Disagree here. if players were to receive restitution of their player account balances, via DOJ, PS or anyone else, this does not equate to "repayment legally coming from FTP". I know you didn't mean that literally, but imo, receiving players balances back, is not the same as players relinquishing any assertion that they were not otherwise harmed.

That said, as has been evident already in this case, DOJ has no problem justifying accepting any lesser pleas.

Stars is going to end up losing an obscene amount of money after all is said and done. Online poker is dying and they already own the vast majority of the market so it's not like FTP will be a beacon of new profits for them.

There's one thing they, and Isai in particular, are after here:

Motivation is simple Isai wants to be free and able to travel out of the IOM, what is the use of billions when you stuck on a small wet, windy little island?

Will they get back in the US after, either PS or FTP? Who knows, but still worth all the money for Isai to be free, after all it is his money.

http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/02/news....htm?hpt=hp_t2

CNN link - no new news, but plenty of entertaining user comments.

IIRC, this was represented in court like a year ago to be possible for approximately only $ 9M of the outstanding $128M.

DF, you know that for almost everyone lurking here daily like myself, all we really want to do is wake up one day to see something positive from someone like you about our money. Whilst I obviously despise what those clowns did with it, after so long now I can't even bring myself to read through every new document explaining just how they stole from me, I just want it back and to forget about it.

You've been "cautiously optimistic" for a while now, are you feeling significantly more optimistic now? Or, like others have mentioned, do the extra charges heaped on Ray somehow make it less likely that Isai/whoever would want to cut a deal with the DOJ?

Thanks as ever!

WU worked fine 4 me plus a prepaid card worked fine.

I didn't say earning money.
They're after Scotland?

FYI, it's typical for every charge in these cases to list the requested forfeiture amount as every single dollar the company ever handled (check every payment processor case for the last years). This is because the DOJ asserts that it was an illegal business all along, and rarely has any bearing on the final amount agreed to in any of the cases.

Agree on Kaplan, but Bitar is really the only one they would need Kaplan to recuse himself from, even if he were inclined to say that SDNY is making him the 'fall guy' and dismiss the case, his relationship with Baughman's firm has him in a pickle.

Of course everything is speculation/rumor until it happens, but the poker stars seem clearly aligned for Scheinberg from my vantage point.

D_F did u learn about Bitar from this thread or from ur sources?

The struggled with many/all of the same obstacles, but, as any well run business should, they made adjustments (cutting off some echecks options, collecting on prior non-collected echecks, etc)

DF, guess you can confirm now PS is indeed paying the salaries.
You implied this 22 June.

It makes it more likely everything in the mail is true so that would be interesting information.

No, Mel Gibson.

How the heck did you reach this conclusion? The documents say that FTP owners (not top brass) received over $400 million since 2007, when they began receiving distributions. This is an aggragate number, all inclusive, not for each owner/manager/top brass.

getting irish gov to extradite anyone to the usa is never gonna be a problem previous govs here have broken the constitution to oblige usa . allowing planes to land with prisoners on board. there is nothing the irish gov wont do for usa on request.

Exactly what I am thinking. What is your opinion DF?

Much appreciated, Emerald Island.

If I had a penny...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000....html?mod=e2tw if it hasn't been posted

Ty for the kind words.

IMHO, the superceding indictment in the criminal case should have no significant impact on the deal currently in the works in the civil complaint. I remain optimistic in this regard.

Then why does Bitar say in his email that his surrender is in the direction for paying the players back and finalizing the deal?

This thread had no effect on my work yesterday.

I havent gone back to read what I may have posted on that day, but iirc, what I said is that regardless of rumors being circulated, that FTP owners were not sending out personal checks to see that the employees were being paid.

Pretty sure he didnt say that there was some deal that if he surrendered that a deal will be completed with PS and the DOJ, and no one should be thinking any thing like that imo.

I do not speak for Bitar, and I dont have his statement in front of me right now, but I think that he was referring more to the timing of him voluntarily surrendering being when he believed that a deal for repayment to players was nearing completion.