French magazine Live Poker, this week, began calling Full Tilt Poker players with money stuck online. Live Poker has withheld how they came to possess names and phone numbers of Full Tilt Poker players, but speculation suggests that rather than a breech of confidentiality, this survey is rather very good news for players with money stuck on Full Tilt and eager to get back to playing on Full Tilt Poker software.
The French organization Groupe Bernard Tapie, known for buying distressed companies and turning them around, is currently doing due diligence while they consider the purchase of Full Tilt Poker. Last month, Groupe Bernard Tapie signed an acquisition agreement with Full Tilt Poker. Right now they have a period of time to finalize the deal or pull out, which hinders on the findings of their due diligence as well as a favorable resolution with the United States Department of Justice.
French magazine LivePoker is headed by George Djen, the founder of FullFun. FullFun was chosen by Groupe Bernard Tapie to set up the International Stadium Poker Tour, a group of massive live tournaments Bernard Tapie is planning to begin in London in 2012. FullFun also owns website PokerExtrem.fr. This business connection between FullFun and Groupe Bernard Tapie suggests Groupe Bernard Tapie may be using Live Poker Magazine to conduct the survey, in order to avoid drawing too much attention to their due diligence of Full Tilt Poker and decision making process.
For the first few days of the survey, players from Spain were primarily contacted. In the last few days, Full Tilt players from Holland, the United Kingdom and Canada have all been contacted as well.
The survey asks Full Tilt players about their deposit and cashout habits. It further questions Full Tilt players which of three options they would prefer as a means of cashout. Option one would be to accept company shares for their Full Tilt balance, option two would be to cash out instantly with a penalty, and option three would be to earn rake to unlock the ability to cashout over the course of a year.
As of yet there are no reports of American players being contacted by Full Tilt Poker for the survey, neither is it known if these cashout options would be available to non-American players, Americans, or to all Full Tilt Poker players. Understandably, Groupe Bernard Tapie wants to take a stake in Full Tilt Poker for as little upfront capital as possible. With $300 Million owed to players, as well as potential fines from the Department of Justice, for the player’s sake hopefully the Groupe Bernard Tapie will find favor in the profitability of a high rake generating site such as Full Tilt, with its large player base and world renowned software.