In Fall of 2011 Groupe Bernard Tapie had reached an agreement (DoJ places $80m price tag on FTP’s assets) in principle with the US Department of Justice that would allow GBT’s acquisition of Full Tilt Poker to go forward. However recently it looks as though Phil Ivey and up to a dozen more Full Tilt poker professionals are holding up the sale of the company to the Bernard Tapie Groupe, according to Behnam Dayanim, the French company’s lawyer.

“GBT doesn’t want to acquire assets which will need to be litigated over later. In total, the sum owed to the company is between $10 and $20 million. Several of the players who owe money and have not yet expressed a willingness to pay their debts include Phil Ivey, Layne Flack, David Benyamine, and Erick Lindgren. Barry Greenstein, Mike Matusow, and others owe a smaller but still significant amount. If the money doesn’t come in, it creates a serious obstacle to completion of the deal. This isn’t the only issue with the takeover, and the deal won’t end on any one issue; but this is a substantial item.”

Greenstein said that he did not “believe my debt has any impact on the sale to the Tapie group, as they have alleged.” Greenstein, along with several other players, have stated that they will wait for the US Department of Justice to set up a fund to pay back US players what they are owed by Full Tilt Poker before they put one more cent back into Full Tilt Poker.

Gaming Intelligence was informed by Dayanim that GBT has no desire “to litigate a whole bunch of individual cases against professionals post-acquisition so we are trying to negotiate but we have not been making a lot of progress. The forfeiture would extinguish any US claims to the assets but they do not necessarily extinguish creditor claims in other countries.” Dayanim also claimed the due diligence had revealed that FTP’s financial position is “worse than we had anticipated … The company has greater liabilities — excluding player liabilities — than we had hoped.”

Dayanim declined further comments but did suggest that the deal between GBT/DoJ was unraveling. “If we don’t complete the deal, then the rest of the world players won’t be compensated nor made whole because we won’t be there to do it, and the government would have less money than it otherwise would to pay the US players to the extent that it plans to do so.” Dayanim said GBT will be faced with “a go or no-go decision” once its due diligence is complete.

Reported by Maggie B.

Fertitta Interactive announced that it submitted an application to the Nevada Gaming Control Board to expand its gaming licenses to include online poker in Nevada, they are one of many on the list of companies that have filed applications with the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Jointly owned by Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, Fertitta Interactive, are also owners of the popular Station Casinos as well as the Ultimate Fighting Championship brand.

In October 2011, Fertitta Interactive purchased online gaming provider CyberArts Licensing LLC, which specializes in online poker. The acquisition of CyberArts came on the heels of a strategic partnership with Full Tilt Poker that had fallen through after Black Friday.

In a recent statement Fertita Interactive said, “We support the regulation of online poker” “Our industry leading software has a track record of complying with the strictest regulations in jurisdictions around the world. Nevada has always been the leader in gaming regulation and we’re pleased to file our application here. In conclusion, Fertitta said his company’s goal was to provide poker players with the “best online experience” in a safe and well-regulated environment.”

Reported by Maggie B.

It’s an exciting time to play tournament poker with bet365’s amazing $50,000 Freeroll Frenzy.

There’s $50,000 on offer in cash and guaranteed tournament prize-pools which is sure to set your pulse racing. You can qualify for three $10,000 guaranteed tournaments through Heads-up Qualifiers, direct buy-ins or, best of all, 360 freerolls, meaning you could even book a spot at the table for free!

The three $10,000 guaranteed events run on 13th February, 24th February and 6th March and you have 10 days before each tournament in which to qualify.

But that’s not all, because bet365 is increasing the amount of merit points you can earn in the process, with 20 merit points, up from 15, for every $1 you pay in tournament fees. So this is also a great chance to boost your merit points at an increased rate.

With big money poker events, a whole host of ways to qualify and increased merit points, bet365’s $50,000 Freeroll Frenzy is the poker event of the year so far and one you won’t want to miss!

Login or visit bet365 today because qualifiers for the first event on Feb. 13th starts today!

Reported by Maggie B.

Owners of Full Tilt Poker agreed to the final terms of their forfeiture agreement with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) on Tuesday January 24th. The shutdown date, April 15, 2011, came to be known in the online gambling world as “Black Friday.” With this new deal, Groupe Bernard Tapie can now purchase the $80m buy from the DoJ.

US District Judge Leonard B. Sand on Monday dismissed a civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) suit alleging that Full Tilt Poker and 10 individual defendants conspired to defraud company account holders of US$150m by freezing their accounts, U.S. District Judge Leonard B. Sand said in his ruling yesterday rejecting the players’ racketeering claims as “too attenuated” to proceed.

“It remains unclear whether the direct cause of the plaintiffs’ injuries was the decision by the U.S. Attorney’s office to temporarily shut down the Full Tilt poker website and seize the company’s assets,” Sand said, “or was instead as plaintiffs’ conversion allegations suggest, the subsequent decision by one or more of the defendants to halt player withdrawals.”

The suit, which targets nine companies, 16 individuals and a number of defendants over the alleged scheme, stems from the federal government’s probe into and subsequent criminal and civil suits over the gambling site’s activities. The government’s case focused on allegations of bank and wire fraud and money laundering at Full Tilt, PokerStars and Absolute Poker.

The case is Segal v. Bitar, 11-cv-4521, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York

Reported by Maggie B.

James Akenhead has had a great start to 2012 after what was an amazing previous couple of years. Not content with live game success he has now taken down the PokerStars Sunday Million at www.pokerstars.co.uk for a huge payday of $213,750. The Stars Sunday Million has become a regular fixture now in the online poker calendar because of the fact that it guarantees $1 million in prize money which possibly makes it one of the biggest tournaments in the world based on how much prize money it generates over the course of a year.

Akenhead bested a field of 7125 players and so he has come first in a field size that is similar to that of the main event at the WSOP. The total prize money was $1,425,000 and as always some of the best online tournament grinders in the world do battle every week in this absolute monster of an event. Although to win any tournament requires luck and Akenhead had his share. He went into the final table battle with a useful but marginal 40bb stack. He ended up all in with K-10 against Q-Q and managed to spike a winning hand.

From that piece of good fortune then Akenhead didn’t really look back and he ended up in the heads up match with a chip lead of around 4/1 or so. That was enough to take him to the title but it wasn’t plain sailing. The two finalists paused to discuss a potential deal as in most tournaments but the two players couldn’t agree on a split and so played on. Akenhead quickly got back into a strong lead after his opponent “pnp23’s” doubled up briefly. However Akenhead soon got all in with K-10 against the pocket eights of his opponent and despite missing the flop and turn, his luck ran true to form and he spiked a king on the river. Something tells me that we haven’t seen the last of James Akenhead in 2012.

Initial Rewards is now the largest dedicated supplier of promotional merchandise and loyalty reward programs for the Gaming Industry outside of North America and Microgaming has announced that its Microgaming Poker Network has signed an agreement in principle with the supplier.

“Loyalty stores have been proven as a powerful player retention feature and we are excited about the opportunity to work with Initial Rewards in providing them to our operator base,” said Lydia Melton, Head of Network Games for Microgaming.

“The Microgaming Poker Network caters to a diverse range of clients from large publicly listed companies to smaller operators in niche and regional markets. By partnering with Initial Rewards at a network level we are able to offer loyalty stores to all our operators and we are delighted to enhance our offering to our customers.”

Microgaming stated that its deal will also see London-based Initial Rewards service Microgaming Poker Network operators with ‘a range of loyalty offerings that have an impressive global reach’.

“Our partnership with Microgaming is set to strengthen our offering further. It will also significantly enhance the Microgaming Poker Network player experience and we are thrilled on both counts.”

Reported by Maggie B.

As I am sitting in my hotel room playing the part of “digital nomad” trying to write something pertinent and newsworthy, I began reflecting over the past year and thought it necessary to create a timeline or brief history of the last 50 years on how online gambling effects, changes and outcomes have impacted the U.S. online gambling laws.

I’m sure this brief recap will serve to see the progress the states are making in their quests to legalize and regulate online gambling.

1961 – The Interstate Wire Wager Act of 1961 bans bets over telecommunications systems that cross state lines or national borders.

2006 – The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 curbs a boom in online gambling by prohibiting businesses from accepting payments from a bet or wager that involves the use of the Internet. Online gambling sites, which previously generated an estimated $6 billion a year from poker alone, are driven underground.

In 2006, both Ron Paul and Barney Frank strongly opposed H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act, and H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. To restore online gambling rights, in 2007 Frank sponsored H.R. 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act. This bill would have established licensing and regulation of online gaming sites. It provided for age verification and protections for compulsive gamblers.

In 2008, he and Paul introduced H.R. 5767, the Payment Systems Protection Act, a bill that sought to place a moratorium on enforcement of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 while the United States Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve defined “unlawful Internet gambling”.

2010 – Officials in New York and Illinois press the Department of Justice on whether existing laws might prevent them from selling lottery tickets online.

2011 – United States v. Scheinberg, 10 Cr. 336 (2011), is a United States federal criminal case against the founders of the three largest online poker companies, PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Cereus (Absolute Poker/Ultimatebet), and a handful of their associates, which alleges that the defendants violated the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and engaged in bank fraud and money laundering in order to process transfers to and from their customers.

On December 20, 2011, Absolute Poker co-founder Brent Buckley pled guilty to misleading banks. The plea deal calls for him to receive a sentence between a year and a year and a half in prison. Sentencing was set for April 19.

On January 17th, 2012, Ira Rubin entered a plea agreement in a Manhattan federal court in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gorenstein. Rubin agreed to plea guilty to three of the nine counts of conspiracy to commit bank fraud he faced and is due to be sentenced on May 17th, 2012. Rubin is expected to sentenced to 18-24 months of prison.

2012 – Following the call for clarification, December 2011, the Department of Justice released to the public a formal legal opinion on the scope of the Act concluding that “interstate transmissions of wire communications that do not relate to a ‘sporting event or contest’ fall outside the reach of the Wire Act.”

The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Wire Act prohibition on the transmission of wagers applies only to sports betting and not other types of online gambling. The Supreme Court has not ruled on the meaning of the Federal Wire Act as it pertains to online gambling.

In conclusion here is one of my favorite quotes, “What that means is that states are now free to do just about anything they want,” says gambling analyst and Whittier law Professor I. Nelson Rose. Rose says the Justice Department opinion was a Christmas present from the Obama administration to cash-strapped states, which will be able to raise hundreds of millions of dollars.

Reported by Maggie B.

The 2012 Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure has now finished and forty-three-year-old New York-based day trader John Dibella, took down the Main Event, securing the title and $1,775,000 in first place prize money.

Dibella, and amateur player won his seat in the competition on a $1 000 satellite of some 1,072 eager entrants.

The final table stacked up with the following players:

1 Mark Drover Canada PokerStars qualifier 1,430,000
2 Tony Gregg USA 1,160,000
3 David Bernstein Canada 1,960,000
4 Ruben Visser Netherlands 4,400,000
5 Faraz Jaka Chicago/Las Vegas/Europe 6,470,000
6 John Dibella USA 6,470,000
7 Xuan Liu Canada 6,355,000
8 Kyle Julius USA

As the night came down to the final two players,and on the final hand, and facing a huge chip deficit, Kyle Julius bluff-shoved the river of a {Ac} {Qh} {3c} {8d} {Tc} with the airball {9d} {6s}. It may have worked if not for the fact that Dibella rivered the flush with {5c} {6c}.

“I’m overwhelmed. It feels so surreal, and I can’t believe it’s happening,” Dibella said after the match, revealing that prior to the 2012 PAC his largest live cash had been $16,000 at a previous PCA.

Dibella’s third time at the PCA, he cashed in the Main Event in 2008 when he finished 60th for $16,000 (his largest cash on record).

Reported by Maggie B.

In reports from around the internet today many are questioning if Zynga will be throwing their hat into the arena of online gambling.

It’s been said that Zynga is weighing its odds of succeeding in the online gambling business, however company officials who declined to talk on the record said the social gaming company is merely exploring the option of online gambling and that it has no plans in place to dive in.

Bloggers and news reports have reported that Zynga’s taking precautions due to the legal uncertainty of the recent decision of the DoJ to change the understanding of the federal wire to allow interstate betting.

In a statement released to All Things D, Zynga Is Seeking Partners for Online Gambling Initiatives stated:

“We build games and experiences that our players want and love. Zynga Poker is the world’s largest online poker game with more than seven million people playing every day and over 30 million each month. We know from listening to our players that there’s an interest in the real money gambling market. We’re in active conversations with potential partners to better understand and explore this new opportunity.”

Reported by Maggie B.

Ira Rubin, U.S. citizen credited with helping online poker companies move billions of dollars in illegal gambling proceeds overseas from U.S. customers pleaded guilty Tuesday to money laundering, bank and wire fraud, and gambling offenses. He faces up to 55 years in prison, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 17.

Rubin was swept up last year in a federal prosecution that shut down the three largest Internet poker companies operating in the United States and resulted in charges against 11 individuals.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, when announcing the plea deal, said in a statement that Rubin helped process payments for three of the largest companies — Pokerstars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker — by disguising transactions so they’d appear to be on behalf of non-gamblers selling clothing, jewelry and other items.

“Because U.S. banks were largely unwilling to process Internet gambling payments, companies turned to third party payment processors, including Rubin, who were willing to disguise the payments so they would appear to be unrelated to internet gambling,” the statement said.

Rubin’s criminal record dates to the 1970s, according to prosecutors, and includes at least 24 different crimes.

The case is U.S. v. Rubin, 10-CR-336, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

Reported by Maggie B.