Interesting rumor – Binion to buy in to Full Tilt? [Update: FT loses gaming license]

2Tone · #1 06-28-11, 05:25 PM

Casino executive Jack Binion is in advanced talks with Full Tilt Poker about purchasing a significant stake in the poker site, according to blog site Subject: Poker. Referencing “multiple independent sources”, Binion was apparently in Ireland last week meeting with Full Tilt executives regarding a potential investment in the site, which eGaming Review revealed last month had been seeking up to US$150m from potential investors outside of the financial services sector in order to return funds to US players. Full Tilt has declined to comment to eGR on this potential development at this time.

Robbie Robb · #2 06-29-11, 11:08 AM

Doubt he'll be buying into it now....They lost their license and have been ordered to shut down. They've currently ceased operations on a global level.

jdiana86 · #3 06-29-11, 11:19 AM

Don't really find that interesting, JMHO

Talking Poker · #4 06-29-11, 12:44 PM

Yeah, this latest news is unsettling to say the least. I don't even know if this is a good thing or a bad thing (the shutdown, I mean), but it sure doesn't seem good.

Then again, maybe it forces FT's hand... maybe Binion gets a reduced price and bails them out. Maybe all they money they have (globally) is pooled and everyone is paid out on some sort of percentage basis, depending how far short they are.

I wish I had been smart enough to keep less money on there before Black Friday. *sigh*

sjay2k · #5 06-29-11, 10:07 PM

This is amazingly terrible news.

As a recap, Full Tilt now:
* Is under indictment from the US government
* Holds insufficient funds to meet player balances
* Is being sued by its spokesman, probably others
* Has lost its licence
* Is currently offline, losing money by the hour

I think the business is now dead, if it already wasn't.

FTP's equity owners were paid distributions of profit on a monthly basis. Now I am curious if these distributions continued when FTP started experiencing problems receiving deposits from players in the months prior Black Friday, when their financial black hole developed.

If so, the owners were essentially stealing the players' money (rather than withdrawing profits). Legally it would probably be fraud and/or breach of a constructive trust.

What is also pretty sick is that I know the owners of FTP anticipated legal action from the US government, and the owners will be very difficult to pursue. One of the equity owners joked to me that he/she spent all their time plotting his/her escape from the U.S. for when the government came after FTP.

I foresee a messy class action against the individual owners of FTP.

jdiana86 · #6 07-01-11, 02:38 PM

Wow I'm a douchebag

sjay2k · #7 07-04-11, 10:27 AM

Subsequent to my post above, the LA Times reported that FTP will be bought out by an unnamed Euro investor.

It sounds like good news, but no deal has been finalised and I'm still not convinced.

Based on the accounts and estimates I've read, it appears that FTP will need an investment of 200 - 400M to continue operating.

Now, put yourself in the shoes of one of the handful of investors who actually has that sort of capital. Why take on FTP's baggage? It's hard to know if FTP can even operate at a profit after losing its American customers and oodles of goodwill (a large percentage of their players will simply withdraw and never come back).

What seems more realistic is that FTP sells their assets (software, patents, physical equiment, databases, etc) and that money is put towards repaying the players. Maybe Ivey convinces the equity owners to all chip in to re-pay the remainder.

I'm not sure how reliable Tony G is as a source, but his tweets today are consistent with my read that this is a trainwreck and everything to date has been in desperation:

TonyGuoga Tony G
@ScottMatusow I dont think you get the drift. I been talking with Howard and I can see where this is going. I want him to sort this out.

TonyGuoga Tony G
The authorities and poker community should not allow the gang powered by Ray and Howard to get away with this fraud.

TonyGuoga Tony G
Facts within has it that FTP is about to roll over this week, Irish lawyers now involved demanding Pocket Kings pay up or declare bankruptcy

TonyGuoga Tony G
The deal on the table is to sell what they can and let the rest go busto. Somebody will pick this up and Howard will be a new part owner.

sjay2k · #8 07-04-11, 11:59 PM

I was reading through the DOJ's .

On pages 41 - 45 the DOJ lists all the deposits and withdrawals made to and from FTP. Everything looks normal up until the deposit dated 14 January 2011. The DOJ made dozens of deposits after this date, and none of them were actually taken from their bank account.

The DOJ made a number of withdrawals after this date-- all of which were successfully processed.

It is unclear at what point FTP stopped receiving bank transfers, as the most recent successful deposit made by the DOJ was on 15 November 2010.

Therefore, for a period of 3 - 5 months, FTP was crediting American accounts with money that they never received. I mean... WTF was going on?

Reel Deal · #9 07-10-11, 10:55 AM

Another article on FT from The Guardian in the UK:

BlibbityBlabbity · #10 07-11-11, 12:27 PM

US Player FAQ is removed from Full Tilt Homepage?

It hadn't been updated since May, so not that big a change, but....

Kurn · #11 07-11-11, 08:40 PM

Semantic technicality. They have no more US "players", only US "creditors"

Reel Deal · #12 07-26-11, 01:07 PM

More news on FT:

Reel Deal · #13 08-01-11, 12:41 PM

Bodog leaving US market:

Kurn · #14 08-01-11, 08:03 PM

At least they're giving some warning.

Wes · #15 08-02-11, 06:24 AM

Bodog isn't leaving US market. The Bodog brand is leaving the US market, but US players will still be allowed to play on the network just under a different name.

confirms this.

Reel Deal · #16 08-10-11, 10:56 PM

Potentially good news:

sjay2k · #17 08-12-11, 10:51 AM

I don't know, just looks like more insolvent trading to me

Reel Deal · #18 08-12-11, 02:42 PM

If you were truly going into insolvency why would you care about an operational license?

Kurn · #19 08-12-11, 08:28 PM

Looks like they're setting up for the new investors to be able to take over (fingers crossed)

sjay2k · #20 08-12-11, 08:53 PM

They are insolvent by definition.

FTP has proven itself to be incompetent and unethical at the highest level. I would not interpret their ongoing operation as anything more than a desperate attempt by the executives to avoid facing the music and to keep living off what's remaining of player balances.

Given that the value of FTP would be decreasing by millions per week, how on earth have they not struck a deal with the "investor"?

sjay2k · #21 08-12-11, 09:00 PM

They want their operational license back so they can continue to operate as a deposit-only site like they did after black Friday, in the vain hope that they can rake themselves back into the black

By the way I am writing a movie script about the whole saga, based on a fictional young character who becomes involved in the development of the site

Robbie Robb · #22 08-17-11, 10:26 AM

Damn! Wish I'd have thought of that. Great idea sjay!

Talking Poker · #23 08-29-11, 04:11 PM

That is a great idea... looking forward to reading/seeing it someday.

Meanwhile, I honestly get sad every time I think about the whole mess. FU FTP.

Reel Deal · #24 08-31-11, 03:14 PM

Blah, blah, blah...

Reel Deal · #25 09-19-11, 09:53 AM

The latest from pokernews.com:

Full Tilt Poker Statement

On Wednesday, Full Tilt Poker released its latest statement to PokerStrategy.com. The statement touches on the the financial issues the company is facing and how it is positioning itself to deal with them. According to the press release, approximately 250 positions at Pocket Kings Ltd. could be affected by the new cost optimization program.

Here is the statement in its entirety:

"On April 15th 2011 the United States Department of Justice unsealed a federal indictment against a number of individuals employed by major online poker operators. After the issuance of that indictment and a related civil case brought by the United States government, Full Tilt Poker withdrew from the US market. Then in a related action, on June 29th, 2011, Full Tilt Poker had its operating licenses suspended by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission."

"As a result, Pocket Kings Ltd. (provider of marketing and technology services to Full Tilt Poker) has adopted a cost optimization program and estimates that they need to reduce their costs by approximately €12m. This program is intended to streamline the company’s operations in order to better position itself for future growth and profitability in Full Tilt Poker’s markets outside of the U.S."

"If all of the required cost savings were to be achieved through redundancies, approximately 250 positions could be affected; however the exact number cannot be confirmed until the conclusion of a consultation process with its workforce."

"Notwithstanding the foregoing, Pocket Kings firmly believes it has a very strong future in Full Tilt Poker’s Non-US Markets, and is fully committed to ensuring Full Tilt Poker restores the site and repay players in full. To this end, Full Tilt Poker has retained Sea Port Group Securities, LLC as its financial advisor with regard to raising capital and/or assisting in securing a strategic partner in order to fund continued operations of Full Tilt Poker's non-U.S. business. The Company is in active discussions with several parties and will provide a further statement in due course."

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