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FTP CEO Ray Bitar Surrenders to US Government

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  1. wackyJaxon wackyJaxon is offline Admin X

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 6:24pm)

    I just read on twoplustwo that Ray Bitar surrendered today (July 2, 2012) in New York. Below is an email to the Dublin FTP staff members.

     

    To all Dublin Staff,

    By now you probably have heard that I have returned to the US to deal with civil and criminal case that are pending against me in New York. We have all worked hard over the last 15 months to preserve Full Tilt’s assets and potential in order to provide for the repayment of all players, and that continues to be our top priority. It is as important as ever that we all do everything possible to make that happen and, hopefully our deal with Poker stars will very soon make our goal a reality. My return to the US is part of this process.

    I am particularly grateful to all of you here in Dublin for your hard work, patience and understanding during this difficult time. I believe that your hard work and dedication should not go unrecognized, and we have made arrangements for Poker Stars to guarantee all July salaries. You should therefore have no concern about coming to work during this period. After that, we expect that your employment contracts will be assumed by the buyer of the company’s assets.

    For those that need to reach me, I expect to continue to be available by email and phone starting late Monday, New York time.

    In the meantime, please refer any operational questions to **REDACTED**, and any HR questions to **REDACTED**.

    Thank you all again.

    Kind regards,

    Raymond J Bitar

    I am hopeful this is a sign that there will be some news soon on a FTP sale and/or return of player funds on FTP.
      1 
  2. Iplaythabored Iplaythabored is offline ghost writer

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 6:31pm) in reply to wackyJaxon

     
    Originally Posted by wackyJaxon View Post

    I just read on twoplustwo that Ray Bitar surrendered today (July 2, 2012) in New York. Below is an email to the Dublin FTP staff members.



    I am hopeful this is a sign that there will be some news soon on a FTP sale and/or return of player funds on FTP.

    #1 seems like good news
     
  3. wackyJaxon wackyJaxon is offline Admin X

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 6:35pm) in reply to Iplaythabored

    Also of note to his email to Dublin staff members was that pokerstars is guaranteeing all their July salaries. I don't think they would be doing this unless they were serious about the potential purchase.
      1 
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  4. MarkFSU1 MarkFSU1 is offline

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 6:39pm) in reply to wackyJaxon

    Also, the stars lawyers and DOJ asked for only a 1 week extension on the July 2nd due date. So the lawyers on the other site in the containment thread seem to think that we are very close to this being done. Also, pretty sick that Bitar turns himself in, wow.
  5. Dan Dan is online now Administrator

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 6:45pm) in reply to wackyJaxon

     
    Originally Posted by wackyJaxon View Post

    Also of note to his email to Dublin staff members was that pokerstars is guaranteeing all their July salaries. I don't think they would be doing this unless they were serious about the potential purchase.

    Yeah, more so than Bitar surrendering, this is huge news if it actually turns out to be accurate. The e-mail says that PokerStars is guaranteeing Full Tilt employees' July salaries.
     
  6. Lenail Lenail is offline

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 6:50pm) in reply to Dan

    Top 3 of the best news since BF.. Please stars, do it ONE TIME.
    Thx Wacky !!!
  7. Adam Adam is offline Emperor

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 6:57pm) in reply to wackyJaxon

     
    Originally Posted by wackyJaxon View Post

    Also of note to his email to Dublin staff members was that pokerstars is guaranteeing all their July salaries. I don't think they would be doing this unless they were serious about the potential purchase.


    Well, for all the remaining who may have thought the Stars/FTP thing was total rumor, so much for that. That's crystal clear
     
  8. StayCalm StayCalm is offline

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 7:03pm) in reply to Adam

    Anyone have a link to verify that this is a legit e-mail?
  9. supra1988t supra1988t is offline

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 7:16pm) in reply to StayCalm

    Wait, did we all use our "one time"s already?
     
  10. wackyJaxon wackyJaxon is offline Admin X

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 7:20pm) in reply to supra1988t

    I've used mine about a dozen times since FTP has been down. Still first news we have had on FTP in awhile.
      1 
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  11. frizzlefry777 frizzlefry777 is offline

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 7:24pm) in reply to wackyJaxon

    How bout a this TIME!!
     
  12. Dan Dan is online now Administrator

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 7:28pm) in reply to frizzlefry777

    Here's PocketFives' feature article about this:
    http://www.pocketfives.com/articles/...y-soon-587507/

    Forbes has independently confirmed the story too, which could be great news for players:
    http://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanva...ceo-ray-bitar/
     
  13. yjbrewer yjbrewer is offline

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 7:30pm) in reply to Dan

    Yay maybe I can get my 20 bucks.
  14. pokerscrub1 pokerscrub1 is offline

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 7:32pm) in reply to yjbrewer

    Wow, this has the potential to be amazingly awesome for a lot of people
     
  15. Adam Adam is offline Emperor

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 7:34pm) in reply to StayCalm

     
    Originally Posted by StayCalm View Post

    Anyone have a link to verify that this is a legit e-mail?


    It was reported originally by E-Gaming-Review, which is usually pretty on target with this stuff

    CORRECTION: EGR sourced 2+2. Sorry for the confusion
     
  16. realpokerpro realpokerpro is offline

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 7:46pm) in reply to Adam

    A stars deal would be better then the Tapie 100% rakeback deal to payback players that he was trying to push through. Though any deal is better than letting the scumbag lawyers have all the money.
  17. Adam Adam is offline Emperor

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 8:22pm) in reply to realpokerpro

    Tapie's deal was ridiculous in so many ways. It never would've worked
     
  18. Dan Dan is online now Administrator

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 8:55pm) in reply to Adam

    Here is more info on what the Feds have on Bitar and Full Tilt. Lots of crazy stuff in here if it's true:
    http://www.scribd.com/doc/98897950/B...-S8-Indictment
     
  19. Hughes4 Hughes4 is offline

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 8:59pm) in reply to Dan

    oh. hey look. it's THIS thread again
  20. MikeClarke MikeClarke is offline

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 9:05pm) in reply to Hughes4

    Fingers crossed its coming back and this time "sorted" if PS take over and keep it as a seperate site with the old tournies i'll be moving back! I like stars for its stability but I hate there tournaments with a passion.
  21. ACheemz ACheemz is offline

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 9:32pm) in reply to MikeClarke

    Shame american's are still screwed though. Yes you MAY get your money back, but you wont be grinding online anytime soon, on a decent site that is.
  22. Gotskillz Gotskillz is offline The roof is on fire!

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    Jul 2nd, 2012 (7/2/2012 10:29pm) in reply to ACheemz

    Looking forward to all that money coming back into the poker economy.
     
  23. ApesAreFun ApesAreFun is offline Moderator/Euro Donk

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    Jul 3rd, 2012 (7/3/2012 12:14am) in reply to Gotskillz

    That email looked pretty orchestrated. Im crossing my fingers that its not written by a 15yo.
     
  24. Dan Dan is online now Administrator

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    Jul 3rd, 2012 (7/3/2012 12:45am) in reply to ApesAreFun

     
    Originally Posted by ApesAreFun View Post

    That email looked pretty orchestrated. Im crossing my fingers that its not written by a 15yo.

    It definitely had a few grammatical and spelling errors, but Forbes and the Wall Street Journal have confirmed Bitar's arrest, so that part is at least legitimate.
     
  25. zamboni1724 zamboni1724 is offline

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    Jul 3rd, 2012 (7/3/2012 12:59am) in reply to Dan

    I still hope he does more than 3 months.
  26. MikeClarke MikeClarke is offline

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    Jul 3rd, 2012 (7/3/2012 1:47am) in reply to zamboni1724

    3months? I'll be annoyed if he's out in 24years 11months!

    Grand Larceny in the First Degree
    - NY Penal Law § 155.42
    - Class B felony
    - A class B felony in New York is punishable by up to 25 years in prison
    Edited By: MikeClarke Jul 3rd, 2012 at 01:48 AM
  27. MUPokerPlayer MUPokerPlayer is offline

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    Jul 3rd, 2012 (7/3/2012 2:36am) in reply to MikeClarke

    How interesting this may become if Bitar decides to plead not guilty rather than plea bargain, giving us our first real trial putting the UIGEA to the test.
  28. adamsapple19 adamsapple19 is offline

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    Jul 3rd, 2012 (7/3/2012 2:45am) in reply to ApesAreFun

     
    Originally Posted by ApesAreFun View Post

    That email looked pretty orchestrated. Im crossing my fingers that its not written by a 15yo.

    I kinda work in the business world now and I'm pretty shocked at how some of the corporate higher-ups grammar is in their emails. To me, this isn't indicative of a fake email...

    In my mind there's no way Bitar turns himself in w/o a guaranteed deal in place between the DOJ/stars/FT, one that most likely sees the return of at least a portion of US player funds.

    This is, by far, the single biggest event since BF regarding the potential return of some of my money. Looking forward to reading good news in the not-so-distant future.
     
  29. Andrew Andrew is offline

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    Jul 3rd, 2012 (7/3/2012 4:19am) in reply to adamsapple19

    I guarantee you he sees no more than 2 years in jail. Always a slap on the wrist for ripping off people for 100's of millions of dollars...
  30. DeaconMike DeaconMike is offline

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    Jul 3rd, 2012 (7/3/2012 4:42am) in reply to Andrew

    I think Bernie Madoff would disagree but I'd be surprised if Ray ends up doing much time. Will be interesting to see if the feds go after Jesus and Howard.
    Edited By: DeaconMike Jul 3rd, 2012 at 04:42 AM
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