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.
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