This.
People continue to talk about it like FTP the company is changing hands. That isn't what's happening here, it's an asset sale. The old company goes away and the all-new company starts using the brand, software and other assets. And these debts are an asset on the books and GBT wants it.

Thanks... that is how I see it as well... And I dont blame GBT for wanting it, but the DOJ may have no intentions of passing that on. In fact that may be part of the assets they intend to use to pay back US players.

And the DOJ will very easily get what they are owed from any pro that owes money... I think they all know that it is -EV to f*** with the DOJ.

Nothing I've seen limits to the sale to hardware assets. Everything I've seen talks about a deal for FT assets. For example:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...491036394.html

"Loans Receivable" is an asset, n'est-ce pas?

Their ads were for the dot net sites and usually indicated it was for play money

yes but FT owes a bunch of us money. Would you pay a crook money you owed him if you knew he stole millions from people?

When will FT withdrawals be available?!?!?!? (rhetorical question).

My impression reading the latest BG1 interview is that he wants to mothball the GBT deal, as he doesn't believe they will pay out US players

And then you become the crook since you haven't paid your debts. And then people who owe you shouldn't pay because you're now a crook. And people who owe them shouldn't pay because they're now a crook, etc., etc.

why they can not make simple something like "contract about future contract" ?
I mean all of those pro would sign a deal about paying their debts only IF FTP reopens and deal will be done.
is not that solution nice for both sides?

/headdesk

Yes, that is exactly what they are proposing! See this article:

http://www.pokerplayernewspaper.com/...ffhanger-11898

Also this site is reporting that Dwan and Juanda are negotiating in good faith to resolve their loans. My uneducated guess is that they're the only ones.

Kudos to Dwan and Juanda. IMO Dwan is the nuts. Follow his lead Barry.

wow i always thought barryg is one serious man.

but in the end, borrowing 400k and not paying it back. Saying that other players owed him money is just blah blah. He is responsible for his dept.

barryg just another prick, ****ing ppl out of their money. Lost all my respect for you.

Why didn't he get fired yet?
May be he is ordered to do this by his employer in an attempt to kill the deal?
Would sure be worth gold to them.
Of course at PS they are super honest and they would never do such a thing.

Anybody that thinks if Barry pays tomorrow they will get a check in the mail is kidding themselves. Barry knows way more about the poker world than most of the trolls attacking him because they lost their $50 BR on FT.

He's made it clear that he will pay if he's sure that the money will be going to pay the players. Not wanting to give his money to a financial black hole that has already sucked up millions of poker players $$$$ is smart thinking.

Releasing private debts of poker players just seems like a way to pit everyone against each other and pass the blame.

I agree that the whole poker "pros" only exist in perpetual debt is a very strange thing, but it's the way it's been for a long time. Way before internet poker for sure. They real criminals are the FT executives whole pulled a scam on everyone including the people that owed them.

Tapie Group is a firm that tries to take over bankrupt businesses. They try to determine how many assets the business still has. They view the debts as assets and were fishing with Barry to see if he would pay them if they bought Full Tilt. If he wants the money to go to the players, he is right to wait for the DOJ. Because if he cleared his debt with the Tapie Group, they would pocket that money and sell of Full Tilt for its future earnings potential.

Barry has class imo - AINEC.

Everyone saying Barry and the others should give the money to the DoJ and not GBT does not seem to understand one simple fact:

If GBT decides not to purchase FTP then USA players say goodbye to 80 million and RoW say goodbye to all your money.

How does the process work whereby a poker player borrows money from a poker website? Wouldn't this fall under the same category of actions which are being criticized now as supremely irresponsible? How is this not seen as just another skim? BG was able to take a loan because he was pals with FT owners right? I really don't see the difference between this and the other actions against player interests. Maybe Barry didn't know the source of his loan with FT, but since he was specially approved as a result of a very close relationship, I think the guess that he DID know what was going on is better.

In any event if he wants to do the right thing as he claims, I am sure someone at the DOJ would be willing to coordinate with him to use the money to directly repay random individuals who have balances on FT. The balances owed to player's are undisputed correct? Now is the perfect time before FT is bought and the new owners begin their stalling tactics. Get the list, start picking names at random, and send the money until the debt is paid. What's the problem?

That depends on whether or not accounting shows what portion of player balances are legitimate and what portion are phantom deposits, and specifically whose deposits cleared and whose didn't. You can't really start paying out to players whose deposits never cleared in the first place.

In any case if you think about it, phantom deposits are essentially exactly the same as a zero interest, long term loan that you may or may not have to pay back. It is ironic that the (US) players who were the beneficiaries of these long term, zero interest loans that you may or may not have to pay back aren't stepping up to say they'll pay these back to allow the reimbursement of player funds but at the same time slaughtering BG despite his assertion that he will pay back what he is due.

While FTP and all involved must bear the full brunt of their mismanagement, it's a massive hypocrisy to cry foul when the huge black hole in player funds is also due to the dishonesty of players themselves.

I think the only lesson to be taken here is that EVERYONE acts in self interest, be they company executive, pro player or random opportunist. At least BG has an honest reputation and until such time as he does something to tarnish that reputation, should be given just a little slack, don't you think?

I would correct that to "of SOME players". Most players did not have an opportunity ti take advantage of phantom deposits, and even some that did did not take conscious advantage of FTP's mismanagement.

If the deal goes through. GBT will not pay back US players - that will be the responsibility of the DoJ. GBT will be responsible for RoW balances and they will naturally want to restore those balances in full, to get the real money action going on the site as quickly as possible. There may, however, be restrictions on cash out amount for awhile.

Right now, nothing matters nearly as much as this deal going through.

Apologies if it reads that way. I acknowledge that this is most probably a minority of depositors, I guess we may never know the full scale of deposit abuse, but it was certainly enough to cause huge hole.

I don't know where you get that from. The DoJ has said that non-US players are just as eligible for remission from the DoJ as US players, if those ROW players are not compensated under another agreement (such as the GBT deal). So, US players would be out about half of whatever $ the DoJ has available, and ROW would get whatever pittance US players would get.

We don't know for sure that the $80M would have gone towards compensating US Players. The most reliable published descriptions of the DoJ/GBT deal say no such thing.

Barry is simply playing the same game he has played his entire lifetime.

Its called poker, but its really a game of bet and bluff.

Do you truly believe he has 400K sitting in a secure account ready, at a moments notice, to move when required?

Or, do you believe he is running a bluff?

I believe the man is broke. I believe he's a daily player who needs funds. That is why he "borrowed" the 400K to begin with. Forget the stories that play to his reputation as a "robinhood". Perhaps that was once true, howeverf, that was then, this is now...

He has become an older player who no longer has the edge he once had.

Now, its about touting the election to the poker hall of fame, fact is that honor was achieved in the past. Fact is, he is no longer that guy. What I believe he now has become, is what most of the daily players today are... "BROKE" and unable to face that reality.

Barry is not the same guy who wrote the book "ace on the river".

Well said^