DoJ Denies 1,500 Claims in Full Tilt Remission Process

About 1,500 former U.S. Full Tilt Poker players who have yet to be reimbursed in the ongoing remission process received notice that their petitions have been denied.

Emails were sent to the affected players recently and the official Full Tilt Poker Claims Administration web site manned by the Garden City Group (GCG) posted an update on May 6. The denials were implemented by the DoJ’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering division, prompting the GCG to spread the word that included advising players still waiting on their funds to check their spam folders as well as their email in-boxes.

Not Many Left

On March 11, the GCG reported that all filed petitions have been reviewed and the most recent batch of scheduled payments would render the entire remission process roughly 94% complete. Based on the fact that about 44,000 players have been reimbursed to date, calculations would indicate that the remaining 6% of unpaid claims consists of only about 3,000 petitions.

Half of those – the 1,500 petitioners who received notices of denial – have only ten days to file an appeal. Many of those claimants are likely players who were tabbed as affiliates, as well as those whose claim amounts did not jibe with DoJ record-keeping. And if one is to believe some of the postings made on online poker forums from players who have yet to be reimbursed, a number of the remaining claimants are of the high stakes variety.

The GCG appears to have saved the most difficult and/or contested claims for last. Roughly $112 million has been paid to former U.S. Full Tilt players in eight separate waves of reimbursement that began more than two years ago. The largest of those came on February 28, 2014 – a day that was dubbed Green Friday – when $76 million landed in the accounts of over 27,000 players.

New Date for Merger with PokerStars

Just as the remission process seems to be winding down, the end is also in sight for Full Tilt’s software. A merger with PokerStars was supposed to come into play on April 1, according to an announcement in February, but April Fools Day came and went without the migration taking place.

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Full Tilt Traffic Decline Causes Merger with PokerStars

Who Wins with PokerStars-Full Tilt Merger?

A recent announcement by Amaya revealed that May 17 is the new date for liquidity sharing, as Full Tilt players will finally join the PokerStars platform. The migration will result in players having a single account for all of Amaya’s offerings that include PokerStars, Full Tilt, StarsDraft, BetStars and Duel. Those brands allow online punters to bet on sports, poker, casino action and daily fantasy sports.

FTP players are due to get an email explaining the details of the merger that includes a transition to the VIP club benefits in place at PokerStars known as StarsCoin. Player statuses in the PokerStars loyalty club will be based on play at Full Tilt and will carry over to the StarsCoin scheme.