Wendeen H. Eolis

by Wendeen H. Eolis

This morning, Group Bernard Tapie Counsel Behn Dayanim spoke to Poker Player Newspaper, reconfirming his renewed “significant confidence in the prospects of completing the deal” for his client to acquire the Full Tilt brand.  He notes, “It could occur before the end of the first quarter.” Dayanim makes clear, however, there are still a multitude of integrated issues that need to be buttoned up in the final stretch and it is more important now than ever to work through that process patiently.    

Meanwhile, the sequence of  recent events—since  Dayanim’s  disclosures last month of several players’ indebtedness  to FTP and since PPN’s identification of substantial additional roadblocks to closing a deal— have been fast moving.  

By Wendeen H. Eolis

Any poker player worth his salt knows better than to say, “When I win, it is skill, and when I lose, it is luck,” but until the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, by and large, the poker community ignored the significant legal conundrums now playing out as high drama in the US Department of Justice’s vigorous prosecution of online poker.

By Wendeen H. Eolis

As a privately held company, the walls of secrecy surrounding senior management and the operations of Poker Stars were rarely challenged before the United States Department of Justice cracked down on online poker last year.

In the Government’s April 15, 2011 indictment, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York finally honed in on the former “Big Three” online poker companies—Poker Stars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker/Ultimate Bet—in a bid to end online poker in the United States and put key executives of these companies in jail.

by Wendeen H. Eolis

 
50 MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION
JOHN JUANDA AND TOM DWAN MAN UP
REPAYMENT REQUESTS DISSECTED  
TAPIE INVESTORS HAVE YET TO PONY UP  

Last week Full Tilt Poker and Group Bernard Tapie took their proposed deal to the next level of drama, with a Poker Stars pro known as the Robin Hood of Poker entering from stage right-- as a wild card.

Unlikely protagonists raised and re-raised each other in a frenzy of sensational but substantively incomplete statements to suit their respective purposes of the moment.  As a new week gets under way, the big picture is all too clear. Tapie’s proposed acquisition of Full Tilt assets is spinning on a slippery slope.

by Wendeen H. Eolis

Tapie-Full Tilt Update Bulletin at High Noon:

GROUP BERNARD TAPIE EXPOSES PLAYER NAMES

Tapie counsel, Behn Dayanim has revealed to PPN the names of several high profile players who owe Full Tilt Poker millions of dollars. All but one of the players, is publicly associated with Full Tilt.  The names of these players is being withheld by PPN pending efforts to obtain further information and/or statements from the players named by Dayanim in his further advisory at noon.

Two of the well-known players who owe significant monies are in negotiations with GBT in apparent good faith efforts to to resolve their debt, according to Dayanim. He has not made these names available for publication, at this time.

By Wendeen H. Eolis

BULLETIN: TAPIE LAWYER EXPOSES FTP PRO DEBT  

This morning, Group Bernard Tapie lawyer, Behnam Dayanim acknowledged to Poker Player Newspaper that multiple hurdles will need to be overcome for the deal to acquire Full Tilt to go through. He notes one key issue is outstanding debt by players to FTP. Poker Player Newspaper has separately learned that the debt is in the range of 15 million dollars and that most of those players have made no effort to arrange for repayment. GBT has counted on these monies as real and viable assets, and does not envision having to litigate to obtain them . Information is now coming in to indicate other specific hurdles that could imperil the deal, as well.

Full Tilt Update Bulletin at High Noon:

GROUP BERNARD TAPIE EXPOSES PLAYER NAMES

by Wendeen H. Eolis

 No formal confirmations of additional investors yet, but the noise is ever louder today; Group Bernard Tapie has  lined up at least one moneyman "ready to punt."  According to several generally informed sources familiar with weeks of efforts to raise more funds, GBT has locked up a commitment with at least one and maybe two  substantial participants to nail the acquisition of the Full Tilt brand. Additional funding might not be crucial, but for Tapie's reluctance to put in more capital of his own than suits his taste.

A lawyer close to one purported investor says, "The deal should get done." He estimates the time table for a re-launch of the FTP site as before the end of the first quarter."  Another lawyer, with strong ties in the current Full Tilt brouhaha says; "The die is cast; Full Tilt is effectively out of control; the deal is now unstoppable unless Tapie fails to deliver the necessary checks to the Court."

by Wendeen H. Eolis (Updated 01/20/12 6:58 EST)

The Parade of Unsung Departures - Updated

Special Note: This article updates the author's breaking news and follow up story about PokerStars CEO Gabi Campos ' departure plans, taking into account relevant communications--not marked confidential--between Poker Stars and the reporter.

In a personal email to this reporter one day after publication of the breaking news,  PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg confirmed "Gabi's (Campos) departure. Hours after Poker Player Newspaper broke the story, Poker Stars gave an exclusive statement to Poker News, attributed to "top officials" of the Company :

“Poker Stars announced today that Gabi Campos has decided to step down from his position as Chief Executive Officer, effective February 1, 2012, to pursue other opportunities. The company thanks Gabi for his hard work and commitment and wishes him the best in all his future endeavors. A search for Gabi’s replacement is under way.”

by Wendeen H. Eolis

PokerStars Chief Executive Officer Gabriel Campos Woslovsky’s current whereabouts are murky; only his closest associates may know his GPS location. But the buzz emanating from the Isle of Man offices of Poker Stars is loud and clear; Gabi Campos, as he is better known within Poker Stars, has left the building-- after a reign of less than two years.

by Wendeen H. Eolis

Add the New York Times to the list of venerable mainstream media outlets that have bungled material facts and succumbed to confusing messages that emanate from the US Government’s crackdown on online poker.