POKERSTARS TO BUY FULL TILT?
The Full Tilt saga took a surprise twist this week as speculation began to emerge that PokerStars was set to buy its former rival. It’s a step that could put an end the legal issues facing both PokerStars and Full Tilt with the US Justice Department, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.
The news was generally welcomed by poker players arriving in Monaco for the Monte-Carlo®Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final this week, some of whom believing that they may be about to be reunited with Full Tilt poker funds that have been frozen since the sight unexpectedly closed following events of Black Friday 12 months ago. For some that means a few dollars, while for others it amounts to tens of thousands of pounds, even more.
Addressing the growing discussions online and in the poker community, PokerStars released a short statement on the PokerStars Blog on Tuesday.
“We’ve had a lot of enquiries and there’s lots of speculation on the forums, so I wanted to address the PokerStars chatter,” wrote Eric Hollreiser, Head of Corporate Communications for PokerStars. “As you know, PokerStars is in settlement discussions with the U.S. Department of Justice. As such settlement discussions are always confidential, we are unable to comment on rumours. As soon as we have information to share publicly we will do so.”
Since then there has been no official word. If true the move comes after Groupe Bernard Tapie reached an agreement with Full Tilt to acquire the site, although that deal was thought to have fallen through over the issue of paying back players. That’s a concern that players will hope is rectified in any potential deal with PokerStars.
Read more about the story on the Wall Street Journal website.
