After what seemed like a very, very long wait, players whose funds have been frozen on Full Tilt Poker since it was shuttered by the United States government on April 15, 2011, can now file to reclaim their accounts.
At the time we write this, all eligible accountholders should have received email contact from New Jersey-based Garden City Group, the company enlisted by the U.S. Justice Department to oversee the remission process.
Remission process was highly anticipated
The return of the money belonging to so-called "victim players" was a topic of much discussion on online poker forums for more than two years, and the interest in the matter is certainly understandable; some players had large sums of money tied up in Full Tilt, in some cases millions of dollars.
Earlier this year, a rumor circulated on online poker forum 2+2 that players might have been waiting up to two more years before seeing their money returned, though that obviously did not come to pass.
All parties should now be notified of application window
Garden City Group announced via its Full Tilt Poker claims web site that it completed sending out emails to eligible players whose information was provided by the both famous and infamous room on September 17 and 18.
It also contacted those players who signed up to receive updates on the process via the claims site but whose contact information did not match with that in Full Tilt's records. Players will have until November 18 to submit their applications to Garden City Group.
Full Tilt Poker was seized by the federal government nearly two and a half years ago and its assets were frozen at that time. The government accused the site of operating an illegal gambling business akin to a Ponzi scheme, with some in the company treating player funds like a veritable piggy bank. In the summer of 2012, Full Tilt's former chief rival, PokerStars, settled its own case in New York federal court for $731 million without admitting to any wrongdoing.
In the process, PokerStars - the world's largest online poker site - acquired the assets and obligations of Full Tilt, which it relaunched in regulated markets outside the United States late last year. At the time of its rest-of-world relaunch, PokerStars issued full reimbursements to players in those markets.
Some who held accounts will be barred from applying
While most of the US-based players who are finally seeing the recovery of their long-awaited funds met the news of the reportedly smooth beginning of the claims process with happiness, there are some who are rankled by the terms surrounding the remission undertaking.
As we reported last week, certain groups will be barred from collecting their money, namely employees, vendors, pros, online poker affiliates, and other groups closely tied to the company's operations. Moreover, it appears that only cash that was on the site will be returned, with such things as accumulated VIP points and other non-monetary assets essentially going uncompensated.
Check back with us as we continue to follow the progress of the Full Tilt remission process.
