I heard Chianti was better?

So, the new news is that this deal would have been announced already if it was not for the Department of Justice's 11th hour demand?

as long as your going in "that" direction-NEVER even try and cross traffic there-lol
was down there the other day for bluesfest and a trip to the casino--prefer their food than McD's

The Chianti wasn't for Starving's liver. You have to match the wine to the specific dish, and the venue.

Besides, I only have 3 or 4 Chianti's in the cellar, and none of them is ready to drink this year, let alone tonight, under the balcony.

Glad to see a little humor in this thread. Sometimes laughing during a disaster is the best way to cope.

I would also like to point out something about the latest DOJ filing regarding fugitive disenfranchisement. It, like the Stars' Motion to Dismiss, is what lawyers do. And good lawyers anticipate what other lawyers will do. And the lawyers involved in this case are some of the best lawyers in the US.

IOW, the DOJ was not surprised at the Motion to Dismiss or the arguments therein, they expected it and had probably been planning their response for months. Nor was Stars surprised by the DOJ motion, they too would have expected it and have a response planned that will, I am sure, be filed before the deadline.

Simply put, lawyers file motions when the court schedule dictates they have to. When they are also negotiating in hopes of a deal, they typically put off filing motions until deadlines in hopes they won't have to file after all. But when negotiations take longer than deadlines, motions get filed (a court will only delay deadlines to pursue negotiations for so long).

I do not see these motions being filed as proof or evidence of anything except that that the negotiations have not yet produced a deal that can be filed with the court.

Skallagrim

Thread has taken a bizarre turn.

but that cheeseburger is starting to sound good--LOL

im not too far from ottawa.

http://www.pokerplayernewspaper.com/...business-12300

"Months Of Progress Is Thwarted.
Early last week, lawyers for PokerStars were working late into the evening, as the WSOP was rounding the bend to its final days of the summer season. PokerStars was still expected to complete the deal, momentarily, and make the formal announcement the poker world craved to hear.
At the 11th hour, however, the DOJ apparently threatened PokerStars’ bid to become the hero in the online poker fiasco of the past year. So, lawyers for the company would have no choice but to shift their attention to the ongoing prosecution. They filed motions to dismiss the civil charges so as to assure their legal rights to do so within filing date requirements. With the same needs, Lederer, Ferguson, and Furst filed similar motions in connection with their cases. The filings created a frenzy of speculation as did the DOJ’s motion to dismiss charges involving Poker Stars and FTP in Kentucky, during the same period—which looked more favorable to the prospects of completing a deal."

I cannot vouch for the site or author at all so no idea if this is true.

The problem is most of the haters have been banned. What's left is a bunch of hippie-Ivey-lovers.

1 1/2 hours here--not sure it's worth it to drive for my burger--have a bit too much on FTP

Was posted earlier itt. And this author is in connection with people related to the case, so it's likely true and unfortunate obv.

I'm not too far from Ottawa, either.

Maybe once a deal is done, we should have an Ottawa celebration BBQ.

I volunteer to bring the wine and do the grilling...

tx. any speculation as to what the DoJ would suddenly want at the last minute? Is there anything besides money that could be the major motivator here?

Also, any idea who her sources are or just 'inside people' like we usually here?

Yeah, this is a good question.

Wonder if it had to do with who would handle the cashouts for players?

Toronto Maple Leafs red Ripple Kool Aid goes good with ewwwww Liver.
and 26 dollah little plates of sushi they serve in the platiniums at ACC.

Yes SGT , This thread has taken a weird turn.

Seriously though I think this is all just another stall tactic. Trying to keep the Douches like Bitar out of Prison for a little while longer and to continue to tease and torment those who are owed large sums of money by FTP.

I remember thinking when the Bitar email was leaked "jeez, that can't have been an authorized move" - by Stars or the DOJ anyway. I just couldn't see that they would be happy about making himself look like a hero/sacrificial lamb in any way, shape, or form before an official announcement.

Has it been discussed or considered by anyone the possiblity that his email being leaked had something to do with the 11th hour considerations from the DOJ?

works for me---but you may spend your whole roll on wine-LOL

Just happy its almost done and the money is on the way.

Yea seems like it's almost done but not neccessarily the results players will like.

Is money/greed the only reason the DOJ is keeping this from happening? ~350MM seems like a pretty good payday over battling this out in court for a couple years over victimless crimes.

She has proven herself credible throughout this saga. But that being said, I'm not sure much new was reported in this article, besides the fact that they were expected to announce the settlement on July 11 and that it was a last minute DOJ demand that prolonged this thing.

We already knew that they were supposed to close the deal the Monday, July 9 but for some reason didn't. Unfortunately, this article doesn't tell us what the reason is. Matt Glantz blog didn't tell us that either, but did tell us that the according to FTP shareholders, the deal is still a go it just didn't happen yet for some reason. ZBThorton had the same info but was unaware of the reason. My curiosity WISHES someone would tell us the reason.

I would say there was some good news in the poker player newspaper article:

"From all reports available, PokerStars is prepared to make payment of a monumental fine estimated to reach over $700 million dollars to the US Government in consideration of a global settlement of its legal troubles. And, apparently, the company stands ready to acquire FTP’s assets in a manner that will result in their customers being repaid their outstanding funds within 90 days thereafter."

I'd like to read that in the present tense, not sure if that is what was intended or if, alternatively, she is just basing it off reports from before the motions to dismiss were filed.

Nevertheless, that article didn't really say anything negative.

Lol that was a good fyp.

If the DOJ is holding up the deal, time for you to rally the masses, Joeyrulesall, like you've been talking about for so long and get some pressure on them to lock it down.

Don't be fooled by her finely honed technique of wording things to make it sound like she's an insider on everything, when it's pretty obvious she's mostly reporting random speculations and rumors from various sources of wildly varying degrees of reliability.

I wouldn't necessarily agree with this. Her first couple of articles on this were pretty ridiculous.

Also:

As long as we're being humorous today, I have to mention that when I speed-read this thread I never fail to see your username as "DoTheMeth."