to Alderney legislation.”
From what we are being told the Full Tilt Poker software does not open and for now at least they are closed. There has been no official announcement by Full Tilt Poker.
We’ll have more on this developing situation when we get more details.
Update:
AGCC’s official announcement:
In the matters of:-
VANTAGE LIMITED
OXALIC LIMITED
FILCO LIMITED
And
ORINIC LIMITED
Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) has today issued Hearing Notices under Regulation 46 of the Alderney eGambling Regulations, 2009 to the above named companies who collectively trade as FULL TILT POKER.
In addition, AGCC has issued Suspension Notices under Regulation 47 of the Alderney eGambling Regulations, 2009 to the above named companies requiring them to immediately suspend operations.
The above named companies must, until the Suspension Notices are cancelled or the Commissioners of AGCC have reached a determination at the conclusion of the hearing convened in accordance with Regulation 46 of the Alderney eGambling Regulations, 2009 cease to exercise their eGambling licenses, which means that these licensees must from today cease to:-
Register new customers;
Accept deposits from existing customers;
Allow existing customers to withdraw funds that are held in their accounts; and
Permit customers to participate in any form of poker game play or gambling
transaction.
The Alderney Gambling Control Commission will hear the matters contained in the Hearing Notices at a Regulatory Hearing which will commence at 10.00am on Tuesday 26th July, 2011 at the Victoria Park Plaza Hotel, 239 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 1EQ. In the event that there is a change to these details this notice will be amended.
The Alderney Gambling Control Commission will hear the matters contained in the Hearing Notices at a Regulatory Hearing which will commence at 10.00am on Tuesday 26th July, 2011 at the Victoria Park Plaza Hotel, 239 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 1EQ. In the event that there is a change to these details this notice will be amended.
André Wilsenach (Executive Director)
Alderney Gambling Control Commission
Alderney, Channel Islands
29th June, 2011
In the midst of all the political hullabaloo happening at Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars, both sites are still doing all they can to continue improving the player experience at their tables, as evidenced by the recent release of new player software for both sites.
Full Tilt Poker has added a color-coding feature that allows you to tag different players with any of 15 different color codes for conveniently recalling at a glance each player’s playing style and personal weaknesses or tells.
There are a whole bunch of new poker variants in the FullTilt repertoire with this new update as well, including Cap variants of 7-Game through 10-Game mixed game tables. There are also Pot Limit tables available on 2-7 Triple Draw, with antes. And there’s now mixed limit versions of all HA games.
Both Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars have introduced new automatically table closing features; at FullTilt it’s on sit and go tables and at PokerStars it’s at cash game tables after your next big blind passes.
Other additions to the player experience over at Poker Stars include a completely redesigned sit and go lobby including new Hyper-Turbo Cash Sit & Go tables. It’s now easier at Poker Stars to change your table layouts on the fly. And for easier reference while in the throes of a game, especially helpful when multi-tabling, Poker Stars now posts the name of the tournament and blind info in the title bar.
Poker Stars has also introduced a feature that allows you to subversively type in the chat or take down player notes without “stealing notice”.
Full Tilt Poker can’t win for losing, it seems. First one of its leading spokesmen and biggest draws, Phil Ivey, soured to the site, quitting its team of pros and suing the site’s parent company, Tiltware, for $150 million. Now one of its former leading spokeswomen, Clonie Gowen, has revived a formerly defunct lawsuit she had previously brought against the site.
So we know what Phil’s beef with them is. He says he’s upset because the site hasn’t yet managed to give US players the money back from their FullTilt accounts that they are no longer allowed to use or access. So what’s Clonie’s beef with the site?
She says they promised her a 1% ownership stake in the company that they failed to make good on. Had they done as they promised, Clonie asserts, she would have been paid around $40 million that she never ended up seeing. In February 2010 a US district judge dismissed her case, saying it lacked merit. He even gave her lawyer three chances to rewrite the complaint to provide sufficient detail to prompt the judge to change his mind but failed to be convinced by any of the attempts. A recently successful appeal, however, has revived that lawsuit, allowing Clonie to proceed with her case.
Between Ivey’s $150 million claim and Gowen’s approximately $40 million claim, it seems doubtful, were they to both be successful, that Full Tilt players (and former players in the US) would be the ones to suffer right alongside Full Tilt Poker itself, which lacks enough available funds to pay out its own players as it is.
The latest rumors about embattled Full Tilt Poker and their fall from grace had unknown European investors set to buy up the beleaguered franchise. Now ERG Magazine is reporting that those investors are only interested in certain UK and Ireland based parts of the company. The word is that they want nothing to do with anything facing the United States.
The Poker Players Alliance just posted a guide to what poker players might try, to get their money back from Full-Tilt, Absolute and the other operators who won’t, or can’t, return deposits. Although I don’t agree with everything the PPA’s say – for example, I think many U.S. courts would throw out claims by players as debts associated with gambling – they raise the important and immediate point: If you are going to file a claim for part of the millions of dollars seized by the U.S. federal government in bank accounts around the world on April 15th, you only have until July 15, 2011.
