Full Tilt Poker Und Pokerstars
Online poker operator PokerStars has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to obtain control of former industry rival Full Tilt Poker for approximately $731 million, according to government documents.
With the acquisition of Full Tilt Poker by Rational Group which also owns PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker has now become as safe of a place to keep your money as PokerStars and the poker world now has one more completely trustworthy online poker room. Looking for a Great Online Poker Room? Why not Zoidberg Full Tilt Poker? Full Tilt Poker is an Irish online poker card room and online casino that opened in June 2004. Formerly privately owned by Tiltware, LLC and later by the Rational Entertainment Group, the site was acquired by The Stars Group (then known as Amaya Gaming Group) in a deal where Amaya acquired all of Rational's assets, including PokerStars.A statement by Amaya said the takeover would not affect. Full Tilt was already PokerStars, but now they will join the two networks in a just and that the field will be greater and subsequently more tournaments and higher garatindas awards.
According to the documentation, PokerStars will forfeit $547 million to the government, while Full Tilt Poker will forfeit virtually all of its assets to the goverment, which will in turn give those assets to PokerStars.
Under the terms of the PokerStars settlement agreement, PokerStars will return $184 million (the full amount owed) to foreign players by Full Tilt Poker. American players will be able to file claims with the Department of Justice to get reimbursed. The money that is used to reimburse victims in the United States will come from the forfeited $547 million.
Poker Stars and Full Tilt's were among the domains seized by the DOJ on April 15, 2011, which has come to be known in the poker industry as 'Black Friday.' On that date, indictments were unsealed against 11 individuals affiliated with major online poker platforms and their payment processors, with charges including bank fraud and money laundering. Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker both immediately left the U.S. market, with Full Tilt ceasing operations in June 2011 as their license to operate was suspended. Full Tilt player funds have been frozen since that time.
Full Tilt Poker CEO Ray Bitar was arrested after voluntarily surrendering on July 2. Bitar was released on bail eight days later.
As part of the settlement, Bitar, Howard Lederer, Rafe Furst, Chris Ferguson and Nelson Burtnick are prohibited from being employed by PokerStars in the future. The settlement also prohibits former PokerStars CEO Isai Scheinberg from serving in a management or director role in any PokerStars company.
'PokerStars does not admit to any wrongdoing and is explicitly permitted to apply to relevant U.S. gaming authorities to offer real money online poker when state of federal governments introduce regulation,' said PokerStars in a statement.
According to the settlement, charges against PokerStars will be dismissed upon the first of three payments from PokerStars to the Department of Justice.
'Upon the first payment [$225 million] and subject to the terms of Paragraph 7, the in rem forfeiture action against the PokerStars Defendant Property and the civil money-laundering claims against the PokerStars Companies shall be dismissed with prejudice. Accordingly, this Stipulation and Order of Settlement fully and finally resolves this action as to the PokerStars companies and the PokerStars Defendant Property.'
The PokerStars press release goes on to state that 'PokerStars plans to re-launch Full Tilt Poker in most markets as a separate brand, following the appointment of a new, independent management team.'
'It's a tremendous, tremendous deal,' said Jeff Ifrah, an outside counsel who represented Full Tilt Poker in negotiations with the DOJ. 'This was a dream opportunity, given the hand we were dealt, that hand specifically being a company that had over $330 million of debt owed to poker players around the world.
'It was tremendously difficult as you could imagine to find the right buyer who would appreciate the industry and appreciate the value of the asset and on top of all of that, who would pay the poker players .' Ifrah said. 'PokerStars was truly the only potential candidate to appreciate the value of the Full Tilt asset and the impact that the Full Tilt deal would have on the poker community. Because of those factors, Poker Stars was really the only candidate who could step up and do this thing. To actually attain their encouragement and get them involved and have the DOJ's help in putting together this deal it's really miraculous.'
And added:
'The objective, and part of my marching orders, was to get all of the players paid back. Obviously, there was a big focus on U.S. players
This was a situation that hurt people in a lot of ways throughout the year. A lot of folks who had a lot of money tied up or some folks without as much tied up which would have meant a lot to them
I think the future is looking bright for their reimbursement now.'
Recent rumors regarding PokerStars acquisition of Full Tilt Poker have left poker enthusiasts hopeful that all will be well soon. However, considering the current political climate, this path is not a cakewalk. The Full Tilt Saga might be far from over, and here is why –
While Full Tilt Poker and all other poker sites closed down following Black Friday; fellow poker site PokerStars awaited a similar fate, and moved to the European market. However, rumor has it that PokerStars is willing to buy out Full Tilt Poker, and the Justice Department will broker it.
The deal would not only end the Full Tilt Saga, but would also give PokerStars the chance to legalize its American subsidiary.
Full Tilt Poker has been in the news many times in the past year and a half. The case feels more like a fat trilogy waiting to unravel, than a defunct company that owes millions in debt. It would certainly scramble the dark clouds hovering over the poker world, if only there were finality to Full Tilt Poker’s story. An end to this miserable story, would not only give the players back their money, but would also significantly increase player pools. Either way, if-and-when the chapter does close, the poker community can definitely heave a sigh of relief, after holding their breaths for almost two-years.
Full Tilt Poker Pokerstars Account
The United States Justice Department can help in brokering any deal between PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. This would not only put an end to the debt crisis, but would absolve them from federal prosecution. However, a point to be noted here is that; the Justice Department has no-say whatsoever in the States’ decision to allow PokerStars to operate.
Full Tilt Poker O Pokerstars
Each gambling state has its own state government deciding the operation of online poker platforms. In those states with the highest gambling revenue, Caesars (Harrahs) controls most of the gambling. It is quite clear, that under the circumstances, Caesars will not stand and watch PokerStars gain ground once again, in a time when the US government is softening its stance against online gambling. This multi-billion dollar industry is predicted to grow exponentially in the coming years.
Full Tilt Poker Und Pokerstars Play
With plenty of fish to catch, Caesars will weigh having a US PokerStars as a competitor against having non-US PokerStars as a competitor. In case of the latter, Caesars will definitely dominate. The main reason with the deal is to pay off the debts owed to players. However, considering the present circumstances, the deal seems to have plenty of loose ends.