Poker News: Tapie Out, Stars In as Full Tilt Assets Buyer and More
May 8, 2012 - 12:21pm
by Haley Hintze
FRENCH GROUP EXITS NEGOTIATIONS TO PURCHASE FULL TILT ASSETS...
The on-again, off-again courtship by Groupe Bernard Tapie to purchase the assets of Full Tilt Poker is off again—this time for good. Citing an “eleventh hour” demand from the United States’ Department of Justice that all affected players would be able to withdraw suspended balances immediately upon reopening of a new Full Tilt site serving the rest of the world, Tapie pulled the plug on the deal.
...AS POKERSTARS STEPS IN
Groupe Tapie’s press release named PokerStars as the company that would be buying up the pieces of Full Tilt. Several sources leaked pieces of a purported deal between Stars and the DOJ—as yet unconfirmed—would both pay enough to resolve all existing Full Tilt player-bankroll issues and settle the DOJ’s own Wire Actand UIGEA-related claims against the company. The total price tag estimated is said to be $750 million. This deal might also resurrect a renewed PokerStars/Wynn Resorts deal, since the two had signed a partnership that fell apart with last year’s Black Friday indictments.
KITAI WINS EPT BERLIN, CLAIMS UNOFFICIAL TRIPLE CROWN
Belgium’s Davidi Kitai became the latest member of poker’s unofficial “Triple Crown” club by capturing the European Poker Tour’s recent Berlin, Germany stop. Kitai’s win here joins victories at the 2011 WPT Celebrity Invitational and in a 2008 WSOP event. Kitai closed out the win against Canada’s Andrew Chen after they chopped most of the remaining prize money when reaching heads-up play with nearly equal stacks.
CAMPOS PLEA DEAL ACCEPTED
After a federal judge demanded further explanation from Department of Justice prosecutors, the plea deal for Black Friday defendant John Campos was approved. The DOJ noted that with so-called “first-time” reductions, Campos’s sentence if guilty at trial would have been the same. According to the brief, Campos faces a term of 0-6 months when sentenced later this year.
RONLOV STRIKES RICHES AT HPT GOLDEN GATES
The Heartland Poker Tour’s return to Black Hawk, Colorado’s, Golden Gates Casino, smashed all previous attendance records when 820 entrants built a $1,231,500 prize pool. Despite a field peppered full of high-profile, out-of-state pros, local Colorado players dominated play and secured five of the six final-table spots. When the chips were settled, 67-year-old retiree Steen Ronlov added to his nest egg with a $270,905 win. Michael McCloud took second and $151,721, with Wesley Myers third for $98,274.
CALIFORNIA TRIBES OPPOSE STATE ONLINE GAMING BILL
California’s Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations (TASIN) uniformly denounced efforts by California legislators to advance an online-poker bill. TASIN’s “oppose unless amended” press release joined harsh denunciations by tribal officials at the recently completed Global iGaming Summit and Expo (GiGse).
HPT VEGAS TITLE FOR NOVEMBER NINER COLLINS
Las Vegas pro Phil Collins came up short in the 2011 WSOP November Nine, but he closed the deal in the recent Heartland Poker Tour Las Vegas event. Collins’ triumph came only a stone’s throw from his deep run at the Rio, with the nearby Palms Casino hosting the HPT’s glitziest stop. Collins topped what might have been the HPT’s most experienced final-table lineup to date, besting Matt Marafioti to secure the $71,556 win. Marafioti’s secondplace run was worth $41,570, with Steve Gross third and Leo Wolpert fourth.
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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