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Posts Tagged ‘Poker World’
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
The poker world let out a collective “ONE TIME” yesterday afternoon after learning that Groupe Bernard Tapie had come to an agreement with the US Department of Justice that would allow players from around the world to be repaid IF they can now convince 2/3 of Full Tilt Poker shareholders to sell to GBT.
Subject: Poker broke the story, posting an E-Mail sent to Full Tilt shareholders by CEO Ray Bitar:
Dear members,
I am pleased to announce that today the Department of Justice and Groupe Bernard Tapie have reached an agreement in principle regarding the acquisition of the companies comprising FullTiltPoker. My understanding is the deal provides that in exchange for an agreed upon payment by GBT, and a GBT commitment to assume responsibility for payment of ROW players, DoJ will reimburse US players and settle the outstanding civil litigation with the companies comprising FTP. Beyond these conditions, issues like the time frame and process for repayment of players remain unclear at this point and time.
With DoJ’s consent now in hand, GBT may now proceed to finalize an agreement to acquire the companies or assets that comprise FTP. That agreement will very likely address the status of your shares or interests in the successor company. When I receive that agreement, I will coordinate with our attorneys to ensure the terms of that proposed agreement will be shared with the membership and voted on.
-Ray
According to Subject: Poker, the deal agreed to by GBT and the DOJ would call for the DOJ to repay US players (most likely from the hundreds of millions seized before and after Black Friday) while GBT would take on the responsibility of player funds from the rest of the world.
Of course there are still some hurdles to clear, and it remains unclear how the DOJ would repay players. For a look at some of the issues that could arise you can check out this article from CalvinAyre.com.
Tags: Acquisition, Assets, Attorneys, Bernard Tapie, Black Friday, Ceo, Civil Litigation, Department Of Justice, Doj, E Mail, Full Tilt Poker, Hurdles, Poker World, Principle, Rest Of The World, Shareholders, Successor Company, Time Frame, Us Department Of Justice, Yesterday Afternoon
Posted in Poker Industry News | No Comments »
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
The poker world let out a collective “ONE TIME” yesterday afternoon after learning that Groupe Bernard Tapie had come to an agreement with the US Department of Justice that would allow players from around the world to be repaid IF they can now convince 2/3 of Full Tilt Poker shareholders to sell to GBT.
Subject: Poker broke the story, posting an E-Mail sent to Full Tilt shareholders by CEO Ray Bitar:
Dear members,
I am pleased to announce that today the Department of Justice and Groupe Bernard Tapie have reached an agreement in principle regarding the acquisition of the companies comprising FullTiltPoker. My understanding is the deal provides that in exchange for an agreed upon payment by GBT, and a GBT commitment to assume responsibility for payment of ROW players, DoJ will reimburse US players and settle the outstanding civil litigation with the companies comprising FTP. Beyond these conditions, issues like the time frame and process for repayment of players remain unclear at this point and time.
With DoJ’s consent now in hand, GBT may now proceed to finalize an agreement to acquire the companies or assets that comprise FTP. That agreement will very likely address the status of your shares or interests in the successor company. When I receive that agreement, I will coordinate with our attorneys to ensure the terms of that proposed agreement will be shared with the membership and voted on.
-Ray
According to Subject: Poker, the deal agreed to by GBT and the DOJ would call for the DOJ to repay US players (most likely from the hundreds of millions seized before and after Black Friday) while GBT would take on the responsibility of player funds from the rest of the world.
Of course there are still some hurdles to clear, and it remains unclear how the DOJ would repay players. For a look at some of the issues that could arise you can check out this article from CalvinAyre.com.
Tags: Bernard Tapie, Black Friday, Civil Litigation, Department Of Justice, Doj, E Mail, Full Tilt Poker, Hurdles, Poker World, Rest Of The World, Shareholders, Successor Company, Us Department Of Justice, Yesterday Afternoon
Posted in Poker Industry News | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 26th, 2011
Over the past few years you would have a hard time finding a more successful online poker player than Richard Lyndaker, known to the online world by his PokerStars screen-name “Nutsinho”. But 2011 has been a whole different ballgame for the online phenom, and after a devastating weekend at the virtual tables, Lyndaker is down nearly $900k on the year.
The run has been so bad that Lyndaker has been threatening to quit online poker (his presence on the live tournament trail has increased dramatically over the last couple years) over the past couple weeks, first posting the following message on his Twitter account a few weeks back: “Continuing to run terrible every single day this year. Just never ends, probably quitting online poker after the next two months,”
And after his recent downswing he appears to be giving the world of online poker only another month: “Impossible bad downswing immediately follows heater AGAIN. November will be the last month of “nutsinho” playing on PokerStars. Sad times…”
Lyndaker’s downswing and subsequent tilt/depression/frustration is eerily similar to Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies’ horrid 2010 –and like Lyndaker, Sahamies was very vocal about his struggles– at the online poker tables. Sahamies tried everything from switching from Full Tilt Poker to PokerStars and quitting poker for a spell, before he worked his way through it, and is once again one of the online poker world’s top winners. Here is hoping that Lyndaker can follow a similar path.
Tags: Ballgame, Couple Weeks, Depression, Downswing, Frustration, Full Tilt Poker, Hard Time, online poker, Phenom, Poker Player, Poker Tables, Poker World, Presence, Sad Times, Screen Name, Single Day, Virtual Tables
Posted in Online Poker, Poker News | No Comments »
Thursday, September 29th, 2011
As the saga that began on Black Friday (nearly 6-months ago) continues to unfold for Full Tilt poker the news simply gets worse and worse for both Full Tilt poker and the thousands of online poker players who have some $390 million frozen in their Full Tilt poker accounts.
On Thursday morning the Aldernay Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) decided to fully revoke the operating license of Full Tilt Poker, after releasing its findings from the hearing that took place about a week ago in London.
In the initial press release and subsequent detailed findings, the poker world became aware of a number of things. First and foremost, Full Tilt poker representatives refused to take part in the hearing when their request for a further adjournment was denied –Full Tilt was then represented by AGCC officials in the hearing, who presented the site’s side of the case.
Additionally, it seems Full Tilt Poker was required to segregate player funds, as the AGCC listed the following regulation as one of the many Full Tilt poker was in violation of: “The Company will ensure that, at all times, there are sufficient funds in this account to cover all balances held by the company on behalf of its customers. The Company confirms that this account is not used as a security for any other operational liability”.
Another interesting revelation was that Full Tilt poker was fudging the financial statements it was sending to the AGCC by including funds that had been seized by the US government, as well as the shortfall caused by accepting eCheck deposits from US players when they had no means of processing the transaction –this “credit” to players accounts was also something the site was prohibited from doing under their licensing agreement.
You can read the entire press release here, and the complete list of charges here
Tags: Adjournment, Agcc, Black Friday, Breaking News, Complete List, Entire Press, Financial Statements, Full Tilt Poker, Gambling Control, Initial Press, Licensing Agreement, online poker, Poker Players, Poker World, Press Release, Revelation, Saga, Shortfall, Thursday Morning, Us Government
Posted in Online Poker, Poker Industry News | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 27th, 2011
While the entire poker world awaited a statement from Full Tilt poker stemming from the requested amendment to the civil case that was filed last week, few will be satiated by the out of touch, off-topic, statement that Full Tilt Poker released. Basically the only point of contention that Full Tilt poker decided to address in the statement was the use of the term Ponzi scheme by US Attorney Preet Bharara.
Nothing regarding the massive shortfall, huge dividend payments to owners, or the other alleged fraudulent activity that took place at the site. Instead this is what Full Tilt Poker determined was the most important aspect to push-back against:
“Full Tilt Poker is not a Ponzi Scheme.
On September 19, 2011, the Department of Justice issued a release stating that Full Tilt Poker was “A Global Ponzi Scheme.” While the government has taken issue with the underlying activities of FTP, under any reasonable interpretation, there is no way to characterize the operation of Full Tilt Poker’s virtual online card room as a global Ponzi scheme.
A “Ponzi” scheme is an investment fraud that involves the payment of purported returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors. Ponzi schemes do not involve any legitimate investment, but rather use the new investor funds to pay “dividends” to the initial investors.
Despite recent events, FTP remains committed to identifying a suitable investor and paying back its players in full.”
Whew, and here I thought the company may have been in trouble *be careful not to slip in all of that sarcasm!
Tags: Address, Civil Case, Department Of Justice, Dividend Payments, Dividends, Fraudulent Activity, Full Tilt Poker, Initial Investors, Investment Fraud, Investor Funds, New Investor, Point Of Contention, Poker Online, Poker World, Ponzi Scheme, Ponzi Schemes, Sarcasm, Semantics, Shortfall, Whew
Posted in Poker Industry News | No Comments »
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
Just as things were starting to settle down in the poker world, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York decided to rip off the band-aid that had been placed over Full Tilt poker since Black Friday by issuing a proposed amendment to the civil complaint it filed in conjunction with its Black Friday criminal case.
In the proposed amendment US Attorney Preet Bharara called Full Tilt Poker a “Global Ponzi Scheme” stating, “Full Tilt insiders lined their own pockets with funds picked from the pockets of their most loyal customers while blithely lying to both players and the public alike about the safety and security of the money deposited,”
Also, for the first time Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, and Rafe Furst were named as owners of the company –while some 19 other owners/shareholders were spared having their names attached to the amended complaint, most likely because of the limited roles they had in the operation of the company.
The complaint alleges that Full Tilt Poker stated in numerous E-Mails and on public message forums that player’ funds were safe and secure, and were kept segregated form operational expenses –which turned out to not be the case. The complaint also alleges that Full Tilt Poker owners were paid over $443 million between 2007 and 2011, and these payments continued even after problems arose in the processing of US player funds, and even in the days before Black Friday.
You can read the entire complaint at the following link: http://www.scribd.com/doc/65666240/Amended-Full-Tilt-Poker-Complaint-PR
Tags: Band Aid, Black Friday, Chris Ferguson, Civil Complaint, Criminal Case, Doj, Full Tilt Poker, Howard Lederer, Insiders, Loyal Customers, Operational Expenses, Pockets, Poker World, Ponzi Scheme, Public Message Forums, Rafe Furst, Safety And Security, Scribd, Southern District Of New York, Time Howard
Posted in Poker Industry News | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 13th, 2011
The 2010 Partouche Poker Tour Main Event was supposed to establish the tour as one of the biggest in the poker world, and even though the tournament received more attention than it could ever imagine, it was for all the wrong reasons –which is something PPT organizers are hoping stays in the past.
With a WSOP-style hiatus between the final table participants being set and the final table taking place, a €1.3 million first-prize, and notable players including eventual champion Vanessa Selbst as well as Fabrice Soulier and Tobias Reinkemeier, the PPT Main Event was set to become a force rivaling the Aussie Millions and the PokerStars PCA as big world-wide tournaments.
Instead the tournament was plagued by the cheating allegations that revolved around Ali Tekintamgac’s use of fake reporters and cameramen to relay opponent’s hole card information to Tekintamgac.
Now, in 2011, the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event is back, and based on the opening day attendance numbers (as well as the star-power in the field) it seems that the PPT has moved on from the Tekintamgac episode, and is once again ready to challenge as one of the most prestigious tournaments in poker.
A total of 318 players showed up with €8,500 in hand on Day 1a of the tournament, and with Day 1b still to be played it appears the tournament will easily surpass the €4 million guarantee set by the PPT prior to the tournament.
Tags: 1a, Ali, Allegations, Attendance Numbers, Aussie Millions, Cameramen, Champion, Fabrice Soulier, Hiatus, Hole Card, Main Event, Opening Day, Opponent, Organizers, Partouche, Pca, Poker World, Prestigious Tournaments, Star Power, Tobias
Posted in Poker News | No Comments »
Thursday, September 1st, 2011
In a scene reminiscent to the way the company initially conveyed their message to the public after Black Friday, a representative from Full Tilt Poker –this time Full Tilt Poker attorney Jeff Ifrah—has been answering questions on the 2+2 Poker Forum. Ifrah has been actively engaged in the conversation since just after the site issued their most recent statement –which was their first in a very long time—on the status of negotiations with potential investors.
Ifrah has been peppered with questions since creating his 2+2 account, some of which are legitimate concerns from the players, while others are the usual half-cocked theories that seem to plague these sorts of threads. Overall Ifrah’s responses have been what you would expect from an attorney, neither corroborating anything or flat out denying things, all the while leaving enough wiggle room to maneuver should things go in a different direction.
That said, the communication line between Full Tilt Poker and the poker world as a whole has been non-existent for roughly two months, so any correspondence is a welcome sight at this point. Here is a look of at a few of the more straightforward questions that Ifrah has answered:
- Ray Bitar is still the CEO of Full Tilt Poker
- The 8-week silence from the company is from a confidentiality agreement with one group of investors
- Full Tilt Poker will be releasing more statements in the near future
For anyone interested in reading through the lengthy thread you can find it at 2+2
Tags: Answering Questions, Bitar, Black Friday, Ceo, Communication Line, Confidentiality Agreement, Correspondence, Full Tilt Poker, Investors, Legitimate Concerns, Lengthy Thread, Long Time, Negotiations, Poker Forum, Poker World, Silence, Sorts, Straightforward Questions, Welcome Sight, Wiggle Room
Posted in Poker Industry News | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011
According to a number of unspecified sources it looks as though one potential purchaser of Full Tilt Poker is a conglomerate of online poker companies that includes Playtech, Bwin and 888 Poker. These rumors go against the earlier reports that were coming out of Full Tilt Poker headquarters stating that the likely investors were not associated with the online poker industry. So it’s unclear whether the rumors are mere speculation, if Full Tilt Poker was not completely forthcoming with who the investors were, or if the initial investors have dropped out allowing the online poker companies to make a late push at purchasing the site.
Since Black Friday, Full Tilt Poker has been struggling to stay afloat, as the veil has been lifted from the shiny exterior to reveal what amounts to a company using a lot of smoke and mirrors to give off the semblance of a well-oiled machine. Among the secrets revealed were that player funds were used for marketing and operational expenditures, rogue employees were selling 100% rakeback accounts on the side, and that the site had allowed players to deposit via eCheck despite not having a payment processor capable of making the transaction –something that caused a $160 million shortfall when Full Tilt tried to collect these deposits months after the fact.
Should the rumors be true, and Full Tilt Poker is purchased by a menagerie of current online poker sites, it’s likely the first order of business would be to repay the players who have been waiting since mid-April to retrieve their funds from the site. Any other course of action by the new owners would make the Full Tilt Poker brand a toxic asset in the poker world.
Tags: Black Friday, Bwin, Conglomerate, Echeck, Full Tilt Poker, Initial Investors, Marketing, Menagerie, Online Poker Sites, Operational Expenditures, Order Of Business, Payment Processor, Poker World, Purchaser, Semblance, Shortfall, Speculation, True Poker, Veil, Well Oiled Machine
Posted in Poker Industry News | No Comments »
Monday, August 15th, 2011
After a few days of silence the poker world finally got what they have been waiting for, as both Daniel “jungleman12” Cates and Haseeb “DogisHead” Qureshi talked to BLUFF Magazine, explaining their roles and knowledge of Jose “Girah” Macedo, who was recently caught scamming other high-stakes poker players.
The first interview to hit the Internet was with Daniel “jungleman12” Cates’. While the Cates interview failed to reveal any pertinent information, and was –as the 2+2 poker forum noted—a bit of a softball interview, Cates did reveal that he was aware of Qureshi playing on Girah’s Lock Poker account during the Bluff Pro Challenge; an admission that became far more relevant after the Qureshi interview was posted a few hours later.
Qureshi’s interview was the real eye-opener, as the high-stakes online pro admitted to chip-dumping to Girah, which allowed the young phenom to secure the BLUFF Pro Challenge title –which was later stripped when the site discovered Haseeb Qureshi had also played on the account during the challenge.
While Qureshi didn’t admit too much else, his interview was almost instantaneously picked apart by 2+2 forum members, and many inconsistencies were discovered. As with his previous answers in the thread on 2+2, Qureshi only revealed as much information as was asked, once again answering important questions on a “need to know” basis.
You can read both interviews on BLUFF Magazine:
Daniel Cates interview
Haseeb Qureshi interview
Tags: Admission, Bluff Magazine, Days Of Silence, Eye Opener, Few Days, Forum Members, Haseeb, High Stakes Poker, Inconsistencies, Knowledge, Macedo, Need To Know Basis, Phenom, Playing Poker, Poker Forum, Poker Players, Poker World, Pro Challenge, Qureshi, Softball
Posted in Poker News | No Comments »
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