Online Poker

Tapie Lawyer Stays Focused on a Deal, Poker Stars Joins Full Tilt in Hot Seat

By Wendeen H. Eolis

The Acela fast train from New York to Washington provided ample time to review a sheaf of materials describing Behnam Dayanim’s credentials, experience, and reputation as a preeminent lawyer in the e-commerce space.

 In the preceding months of 2009, Mr. Dayanim had obtained non-prosecution agreements and had settled related forfeiture actions brought by the Department of Justice against two highprofile companies operating in the e-gaming space.

Benham Dayanim’s Bona Fides are Established

by I. Nelson Rose

“Ponzi Scheme – A form of fraud in which belief in the success of a nonexistent enterprise is fostered by the payment of quick returns to the first investors from money invested by later investors” —Google Dictionary

The Department of Justice has now alleged that Full Tilt, “was not a legitimate poker company, but a global Ponzi scheme... Full Tilt also cheated and abused its own players to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Full Tilt’s Alderney License Yanked, Company Sold to French Investors

Among a handful of important news items surrounding embattled online poker giant Full Tilt Poker was the decision by UK regulatory agency Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) to withdraw licensure of Full Tilt and several of its subsidiary firms. In its decision, the AGCC asserted that “FTP had fundamentally misled AGCC about their operational integrity by continuously reporting as liquid funds balances that had been covertly seized or restrained by US authorities, or that were otherwise not actually available to the operator. Serious breaches of AGCC regulations include false reporting, unauthorized provision of credit, and failure to report material events.”

by Lou Krieger

Maybe it was the day, or the time, or just a random confluence of forces, but there’s a big difference between younger and older no-limit hold’em players. What brought this clearly to light was a full table no-limit game, where seven of the table’s players looked to be on the downhill side of 50. And the majority of older players made one similarly shocking error. They significantly overvalued big pairs.

By Lou Krieger
 
It was no surprise when the Alderney Gambling Control Commission pulled the plug a few days ago on Full Tilt Poker, especially when they determined that Full Tilt misled them about their financial operations, never mind the fact that Full Tilt committed numerous acts in violation of their licensing agreement, including filing false reports, unauthorized provision of credit, and failing to report material events.
 
But where and how did it all start?  And when did Full Tilt’s management cross the line and decide to treat money belonging to players as their own, personal ATM machine?
 

A press release from pokerstrategy.com reports an acquisition agreement has been reached between distressed Full Tilt Poker and Groupe Bernard Tapie.
 
The full Full Tilt Poker purchase press release follows:

Full Tilt Poker and Groupe Bernard Tapie Sign Acquisition Agreement
 
Dublin, Ireland (September 30, 2011) Laurent Tapie, Managing Director of Groupe Bernard Tapie announced today that the group has signed an exclusive agreement with the Board of Directors of Full Tilt Poker to acquire the company and all of its associated assets.
 
This agreement, which includes the repayment of Full Tilt Poker’s world-wide players in full, is subject to several conditions; the first of which is a favorable resolution with the United States Department of Justice. Discussions with the United States Department of Justice will begin immediately.
 
Groupe Bernard Tapie has over 30 years of experience in the salvation of financially distressed businesses, with over 40 companies acquired and managed to profitability, the most well-known being the sport equipment giant, Adidas.

 
By Shari Geller
 
Compounding the problems facing Full Tilt Poker was the announcement on Thursday that the Alderney Gambling Control Commission had decided to revoke the troubled poker site’s gambling license.  The U.K. Channel Island’s based regulatory agency determined that Full Tilt had misled them about its financial operations, committing acts in violation of the licensing agreement including false reporting, unauthorized provision of credit and failure to report material events.
 

by Wendeen H. Eolis
 
In a stinging denouncement of Full Tilt Poker’s business principles, the United States Department of Justice has significantly raised the stakes in the company’s bid to extricate itself from the government’s grip and escalating financial woes.

In a press release last Tuesday, the Government labeled Full Tilt’s operations as that of a Ponzi scheme, one that had bilked its most loyal players mercilessly. The mainstream media as well as poker media took the bait, catapulting the Justice Department’s latest allegations against Full Tilt and its Board of Directors into page one news worldwide.

Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr., president and CEO of the American Gaming Association (AGA), the organization that represents the commercial casino- entertainment industry, declared “there are no longer any good reasons to put US citizens at risk by continuing to outlaw online poker in the US,” and called on Congress to pass laws toughening enforcement against illegal online gambling operators.

Fahrenkopf’s statement came as AGA introduced an online poker Code of Conduct, outlining the measures it believes necessary to implement an effective regulatory system designed to protect American consumers, keep minors from gambling, provide tools to help problem gamblers, and create provisions to help law enforcement identify and prosecute illegal operators.