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Pros' debt to Full Tilt amounts to $16.5 million, Tapie says
Laurent Tapie has confirmed that 19 pros owe a total of $16.5 million to Full Tilt Poker, iGaming France reports.
Laurent Tapie told the site that the unsettled accounts could block the takeover deal, as the Groupe Bernard Tapie investor group is not willing to take on the extra debt.
Tapie, who heads the acquisition negotiations on behalf of GBT, added that all of the pros will need to pay their debts, including those who have argued that they will only do so if the money is put in a fund to repay Full Tilt's many players with funds currently locked on the site.
"As written in PokerStrategy, the argument of the players who say ‘we will refund if the money goes to the players’ is misleading, since they know very well that the players will be refunded ONLY if GBT goes all the way with the takeover, and for that to happen it is necessary that the bulk of money owed by the pros returns to Full Tilt," Tapie said.
"Otherwise GBT will have to make up the shortfall, generating an additional cost to the overall operation that GBT is not willing to take on, especially as the financial position of Full Tilt, as it appears following the audit, is actually worse than expected. Therefore the claim that this may block the deal unfortunately is true," he added.
Tapie also called for the pros to "honor" their "gambling debts", and revealed that some have already come forward to settle what they owe.
"Fortunately, among the 19 players we have attempted to contact, some have immediately called back and worked with us on a repayment plan to clear their debts, and we are already finalising contracts to that effect," Tapie said.
Tapie also said that he now hopes for the players who have still to respond to come forward and begin a dialogue.
However, he did not reveal which players have been cooperative and who have still to respond to the company's claims.
Laurent Tapie told the site that the unsettled accounts could block the takeover deal, as the Groupe Bernard Tapie investor group is not willing to take on the extra debt.
Tapie, who heads the acquisition negotiations on behalf of GBT, added that all of the pros will need to pay their debts, including those who have argued that they will only do so if the money is put in a fund to repay Full Tilt's many players with funds currently locked on the site.
"As written in PokerStrategy, the argument of the players who say ‘we will refund if the money goes to the players’ is misleading, since they know very well that the players will be refunded ONLY if GBT goes all the way with the takeover, and for that to happen it is necessary that the bulk of money owed by the pros returns to Full Tilt," Tapie said.
"Otherwise GBT will have to make up the shortfall, generating an additional cost to the overall operation that GBT is not willing to take on, especially as the financial position of Full Tilt, as it appears following the audit, is actually worse than expected. Therefore the claim that this may block the deal unfortunately is true," he added.
Tapie also called for the pros to "honor" their "gambling debts", and revealed that some have already come forward to settle what they owe.
"Fortunately, among the 19 players we have attempted to contact, some have immediately called back and worked with us on a repayment plan to clear their debts, and we are already finalising contracts to that effect," Tapie said.
Tapie also said that he now hopes for the players who have still to respond to come forward and begin a dialogue.
However, he did not reveal which players have been cooperative and who have still to respond to the company's claims.
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Comments
21
3 months ago
Like i said in anotehr comment they wont do it till march if they are lucky maybe in july august will open FTP again but low hopes :(
311
3 months ago
Lets hope that this hurdle is passed and full tilt poker is back again as a part of online poker, hoping for a bright future for everybody involved in poker :-)
I think this is partly just meant to put public pressure on the players to sign contracts making sure they will pay back what they owe.
I believe that regardless of what happens in this regard, Full Tilt will open again.
It makes sense to do it now since the public pressure will be less when the site is actually open. Now they can use the whole "if those guys dont pay we wont open the site so you should be angry at them and put pressure on them to pay".
I believe that regardless of what happens in this regard, Full Tilt will open again.
It makes sense to do it now since the public pressure will be less when the site is actually open. Now they can use the whole "if those guys dont pay we wont open the site so you should be angry at them and put pressure on them to pay".
Edited by Guru 3 months ago
149
3 months ago
Who cares?
FullTilt screwed everyone out of money.
They our the reason why online poker should be regulated.
I will never ever put my hard earned money into that site.
Thank God for PokerStars, thats a class act.
Man I miss PokerStars...............
FullTilt screwed everyone out of money.
They our the reason why online poker should be regulated.
I will never ever put my hard earned money into that site.
Thank God for PokerStars, thats a class act.
Man I miss PokerStars...............
People played at Full Tilt because they loved the software and the community. That part is still there if it reopens.
The part about screwing people over is something that only a few people at the top did. Obviously GBT would not invest millions in a project only to screw people over again. And besides, I can guarantee that there is no chance in hell they'd ever have a chance to do so again. I mean, Alderney would no doubt make sure that player funds are separated from other assets.
The part about screwing people over is something that only a few people at the top did. Obviously GBT would not invest millions in a project only to screw people over again. And besides, I can guarantee that there is no chance in hell they'd ever have a chance to do so again. I mean, Alderney would no doubt make sure that player funds are separated from other assets.
279
3 months ago
Pokerstars still exists thought, FTP is a big loss but they software is awesome.
35
3 months ago
I definitely miss the software from both pokerstars & fulltilt. I'm getting used to merge now & would be delighted for a big name company to rise again in the US market lol.
122
3 months ago
Another kink in the long process of attempting to resurrect FullTilt. It is a wonder FT did not go under long ago with the amount of negative stuff coming out these days. Why in the world would they have loaned out that much money to their "pros." Sorry to say it but even pros go on down swings, not a very good investment for FT from my perspective.
36
3 months ago
Really annoying that is, and they get pissed off when ppl mention it at the poker table.
27
3 months ago
FullTilt obviously had a unique relationship with its pros. They won't get much help from the US Gov recovering money from players - maybe they should cut a deal? I wonder if some of the pros who were underwater smiled when FT got shut down.
Edited by grilldoggy 3 months ago
67
3 months ago
And what about all the debts FTP owes? How come this is always 2nd fiddle? They owe me money and i am sure many of you, but all we ever hear about is what is owed them. Screw that, I am tired of hearing about what they aren't getting, they should only be talking about coming back and paying us non pros back first.
113
3 months ago
This is a ridonkulous amount of money to owe as pros? what was FTP thinking? Damn more bad news.
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