yup thanks

The most shocking thing to me looking back on all this is that its been almost two years since PS made the deal with the DOJ

Props for a great thread.

Congratulations to those with funds returned and well done to everybody.

TL;RA (Too Long, Read Anyway)

Very enjoyable read. I knew it was gonna be good when I saw the names Nick Rainey and Scott Matusow.

I will also admit thinking Ivey was some sort of hero when that announcement first showed up (I saw it on Facebook). Similarly, my disappointment in him is not nearly as pronounced as the OP — I feel "scumbag" is perhaps too strong — but I'm not the gushing Ivey fanboy I used to be, that's for sure.

Finally, I like the idea of SrslySirius being the Stephen Colbert of the post-Black Friday world of online poker. Who is the Jon Stewart?

Oh, also... with all the links to the old threads, we should compile some quotes/predictions/rumors, etc. that were the most amusingly off course, or strikingly prophetic. It will be like our own episode of The Newsroom.

I have my money now but this whole situation is still so frustrating. Such minor repercussions for all of the scum bags that caused the whole mess. I'm not really sure I agree how altruistic it was for Bitar to come back to the US.

Thanks for the cliffs!

ha, good question. nothing jumps out as obvious so I'll go with ....

The Friendliest Troll, Kevmode

Yeah, that was literally put that way for you and Travis. If he ever gets on 2p2 anymore.

You get paid today, or do you have to wait till wave 2?

I'm happy some people got some use of the information.

Bit of news/gossip for the year, there is a PokerStars office opening in New Jersey soon.

I'll show him the post sometime but he probably won't read it because he's too cool for 2p2 now. Got paid today, woo! Gl to you and rest waiting

boom he's back!

I just had flashbacks to the huge containment thread while reading.

What a hell of a ride.

He still exists!

So many rhino buy ins.

What was that......??

That's a VERY bold prediction there fella. You're basically saying that Pokerstars has already set up a small office somewhere within Resorts? I do hope you are right though.

Looking back the whole situation could have been avoided if the DOJ called FTP about 1 month before they shutdown. Maybe the DOJ (Frist and company) wanted to put a massive bad taste into everyone's mouth on poker which it seemed to accomplish. I was too sickened to read the politics of the OP.

Good read OP thank you for this trip down memory lane! I recall railing shaun deeb and jason mercier in a high stakes mixed game at the exact time the sites got shutdown, they both randomly disconnected and disappeared. I was like WTF m8 then I GOT THE BAD NEWS. What a terrible terrible day in poker history, I thank god I had my balance on pokerstars and not full tilt otherwise I would've been **** out of luck. ( high 4 figs on pokerstars and probably 20 dollars in my pocket )
It could've been a real disaster for me and for that I thank you for the doomswitch full tilt! Hell who knows what could've happened maybe I would've gone and done something meaningful with my life and quit poker *shudders*

Great summary, nice work. Reading this was a ride of emotions, crazy to think how much time has past.

Thanks again,
Joe

It's funny, while re-reading some of the first FTP announcements in the OP I immediately flashed back to being glued to my computer and hearing Marco on QJ reading them off for the first time. It was like a nuclear bomb had blown up my world and QJ was my only radio communication from my fallout shelter, especially in those first couple days. I can still hear it vividly and feel the panic and white hot rage I felt for so many days and weeks.

Such a crazy story. I'm glad it's over.

I guess Tony G can finally start playing poker again? Remember when he said he wouldn't play poker again until the FTP players were repaid..... LOL

Thank You OP for taking the time to write and sum that all up.

What a trip down memory lane. Seems weird to think it was actually in 2011. In many ways it seems like it flew by especially since its now been resolved but I know while it ran its course, it sure as hell did not in fact just "fly by"

Good read. Again, Thanks to PS for making it right.

Hey, just because I heart asians doesnt mean that I dont come by here every few days to make sure there isnt some epic thread, like this one, that Im missing.

It still bothers me that ferguson and phil gordon never made statements on anything. Say what you want about ivey and lederer but atleast they said something.

OP's post is a nice summary, but he is off-base on a couple of matters.

1. Anyone who thinks this story started with Black Friday seems willfully ignorant of FTP's conduct during the Autumn BEFORE Black Friday. Basically, it was publicly known and commented upon that FTP was kiting deposits (taking in ACH deposit requests to their cashier, but NOT processing them to cover the checks being issued into play). The writing was very clear on the wall, FTP had LOST its processing capacity for US players. That no one looking out for player interests noticed this or ignored it was ignorance at best. The extent of that ignorance was later admitted, when a PPA Board member defended statements regarding assumptions that FTP would pay everyone in full.

2. Jeff Ifrah's coming on to 2+2 on August 28, 2011, seemed extraordinary to me. OP poo poos Jeff, saying

"Boy he was a big help, wasn't he? ****ing Jeff Ifrah. Has anyone made more money off this whole thing that Ifrah? Seriously? He was like 5 pros lawyer, and FTP's lawyer."

OP's opinion may be common, but it fails to credit Jeff for his likely role in putting in place the f**king Deal of the Century for FTP players, the PStars funding of cashouts/remission.

Seriously, Ifrah should be on the Thank You list, along with DOJ and Isai and Mark Scheinberg for that funding deal.

(This is just my recollection of historic events which are somewhat different than OP's recollections. PS, I am really glad to see that Chad Elie's/Claude Raines' lawsuit v. Ifrah was tossed out.)

You really believe that Howard did NOT know, in the Fall of 2010, that FTP was floating deposits and FTP was NOT hoping to keep doing so until it got to the river ....

i.e.

(a) sold the company or
(b) got new US-facing processing or, more likely,
(c) working as a Board member and funding source of the PPA, passed a "Federal Solution" to FTP business problems ?

You think Howard also was making robocalls in 2010 to re-elect Harry Reid because of a public spirit streak ? FTP had inked a deal with Stations.

Do you think FTP would have done the "right thing" when it lost processing capacity so close to passage of a "Federal Solution" to all its woes ?

Howard obv lied a lot to cover ass but i appreciate him making some effort. Phil gordon and others who simply went silent really concerns me. They were a big part of drawing people to the site so they have a responsibility. Like will chris ever come out of hiding?