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Full Tilt Payments: One Step Closer

August 13, 2012

For those looking for employment, the Department of Justice has an interesting job listing posted on their website. They are looking for a third party Claims Administrator to assist with repayments to former Full Tilt players.

According to the DOJH, there are roughly 1.3 million possible US players who were wronged by Full Tilt after Black Friday when the former online poker site was unable to refund player accounts following Black Friday. These potential victims held account balances totaling almost $160 million. Now that PokerStars has made a first installment payment to the DOJ of $225 million, the money is now available to repay the former Full Tilt players. Once it’s all said and done, PokerStars will have paid $547 million to the US government.

According to Full Tilt attorney Jeff Irah, who helped advance the deal between PokerStars and the DOJ, says that the Claims Administrator will work to help these payments get back into the hands of former Full Tilt players. Interested firms need submit applications by the month’s end to be considered; however, any applicants must disclose any associations they’ve had with online poker site or gambling institution in the past, so as to no “be viewed as affecting independence.”

The DOJ expressed that the firm to be hired will work with authorities to “design and execute a process to solicit, receive and evaluate claims, and to process payments, for losses incurred by U.S. victims that are attributable to the fraud alleged in the [Full Tilt Poker complaint]. In so doing the Claims Administrator will obtain and evaluate information, such as financial transaction records, from claimants, and analyze information contained in user account records provided in database and other format by Full Tilt Poker.”

Written by Maria · Filed Under Poker News 

The Ray Bitar Saga Part 2

August 13, 2012

Former Full Tilt CEO Ray Bitar, who is out on bail after being arrested early last month released a statement today declaring that he had officially signed the necessary papers needed to finish the deal between Full Tilt Poker and the US government.

According to Bitar’s statement, assets of the company will be transferred over to PokerStars and employees of Full Tilt will now be employees of PokerStars. Furthermore, he stated, “I believe that this deal will result in Full Tilt’s customers being repaid. I am extremely pleased and excited by this prospect.”

Bitar continued, “I am extremely pleased and excited by this prospect. For the past 15 months, I have worked hard on possible solutions to get players repaid. It has been a very long road, with lots of bumps along the way, but I am glad we have gotten to the end. I only wish that we could have resolved the situation much sooner.”

Perhaps he is genuinely sorry it took so long, and whether or not he has been in hiding so that he can continue to work on things is questionable, but giving himself up just after the deal was finalized does give merit to his statement.

Former Full Tilt executive Nelson Burtnick, who is also accused of drawing salaries even though player funds were not secured are still at large. Burtnick is still at large, though six of the 11 original indicted individuals have been pleaded guilty, and a $3 billion civil forfeiture case has been secured against online poker sites.

Bitar closed his statement with the following:

Today’s settlement also ends the US Government’s legal case against the Full Tilt companies. I am glad that this chapter has closed. I would like to thank the company’s many dedicated employees who helped achieve this result. It has been a pleasure working at Full Tilt and I am grateful for the many friendships and memories that I made there. I wish everyone in the Full Tilt family success in their future endeavors.

I also extend my best wishes to PokerStars. This is a very creative deal and it should benefit everyone: the players, Full Tilt and PokerStars alike.

All of this is kind of sad, but inevitable. Bitar started Full Tilt Poker back when he was working as a day trader at an LA prop shop. He and pro poker players Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer built the company from scratch. It would ultimately become the second largest online poker site in the world. But playing games with the feds to stay off their radar eventually caught up with them. And it just didn’t help that they couldn’t pay players when the walls came down. Thus, Full Tilt’s tragic flaw was that they did not separate player funds from operating costs.

Hopefully Bitar is right and this new agreement will satisfy all parties, but unfortunately, he is still facing up to 145 years in prison and must face his sentence now after remaining in hiding for the previous 15 months.

Written by Marcus · Filed Under Poker News 

The Ray Bitar Saga Part 1

August 13, 2012

Sixteen months ago, the US federal government shut down the biggest online poker sites serving US players on what is now known as Black Friday. If you don’t know about this, you’ve either been hiding under a rock or haven’t been born yet. Fast forward 16 months after the US poker industry has gone through a series of dramatic events, but has for the most part survived due mostly to the fact that people all over the world love online poker and aren’t going to let it go without a fight.

So early last month, former Full Tilt CEO Ray Bitar, who was indicted on Black Friday along with 10 other online poker big wigs, finally turned himself in after remaining in hiding in Ireland since April of last year. He was promptly arrested in early July upon his arrival at JFK International Airport. He then pleaded not guilty to the charges set forth against him by the feds for money laundering, illegal online gambling operations, etc. He’s out on bail now, but faces up to 145 years in jail if convicted.

Bitar stated, “I returned voluntarily to the US from Full Tilt’s headquarters in Ireland to face the charges against me. I know that a lot of people are very angry at me. I understand why. Full Tilt should never have gotten into a position where it could not repay player funds. For the last 15 months, I have worked hard on possible solutions to get the players repaid. Returning today is part of that process. I believe we are near the end of a very long road, and I will continue to do whatever is required to get the players repaid, and I hope that it will happen soon.”

Why it took him so long is questionable, but so much has happened, including Full Tilt being deemed a Ponzi Scheme, the failure of buyout of Full Tilt by French firm Groupe Bernard Tapie, and the ongoing dilemma regarding nonpayment of player funds, not to mention the site being shut down and virtually non-existent. Meanwhile, Full Tilt still owes players around the world roughly $350 million.

Prosecutors claimed that Bitar knew that Full Tilt was dependent on continual deposits by players to keep up with the backlog of player withdrawals, all the while continuing to draw a salary for himself. And this is why Full Tilt was labeled a Ponzi Scheme.

Written by Bea · Filed Under Poker News 

August 2012 PartyPoker Bonus Code

August 2, 2012

Poker Bonus

If you are looking for a massive online poker bonus, look no further than PartyPoker.com. For new players, PartyPoker is offering a new player bonus worth up to $/£/€500. All you have to do is create a player account using PartyPoker Bonus Code 500PS and make your first real money deposit. Once you’ve claimed your bonus, you’ll need to play poker in order to clear your bonus to your account. This bonus clears automatically as you rack up enough PartyPoints. If you are depositing in USD, you’ll need to earn six times your bonus in points to clear your bonus in full. For Euros, you’ll need eight times the bonus, and for Sterling, nine times.

You will automatically earn PartyPoints as you play real money cash games and buy into tournaments. For every $1 you pay into rake, you’ll earn two PartyPoints, and for every $1 you pay in tourney fees, you’ll earn two points, so you can see that these points can rack up pretty quickly, thus clearing your bonus fast. You’ll have 60 days to clear the full bonus. Your bonus will be deposited into your player account in 10 increments.

Freerolls

There are more than $100K in freerolls each month and the first one you should register for is the New Player $1,500 Freeroll. There’s a chance for everyone to freeroll at PartyPoker.

Summer Superstars

Through August 19th, participate in the Summer Superstars promotion at PartyPoker. To play like a star, just rack up points for your chance at a share of $5K or a World Poker Tour package. The first step is the Summer Superstar Bronze $1K Freeroll and it only requires that you collect one point to qualify. Collect just 10 points and you will qualify for the Silver $1,500 Freeroll. And finally, collect 25 points and qualify for the Gold $2,500 Freeroll. When you finish in the money in any of these freerolls, you’ll earn your prize plus a special point boost, so you’ll move up on of the three Summer Superstars Leaderboards. The higher up the leaderboards you climb, the better your chance to score cash or exclusive WPT prizes, packages, and buy-ins. Stay in the action now through August 19th!

Written by Johnny · Filed Under Poker News 

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