Details have been extremely scarce in recent months since Group Bernard Tapie (GBT) supposedly reached a deal to purchase Full Tilt Poker (FTP). In December 2011, it was widely reported that the GBT had come to an agreement to purchase the assets and liabilities of the defunct company from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) for the sum of $80 million. Since that time there has been virtually no reported progress. Full Tilt Poker shareholders and owners have been extremely tight lipped regarding any details.
Players around the world had breathed a collective sigh of relief in December when the deal was announced, as it was the first indication that they may receive their money from the formerly popular poker site. Part of the deal was for the GBT to be responsible for Full Tilt Poker’s international player balances, amounting to an estimated $150 million. The DOJ was to deal with repaying domestic USA player balances (approximately $80 million) out of the funds they had seized.
There have been no official statements and very little credible information regarding developments being made on the deal. Speculation and rumors have been flying around, especially in the last month since Laurent Tapie, CEO of GBT, confirmed allegations that over a dozen FTP pros owe the company a combined $16.5 million. Included on this list were some very well-known pros: Barry Greenstein, Phil Ivey, Eric Lindgren and Mike Matusow. Despite claims that the majority of these players were making arrangements to pay back this money, rage was ignited among many former FTP players. Some felt that this equated to pro players stealing money out of the pockets of FTP players around the world.
Barry Greenstein addressed his involvement in this mess swiftly and publically. He made it clear that he does indeed owe the company $400,000. He also explained that it isn’t simply a matter of paying it back right now and having it instantly go towards player balances. “If we had paid Full Tilt management that money, where do you think that money would be right now?” he says, “It would just be gone.”
Current rumors regarding the GBT-DOJ deal suggest that the deal may be losing traction. Unconfirmed reports have been saying that FTP may possess more debt than originally thought. More debt than GBT investors are prepared to take on. Players have cited the silence of FTP shareholders as evidence that things are going poorly.
Matt Glantz, a high stakes poker pro and writer for Card Player, recently wrote on his blog that he believes FTP insiders are reluctant to say anything at all due to the fragility of the deal. He suggests that “insiders seem to conclude that there is almost no chance of this deal going through at this point, they don’t want any perception that their words caused the deal to fail.”
Although Glantz claims that (according to one insider source) there are other options if the GBT deal fails, it seems unlikely that many investors will be lining up to take on such a debt-laden company. Bernard Tapie may very well be one of best chances Full Tilt Poker has. Tapie has a somewhat successful history of rescuing bankrupt companies. Most notably, he helped ADIDAS on their way out of a significant rut during his ownership of the company between 1989 and 1992.
As for future developments, Greenstein speculates that at some point there will be a “judgment day” where whatever money is left will be pooled and spread out to partially repay player balances. Matt Glantz writes that he believes this GBT deal will eventually fall through, leaving FTP no choice but to shut down for good. He estimates that players could reasonably expect to “receive between 20%-40% of their account balances back from the government somewhere down the line.” Although most of these predictions are based on rumor and hearsay, it is very likely that the outlook really is as bleak as it seems.