PokerStars has revealed details of its plan to repay $184 million to former customers of Full Tilt Poker outside of the USA. The company has also announced that FullTiltPoker.com will be re-launched during the first week of November.

PokerStars has been working with regulatory bodies in all relevant jurisdictions to ensure that repayment is conducted in accordance with local regulatory requirements that ensure the security of player accounts and confirmation of the rightful ownership of those accounts.

Players will follow slightly different processes for accessing their funds depending upon their jurisdiction.

• In order to comply with local regulations, former Full Tilt Poker players from France, Spain, Denmark, Estonia and Belgium will be repaid through the locally-licensed PokerStars platform. Players will ‘pair’ a PokerStars account with their Full Tilt account, which will allow them to withdraw or use their balances on the licensed PokerStars site.

• In Italy, PokerStars is working with regulators to determine the appropriate process to ensure compliance with local regulations. The details will be announced as soon as possible.

• In all other markets, except for the USA, Full Tilt Poker players will have full access to their accounts when www.FullTiltPoker.com re-launches during the first week of November.

PokerStars received the assets of Full Tilt Poker this summer under a wide-ranging agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. As part of that agreement, PokerStars agreed to repay the former Full Tilt Poker players outside of the USA the total of $184 million. PokerStars also paid the U.S. Government $547 million, which will in part be used to repay former Full Tilt Poker customers in the USA through a remission process administered by the U.S. Government.

FTP account holders have started to receive emails from PokerStars/Full Tilt Poker, with information that they will have to verify their identities in advance of the new site being launched to make sure their accounts and cashier functions are active.

Members of the poker forum “TwoPlusTwo” posted that they received the following email from FTP:

As you are aware, Full Tilt Poker is preparing to re-launch by November 6th, 2012.

Action Required: You will need to verify your identity to access your account.*

In the interest of account security and in accordance with the anticipated Isle of Man regulatory requirements, you are required to verify your identity.

Providing valid documentation now will ensure that your account is fully verified and active upon re-launch. Once relaunch and system testing has completed, you will have unrestricted access to your Full Tilt Poker account, including all cashier functionality and poker games.

It seems that the majority of customers have not been contacted yet. However, this may be due to email identity control, since sending out an email to hudreds of thousands of players at one time to send over ID documents could cause chaos for administration purposes. All customers will be probably contacted over a certain period of time to allow for returns of replies.

The news that every online poker player has been waiting for has just been announced, in a press statement from Full Tilt Poker, the announcement reads as follows from website Diamondflushpoker:

After more than a year of wondering if their account balances at Full Tilt Poker would ever be worth more than monopoly money, the site’s online player base may breathe easier today, as an agreement has been finalized that will allow them to be reunited with their online bankrolls.

The agreement, approved by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, allows Full Tilt to voluntarily forfeit all assets to the US government. Such forfeiture is contingent that the USAO then transfer certain of those assets to PokerStars. In return for the forfeiture, the government agrees that all civil forfeiture claims and money laundering charges against the Full Tilt companies, as documented in the amended civil complaint, be dismissed with prejudice. There are absolutely no conditions that require any civil or criminal charges lodged against any Full Tilt related individuals to be dismissed or otherwise resolved, in whole or in part, as part of this agreement.

Provided for in the deal, PokerStars agrees to forfeit the amount of $ 547,000,000. to the US government over three years. By doing so, all civil forfeiture and money laundering claims, as specified in the amended civil complaint against all named PokerStars companies shall be dismissed with prejudice. No criminal charges currently facing PokerStars related individuals are in any way resolved as part of the agreement, and these charges were never a part of the negotiation for this settlement. Once the asset transfer has been completed, and within a period not to exceed 90 days, PokerStars committed to make available for immediate withdrawal, without limitation or restriction, other than required by applicable law, the online poker account balances of non USA Full Tilt Poker players. Such an amount is expected to equal approximately $ 184 million in total. While compensating Full Tilt’s non US players for any other assets, like FTP points, etc., over their balances is not a part of the agreement, I was told by PokerStars sources that the company plans to have fair resolution for these assets. The settlement was negotiated by Anand Raman, John Caroll and David Zornow of Skadden,Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom for the PokerStars companies.

US players with account balances outstanding, will be compensated separately. U.S. victims of the offenses allegedly committed by the FTP companies or other members of the FTP group as put forth in the amended civil complaint, shall have the opportunity to file a petition for remission with the U.S. Department of Justice, Asset Forfeiture Money Laundering Service (AFMLS), taking into regard the PokerStars forfeited funds, to seek compensation for their losses. The value of the remission applications is expected to be approximately $ 150 million. For clarity of compensation purposes, US players and “rest of world” players shall be categorized based on their verified and approved locations on the Full Tilt site as of April 14, 2011.

In order to effectuate the purchase of assets alongside the corporate civil settlement, Isai Scheinberg will, within 45 days of closing, withdraw from and not serve in any managerial or director role at any PokerStars company, including any entity that may own or operate any of the forfeited Full Tilt assets or their present or future affiliates. This part of the agreement may be revisited by the parties, without order of the court, upon resolution of the Black Friday criminal case.

Further part of the agreement, neither the Full Tilt Poker companies or PokerStars companies admit to any wrongdoing, nor do either of the companies, or the government, affirm or deny the merits of any charges. Once the forfeiture is completed, the domain name use agreement of both companies will be terminated and the in rem arrest warrants will no longer apply. The government agrees to petition that the restraining orders be lifted. Both Full Tilt Poker companies and PokerStars companies, or any present or future entities controlled by those companies or their principals, cannot offer online poker for real money play in the USA until and unless it is permissible under relevant law. Neither company can ever make any claim vs the USA, the FBI or the USAO SDNY resulting from the forfeiture or any properties seized relative to the civil charges. Full Tilt agrees to withdraw all claims against any seized or otherwise restrained assets. PokerStars agreed to release any claims to accounts of non-PokerStars entities. The value of PokerStars accounts restrained as a result of the civil action will be released by the DOJ.

The Full Tilt Companies forfeiting their assets include: B.T. Management, Dromane Limited, Filco (Holdings) Limited, Filco Limited, Fitzroche Limited, Graybel Limited, Irolo (Italy) Limited, Kolyma Corporation AVV, Ludus Limited, Cyprus, Media Management GmbH, My West Nook Limited ,Oxalic Limited, Orinic Limited, Pocket Kings Consulting Limited, Pocket Kings Limited, Ranston Limited, Real Media Limited, Rekop Limited, Rosbull Limited, Rullan Joyce Limited, Tiltproof Limited, Tiltware LLC., Tiltware Merchandise Services LLC. and Vantage Limited. The settlement was negotiated by Jeff Ifrah of Ifrah Law, Barry Boss and Anne Madonia of Cozen O’Connor for the Full Tilt Companies.

The forfeited assets include:

• Accounts receivable or monies owed on date of forfeiture or later
• All gaming data and history relating to the business, computer records, database, operating reports, and any reconciliation files
• All tangible property
• Documents that are used in, or intended to be used in, the Full Tilt business
• Any rights under NDA’s
• All rights of supplier agreements, etc
• All cash and equivalents in bank accounts etc
• All intellectual property
• All other intangible property
• Customer and supplier databases since inception of the company
• All present and potential claims against any third party
• Any other assets of the Full Tilt Group used in the operation of business not expressly excluded

At this time, a specific date for relaunch of the former Full Tilt Poker site is unclear, but PokerStars sources confirm that it’s a priority to see this happen as soon as possible, certainly within the prescribed 90 day time frame as set forth in the agreement.

For the past many many months, all parties have been restricted from releasing any public information regarding the negotiations until every part of the settlement had been executed and accepted by the court. Diamond Flush Poker has been mindful not to overstep those boundaries to protect the continuation of the negotiations which could have been put in jeopardy, or any other sanctions that may have occurred by a premature release of information.

The long-running saga involving Full Tilt Poker is finally at an end after the beleaguered online poker operator finalised a three-way deal that will see all of its assets transferred to rival PokerStars and players given access to their frozen funds.

The agreement with the United States Department of Justice and PokerStars will see US-based Full Tilt Poker players have an opportunity to request compensation while customers in all other jurisdictions are to be given access to their account via the new owner for immediate cash withdrawal or play.
“We are delighted we have been able to put this matter behind us and also secured our ability to operate in the United States of America whenever the regulations allow,” said Mark Scheinberg, Chairman for PokerStars.

“This outcome demonstrates our continuing global leadership of the online poker industry and our commitment to working with governments and regulators to ensure the highest standards of protection for players.

“Acquiring certain assets of Full Tilt Poker strengthens PokerStars, brings welcome relief to Full Tilt Poker players who have been waiting over twelve months for repayment of their money and benefits the entire poker community. Full Tilt Poker’s customers outside the United States can soon look forward to accessing their accounts and playing on the re-launched site, confident that they are supported by PokerStars’ history of integrity and our track record of delivering high-quality and secure online poker.

“The way we have operated our business since the US Department of Justice brought its claim has underlined our credentials as a responsible online poker operator.

“In particular, the prompt repayment of our former US customers in as quick a time frame as possible demonstrated our industry-leading commitment to the segregation of customer funds. We continue to encourage jurisdictions all over the world to introduce sensible online poker regulation.”

The deal finalised with Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, will see PokerStars pay $547 million over the next three years to take control of Full Tilt Poker with a portion of these funds earmarked to reimburse former customers in the United States through a remission process set to be administered by the Department of Justice.

“PokerStars will also make available in a segregated bank account all outstanding balances owing to all non-US customers of Full Tilt Poker, an amount totalling $184 million, with no restrictions on withdrawals within 90 days of completing this transaction,” read a statement from Isle of Man and Malta-licensed PokerStars.

“PokerStars has remained open for non-US players with all its licenses in good standing without interruptions.”

PokerStars stated that it plans to re-launch Full Tilt Poker in most markets as a separate Isle of Man-licensed brand following the appointment of an independent management team due to be based in Dublin.

“We are pleased to announce these settlements by Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars, which allow us to quickly get significant compensation into the victim players’ hands,” said Bharara.

“Today’s settlements demonstrate that if you engage in conduct that violates the laws of the United States, as we alleged in this case, then even if you are doing so from across the ocean, you will have to answer for that conduct and turn over your ill-gotten gains.”

PokerStars customers can now purchase new Top Up vouchers that can be used on the online poker room at any of PayPoint 24,000 stores across the UK.

Andrew Goddard, Retail Director for PayPointUK and Ireland, said: “Online gaming is a rapidly growing market in the UK. Its popularity means that customers are always looking for quick and convenient ways to purchase online gaming vouchers, which is why the PayPoint network is an obvious choice for PokerStars.”

“Not only will PokerStars’ Top Up vouchers earn our retailers an excellent commission, they are yet another example of PayPoint concentrating its efforts on signing up new products and services that generate additional footfall and sales for our retailers. The size and quality of the PayPoint network make it uniquely attractive to consumer-focused organisations wanting to provide their customers with the widest possible access to their products and services,” he added.

PokerStars has over 49 million members is one of the world’s largest online poker sites. The company has launched a promotional campaign aimed at depositing players to support the launch of its new Top Up vouchers.

“We are delighted that our customers can now buy their Top Up vouchers at any of PayPoint’s 24,000 stores across the United Kingdom,” said Richard Connolly, Payments Business Development Manager for PokerStars. “Its retail locations are always convenient, accessible and open all hours; exactly what our customers want.”

The relaunch of Full Tilt Poker took place on November 6. It was locked up for 18 months under the previous management of FTP, now it has new ownership – PokerStars.

The plans of opening Full Tilt Poker were announced on Monday (November 5) via Twitter. All players living outside U.S. and Italy have a chance to see their funds and to play real-money games since last September.

The beginning was at the same time as series of freerolls Full Tilt Poker’s Deal Me In promotion starting November 6th.

There are many facilities for players. They have the option of withdrawing their funds, or transferring them to PokerStars, and playing real-money games. In some markets (France, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia) former FTP players will be repaid with the aid of locally-licenced PokerStars. A full access to accounts in other non-U.S. markets will be available when the web page of Full Tilt Poker officially

re-launches.

Last week, players had a possibility to sit down at the play-money tables, view their funds and transfer them to PokerStars.

Two weeks ago Full Tilt Poker opened back up for business and since then the response from players has been positive. The casino is powered by the same software as before and the gameplay doesn’t differ from what it once was.

There have been only a few complaints about the new loyalty program and the customer service. What is more, Full Tilt once again occupies the second position in the online poker traffic rankings.

According to PokerScout, 6,700 cash game players visited the site within seven days, with a peak of 11,202 in the last day. Although its sister site, PokerStars, has a seven day average of 22,000 cash players, Full Tilt is ahead of both the iPoker Network (2,750) and PartyPoker (2,600). It is expected that unless there is another big scandal, that gap will remain like that for the forseable future.

Players from other sites continue to check out the old internet poker powerhouse. Therefore, last week PokerStars lost 2%, iPoker saw its traffic fall 7% and PartyPoker dropped 6%, which means that PokerStars will not complain about their own small drop, so long as Full Tilt Poker takes more % points off their other competitors.

Rafael Nadal, 2008 Olympic Gold medallist and eleven-time Grand Slam tennis champion, is going to challenge 100 fans to play a poker with him over the weekend.

The PokerStars sponsored competition will take part on Monday 3rd June when Rafael Nadal will celebrate his birthday. It will not interrupt his preparations to defend his French Open men’s singles title, as currently Nadal is having a break.

According to Nadal, “It's no secret that I love the competition and that's what I like about the game of poker”

“It's a game of skill that requires mental strength and the ability to out-think your opponents and in that way it is very similar to tennis. As I'm in Paris for the Roland Garros tournament, I wanted to be able to have some fun with my fans and a poker tournament seemed like a great way to do that.”

Rafael Nadal comes from Spain. He is the winner of most French Open men’s singles in the modern era, and his adventure with PokerStars began last June since signing a sponsorship deal with them. According to Spaniard, playing poker is a good way to keep mentally alert and remain in the competitive mindset between tennis tournaments. His poker coach is Alfonso Cardalda.

As Cardalda stated: “Rafa's competitive nature means that he needs new challenges and wants to learn new skills all the time.Taking on his fans in a friendly poker tournament such as this allows him to put into practice the key lessons I have been giving him based on mathematics, discipline and psychology.”

If the partnership is approved by the New Jersey regulatory authorities PokerStars will offer legal online gaming together with Atlantic City’s Resorts Casino Hotel.

“Resorts is a fantastic partner for us and we are looking forward to launch PokerStars in the US in association with the other quality brands Resorts has brought to Atlantic City,” said Mark Scheinberg, CEO of PokerStars.

According to this state’s online gambling legislation operators that wish to offer online gaming in New Jersey have to partner with a land-based casino from Atlantic City. 

PokerStars was aiming to take over Atlantic Club Casino Hotel but Rational Group (PokerStars owners) failed to receive preliminary ownership approval from New Jersey regulators before the agreed date. 

Rational Group, the owner of PokerStars, has announced that it has withdrawn its application for a casino license in New Jersey, which also means stopping its fight to purchase the Atlantic Club.

The company has lost two court battles over the Atlantic Club, which cost it $11 and $4 million. It has now switched its interest to a partnership with Resorts Casino Hotel to act as a supplier of software for online gambling. 

According to the rumors in New Jersey, Atlantic Club would still be sold to PokerStars, but at a price greater than agreed. It remains unclear what will happen win the casino now.