by Haley Hintze
FTP PAYMENT PROCESSOR FTP PAYMENT PROCESSOR ADMITS DECEIVING BANKS ADMITS DECEIVING BANKS
Full Tilt Poker payment processing head, Nelson Burtnick, has pled guilty to bank fraud in connection with Full Tilt’s long-running services to US players. Burtnick, 41, a Canadian citizen, admitted deceiving banks as to the nature of deposits made by American players in a hearing before US Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gorenstein. Burtnick is the seventh Black Friday defendant to reach a deal with prosecutors, with Full Tilt head Ray Bitar awaiting trial on charges similar to Burtnick. Burtnick faces a sentence of up to 15 years when sentenced on December 19th, but is expected to receive a shorter term.
WMS, ACEP RECEIVE NEVADA APPROVAL WMS, ACEP RECEIVE NEVADA APPROVAL
Another pair of firms have received the go-ahead from Nevada Gaming Commission regulators to participate in that state’s online poker market. The latest licenses have been awarded to WMS Gaming, Inc, known for its longrunning lines of “Williams”-branded equipment, and American Casino and Entertainment Properties, LLC (ACEP), parent company of the Stratosphere and three other Nevada casinos. A third company, PokerTrip Enterprises, associated with online sites AllVegasPoker.com and ThePokerAtlas.com, also became the first business licensed as a Nevada online-poker affiliate.
POKERSTARS ANNOUNCES NOVEMBER POKERSTARS ANNOUNCES NOVEMBER DATE FOR RELAUNCHED FULL TILT DATE FOR RELAUNCHED FULL TILT
Though the site will be closed to Americans, Full Tilt Poker will soon reemerge on the world scene, following an announcement by PokerStars that the site will reopen in November. PokerStars purchased the FTP assets as part of its complex settlement with the Department of Justice, and has already contacted rest-of-world players with the highest balances with instructions for reactivating their accounts. $184 million in player balances for non-US players will immediately be available once the site reopens. Many of the innovative software features pioneered on the Full Tilt site will return, with PokerStars also seeking new international patents for some of the software offerings.
ACEP SIGNS BALLY TECH AS SERVICE ACEP SIGNS BALLY TECH AS SERVICE PROVIDER PROVIDER
Just-approved American Casino and Entertainment Properties, LLC (ACEP), celebrated its approval by Nevada regulators by quickly announcing a deal with Bally Technologies to provide services for ACEP’s future sites. ACEP has yet to announce its branding plans, though a “Stratosphere Poker” site is likely to be among them. Previously, Ballys announced a similar deal with the Golden Nugget for its online operations.
US OBTAINS ABSOLUTE POKER SOFTWARE US OBTAINS ABSOLUTE POKER SOFTWARE
Department of Justice attorneys have also confirmed receiving a copy of the Absolute Poker software platform from the South Korean firm, recently renamed, Quad Dimensions, that serviced the AP site in recent years. The DOJ reached an agreement with Quad Dimensions (formerly Panoratech) to turn over the software as part of the government’s ongoing efforts to seize and sell all obtainable AP assets, though a judge has yet to approve the hoped-for sale. Absolute Poker ownership group Avoine - Servico de Consultadoria e Marketing continues to contest the DOJ’s seizure and sale efforts.
D.C. TO RECONSIDER CASINOS D.C. TO RECONSIDER CASINOS
Legislators for the District of Columbia have announced plans to reconsider one or more casinos. Local politicians including former DC mayor Marion Barry seek to keep gambling money at home, since the district surrounding the nation’s capitol has no casinos of its own and its residents frequent venues in nearby states. The district briefly legalized online poker in April of 2011, before reversing itself under pressure from federal legislators and withdrawing its plans.
GALFOND FILES SUIT AGAINST GALFOND FILES SUIT AGAINST BLUEFIREPOKER FOUNDER BLUEFIREPOKER FOUNDER
High-stakes pro Phil Galfond has filed a lawsuit seeking unspecified damages against William Murphy, the primary owner of BluefirePoker.com, the online poker training site which featured Galfond’s instruction from 2009-2011. The two parted ways in a messy, public fallout in November of 2011, with Galfond asserting in his action that he has not been paid for his 2011 services, and that he did not receive adequate corporate financials for 2009 and 2010, in which he received a combined total of more than $400,000 for his work. Galfond was a minority owner of Bluefire, originally agreeing to a 15% share which was slated to grow over time.
Veteran poker-industry writer/editor Haley Hintze is the author of an upcoming book on the Absolute Poker and UltimateBet online cheating scandals, to be released later this year.
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