so Tapie proposed that he would pay the Rest of the worlds $184m by putting up $16m and then forcing the rest of the world to deposit and rake the remaining $168m.....wow ...just wow no doubt there'd be no rakeback either.
so Tapie proposed that he would pay the Rest of the worlds $184m by putting up $16m and then forcing the rest of the world to deposit and rake the remaining $168m.....wow ...just wow no doubt there'd be no rakeback either.
yeah agreed GBT plan sounded pretty restrictive / horrible. At most, I would expect or hope that they would gradually unfreeze larger balances, but not release it as though it were some bonus you were entitled to (more or less).
W/E, PS has a monopoly up in this shit I guess.
Don't understand the concerns about a stars monopoly. The situation is no different to the current state of play. Sure some people may come back to FTP to play enough or whatever to withdraw. If they left stars in the first place for lack bonus/rakeback etc I can't see them heading back to ftp for what will inevitably be similar rewards system.
By buying FTP stars in the short term are protecting a lot of their income from players who would have been forced back to tilt to recover their money, and in the long term are possibly gaining an access route back into a legalized US market.
Interesting thing will be people permabanned on stars or tilt who then had a valid account on the other site. Also people who self excluded for gambling reasons on one ofthe sites ., i guess they would have to be banned on the other site as well.
I also do not understand why people think that if stars buys FTP they would make it identical to stars with FULL TILT POKER written on top.
Even if they run two seperate brands it must make sense to run one player pool, tourney schedule etc, bigger tourneys->bigger prizes-> lures in the fish
Why would they try and adapt the Full tilt software. Just redesign the stars table graphics into Full tilt Graphics. Its no different than what happens on merge, ipoker etc.Noone knows how many of the Full Tilt programmers are still employed .Massive cost saving if they don't have to rehire the programmers , fraud/security, customer support .
Full tilts software is negligible as part of the attraction of the deal to stars and just brings extra costs. For stars the Rush patent and avoiding any litigation over Zoom Poker infringng on that patent must be a much bigger attraction than the Tilt software. Also defending the rush /zoom poker patent and stopping other sites from profiting from it must be an important consideration in stopping some of their competition/protecting their market share.
A lot of people who liked FTP more, liked it because they preferred the software. Skinning stars wouldn't satisfy any of those people, and then there's still the work of translating all of the FTP account data into stars, which is quite likely to be non-trivial.
there never was any rush patent afaik
although I've never really understood how much that matters
<3 full tilt software. I know a lot of grinders and mtt' pros who feel the same way.
ya, ftp's software was way better than stars.
^ And these are the types of players PS can attract by simply not touching anything on the FTP software side.
I think they would start off by just relaunching the current FTP software, but within a year they'd merge the softwares/networks. It just doesn't make a ton of sense for them to maintain two development teams, two support teams, etc etc. Esp when there is only an initial benefit, but long run the benefit lies in having the biggest singular network with the biggest guarantees, limits spread, etc.
furthermore, everyone seems to be assuming that if they chose to go with one software over the other for both networks that it would be the Stars software.
how many people are left at FTP who know the software to maintain /upgrade it .If theres no one left ,it makes no sense to get people to spend time understanding the progam .
There would have been strategic advantages for the other networks to hire FTP programmers especially once the tapie deal was being considered to sabotage a potential competitor.
Ireland -> isle of man for instance is not a massive relocation andnot sure where the other networks programming teams are based.
as always, keith is willing to fight to the death on random sticking points. give it up guys
So when can I reopen my neteller account and deposit for that sign up bonus?
I'm afraid online poker in the US is only available to mac users
HOW CAN I OBSESSIVELY F5 WHEN 2+2 IS DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!
2+2 being down for this long is weird.. I can't remember when this happened before.
Poker legal yet?
Government is really what would be driving who gets to run games in the US. So that concerns me a lot more on the monopoly front.
Putting together hold'em software and a payment processor is not that hard relative to the kinds of things done at Zynga, Blizzard, Riot, Trion, etc.
FB would never do eeet
From da home page:
Two Plus Two Forum Outage
On April 26th at approximately 11:20 AM pacific time, the Two Plus Two Forums were closed as a result of a hacker who has displayed the ability to access e-mail addresses and encrypted passwords. He also indicated the ability to decrypt passwords.
While it is unclear the extent of data to which he gained access, e-mail addresses and passwords on the Two Plus Two forums should be considered compromised. If you have used your 2+2 password on any other site, you are advised to change it.
For your security, we are closing the forums until the breach is patched. Upon reopening the forums you will be forced to change your password – it is counterproductive to do so now.
We hope to be back up as soon as possible.
Update April 27th
Given that this happened in spite of having applied all current security patches from the companies that provide our forum software, we are in the process of employing additional security experts to ensure that we are in compliance with the highest security measures possible.
At this point in time we anticipate forum downtime to be within 4-6 days.
During the forum outage, both the 2+2 Magazine and the 2+2 PokerCast will be available. This includes the release of the next PokerCast episode and the May issue of the magazine. You can also read the 2+2 archives going all the way back to 1997.
Update May 1st
After closer inspection, it’s now clear to us that the 2 + 2 Forums are more likely to come back to life next week rather than this week even though at this point in time we cannot give a definite date, and all efforts are being made to shorten the amount of downtime as much as possible. Mason will be on the next episode of the PokerCast (being recorded tonight) discussing this, and our May 2+2 Internet Magazine should be up before the weekend.
Update May 4th
Today's conservative target date for the forums to come back is May 12th. The 2+2 Magazine is delayed but still coming to you soon.
PokerStars & Full Tilt Poker announcement end of May : The iGaming Post
Quote:
The iGaming Post has learned that following recent court hearing in the US between PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and the DOJ, have come to concluding that a timetable for paying back players has been reached and the announcement will be made official in the last week of May.
http://www.gaming-awards.com/NEWS/wp...rs-300x180.jpgAnnouncement expected end of May
The date is yet to be decided, because of the logistics of repaying both Rest of World and US players is still being concluded. But PokerStars are confident that this will happen in the next ten days and will be approved by the US DOJ.
Having finalized the repayment structure we are told that the next step would be an announcement by the DOJ that both companies will be allowed to apply for licenses within the US, when and if this is made legal.
But why would PokerStars pay so much for a non-operational poker site?
Don’t forget that Wynn had originally agreed to partner with PokerStars to offer a poker product to Nevada residents when the online product is legalized in the state and even though Wynn pulled out after Black Friday there will almost certainly be some renewed interest if PokerStars is given immunity. And as for Full Tilt they were willing to partner with Station Casinos so PokerStars would now have a couple of major partnerships already lined up and it seems just a matter of time before Nevada does legalize online poker. 888 Poker has already signed a partnership with Caesars and that deal was never cancelled since 888 was already effectively granted immunity after coming to an agreement with the DoJ after the passing of the UIGEA. As such, the agreement would be worth $750 million to PokerStars if they truly believe that online poker stateside will come sooner rather than later. And Wynn and Station will want to make sure the previous agreements are renewed so that Caesars doesn’t get a huge head start in offering online poker in Nevada.
Isai Scheinberg, the owner and founder of PokerStars is a very clever and shrewd business man and this deal for Full Tilt Poker will certainly be his last for PokerStars, as it is believed that part of the US DOJ deal is for both Isai Scheinberg and Paul Tate to step down.
fucking tits.
:shipit:
Erm...wow. I'll be very sad if we aren't on PokerStars in 18 months.
Raymond Bitar surrendered today (July 2, 2012) in New York. Also included is the email that went out to the staff in Dublin.
Quote:
To all Dublin Staff,
By now you probably have heard that I have returned to the US to deal with civil and criminal case that are pending against me in New York. We have all worked hard over the last 15 months to preserve Full Tilt’s assets and potential in order to provide for the repayment of all players, and that continues to be our top priority. It is as important as ever that we all do everything possible to make that happen and, hopefully our deal with Poker Stars will very soon make our goal a reality. My return to the US is part of this process.
I am particularly grateful to all of you here in Dublin for your hard work, patience and understanding during this difficult time. I believe that your hard work and dedication should not go unrecognized, and we have made arrangements for Poker Stars to guarantee all July salaries. You should therefore have no concern about coming to work during this period. After that, we expect that your employment contracts will be assumed by the buyer of the company’s assets.
For those that need to reach me, I expect to continue to be available by email and phone starting late Monday, New York time.
In the meantime, please refer any operational questions to **REDACTED**, and any HR questions to **REDACTED**.
Thank you all again.
Kind regards,
Raymond J Bitar
every time I think I'm numb, we get news and I realize I'm far from numb
I had forgot about "my" money.. then we get another little sliver of hope, just enough to string us along.
Can't wait to be able to take "boost's" money again soon!
meh, I didn't think my use of quotes was that bad. I was trying to allude to the fact that the money isn't really mine at this point since it doesn't exist at this point. I did deliberate for a few seconds over how to get this point across. However, in the end, I can't say I am completely happy with my decision to use quotes in this way.
"""You can" all go" fuck yourselves."
The fact that I never sent in ID or bank details to fulltilt as I was staked via an on site funds transfer and never withdrew any cash makes me think I'll never be seeing "my" money at all. Fortunately I returned the stake via a player transfer which my staker got out in time so at least I didn't end up with a 2k debt.
Why are "you" all so angry?
obv it is good that you transferred back, but I'm pretty sure that no one is treating staking funds lost in this way as a debt. Maybe if you had a general poker backing, to play live, and on multiple sites, and you chose to play on FTP, then maybe it should be treated as a debt. But if the backer backed you on FTP specifically, then he is assuming this risk imo. At least that is my opinion, and the opinion of my backer. I obviously owe him money, but only if that money should ever become available.
I imagine he'd have taken that approach, he's a cool guy and much wealthier than me, but it was done very informally, so I'm glad it wasn't a conversation we had to have. I'm more concerned about the fact that there is very little linking me to my account.
Ya, that sucks that you aren't verified. Do you at least still have access to the email you used with the account? Having the email and knowing your login/pass should get you your money should PS buy FTP. If it was the DOJ dolling out the funds, then I think you'd be screwed. But with PS behind the wheel, I can't imagine why it would be harder for you to get your funds, with your unverified account, than it would have been pre-black Friday.
[url=http://pokerupdate.com/news/the-full-tilt-saga/ray-bitar-pleads-not-guilty-2-5-million-bail-set/]PokerUpdate
just reading the link, this does not seem so good.
wat? seems like if stars is paying all FTP salaries for july and new employment contracts will take effect after this month, that can only be a good thing. obviously there is still a good chance that nothing goes through, but i'll take this as good news that stars will go through with the purchase.
bikes link... pleading not guilty is not typically part of a plea agreement. If something was setup for Bitar to take the fall, but get a reduced sentence, so the deal can go through, then why would he be pleading not guilty? That's what you do when you want to fight the charges.
But I am not well versed in this sort of thing, so maybe this doesn't mean anything.
idk, i'm in your same position of not being well versed, but i don't see why pleading either way would help/hurt the sale of the company.
well, if Bitar's return to the states was supposed to be part of the DOJ approving the sale, then it would seem odd that things don't seem to be going according to what Bitar had hoped. No bail, new charges, pleading not guilty, etc. If there was a deal, why would any of his have happened?
But again, I am obv no expert on this stuff, and I still think there is a decent amount of hope, but the most recent developments don't seem to be exactly positive.
330m spends quicker than you would think
i really want to stop updating this thread tbh -.-
[url=http://pokerupdate.com/news/the-full-tilt-saga/pokerstars-offer-to-buy-ftp-rumoured-to-be-bluff]PokerUpdate
sad news if true
you're good at linking to articles
[url=http://pokerupdate.com/news/the-full-tilt-saga/pokerstars-offer-to-buy-ftp-rumoured-to-be-bluff]PokerUpdate
lol i'm good at linking to articles too, wtf?
PokerUpdate Pokerstars offer to buy FTP rumoured to be 'Bluff'
FFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
http://www.pokerplayernewspaper.com/...ions-can-12310
according to this lady negotiations are done and we should see our monies in time for christmas shoppings.
SKEPTICAL HIPPO IS SKEPTICAL
in the likely event u can't get this to load because it's trending everywhere.
Full Tilt PokerStars Negotiations in the Can
July 27, 2012 - 11:08am
by Wendeen H. Eolis
Breaking News: The ups and downs and glitches in negotiations between PokerStars and the United States Department of Justice with respect to Full Tilt Poker have come to an end.
Without giving away the identity of a consistently impeccable resource, it is now safe to say announcements for public dissemination are in the works. At this point I am ready to go out on a limb; FTP customers will see their monies well in time for Christmas shopping.
Poker Player Newspaper's print edition goes to press before I can provide further details, rest assured the story is a thriller that will be told.
Editor’s Note: Wendeen H. Eolis is CEO of Eolis International Group a legal/government affairs consultancy. She was formerly a senior advisor to Mayor Giuliani and then to Governor Pataki,.Her government affairs and business portfolio includes extensive gaming matters. She was the first woman to cash in the main event of the WSOP (1986).
Diamond Flush @Diamond_Flush
Long awaited news coming at Diamond Flush Poker next few days. No speculation, no rumors, real news.
fuck off next few days
555555555
5
5
5
5
555555555
5
5
5
5
5
^icwudt
am excited, this could be awesome.
Kevin Mathers @Kevmath
Apparently, there will be an announcement regarding Stars and FTP on Monday. #staytuned ?