Full Tilt Poker (FTP), the world’s most beleaguered poker room, announced Groupe Bernard Tapie purchased the company Friday. The group bought FTP despite legal pressures from the United States’ Department of Justice (DOJ). Furthermore, FTP’s gambling license was recently revoked by the Alderney Gambling Commission.
Full Tilt’s purchase is good news; however, several stipulations must be met before players are paid. First, FTP must reach an agreement with the DOJ. In April, the DOJ froze millions of Full Tilt Poker’s assets. Additionally, the DOJ conveyed they are seeking $1 billion in damages from the poker room.
Laurent Tapie, managing director of Groupe Bernard Tapie, believes the Full Tilt Poker brand still has life. Tapie said he “wouldn’t have undertaken such a project if he didn’t believe in its potential.”
Tapie elaborated, “The brand is not in question, it’s a well-known brand and the technology is widely recognized as being possibly the best in the industry. The management of the company is being questioned and it will be changed (should the takeover be concluded). I believe we have the tools necessary to once again make the site one of the leaders in the online poker sector.”
According to Tapie, the group hopes to reopen Full Tilt Poker by January 2012.