Group Bernard Tapie is busily amassing funds to complete the purchase of Full Tilt Poker, says a report from PokerPlayerNewspaper.com. The article, authored by Wendeen H. Eolis, claims that GBT has lined up “at least one and maybe two” parties willing to pony up the cash necessary to pry the beleaguered poker giant out of the hands of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Using quotes from several sources familiar with the proceedings, the article says that a potential relaunch of the Full Tilt service could occur as soon as the end of the first quarter of this year. Even if Tapie is unable to raise more capital from outside individuals, they may have enough to complete the transaction. Still, it appears as though they’d prefer to defer costs by bringing a few more investors into the party.
So, what does this mean for American players still waiting on their bankroll checks? Only good things, actually. If the purchase were to be wrapped up, responsibility for the repayment of player funds would fall into the lap of the DOJ. These repayments could come straight from the $80 million that the government agency would draw in the sale, should everything go as planned.
Eolis goes on to quote a source as saying that, “The Government does care about players who have been victimized by Full Tilt’s insolvency, says one very well connected former federal prosecutor… To the extent they are owed monies and there are monies that can be made available for reimbursing them, I fully expect the DOJ to do the right thing, here.”
So, things appear to be looking up for former members of the Full Tilt faithful. The sooner this issue comes to a close, the sooner we’ll get to see what a relaunched version of the former poker mega-site will look like.
Eolis, by the way, is a fairly credible source. Owning seven cashes in the World Series of Poker, she also has earned winnings in the World Poker Tour and European Open.