Five years ago Howard Lederer became persona non grata in the poker community. After the Department of Justice seized the Full Tilt Poker assets, the truth about the company’s financial situation became a matter of public record and Lederer, along with Ray Bitar, was labeled as the executives in charge of what US District Attorney Preet Bharara labeled a ponzi scheme.

Since that time Lederer has made very few appearances at poker rooms or events. He attended the 2014 Poker Hall of Fame induction ceremony as a guest of inductee Jack McClelland. He reportedly played in Bobby’s Room at Bellagio in 2012.

On Thursday Lederer issued a statement apologizing for his role in the Full Tilt Poker collapse and may be readying himself for an appearance – even as early as the 2016 World Series of Poker.

Lederer’s statement as released via Daniel Negreanu’s blog at FullContactPoker.com:

I am writing to apologize to everyone in the poker community, especially to all the players who had money on Full Tilt Poker on April 15, 2011. When Full Tilt Poker closed in 2011, there was a shortfall in funds, a distressed sale to recover those funds, and a long delay in repaying players. Throughout this period, there was little explanation for the delay, and no apology. Players felt lied to. They trusted the site, and they trusted me, and I didn’t live up to that trust.

I take full responsibility for Full Tilt’s failure to protect player deposits leading up to Black Friday. The shortfall in player deposits should never have happened. I should have provided better oversight or made sure that responsible others provided that oversight. I was a founder in the company that launched Full Tilt, and I became the face of the company’s management in the poker community. Many of our players played on the site because they trusted me.

Even though I was no longer overseeing day to day operations, my inattention in the two years leading up to Black Friday imperiled players’ deposits. My involvement in Full Tilt from 2003-2008 put me in a unique position of trust—a trust that I disappointed by failing to ensure that Full Tilt was properly governed when I stepped away in 2008. My failure to make sure proper oversight was in place when I left resulted in the situation that began to unfold on Black Friday. Players were not able to get their money back for a minimum of a year and a half, and, for many, it has been much longer. I’ve been a poker player my entire adult life. I know the importance of having access to one’s bankroll. The lost opportunity, frustration, and anxiety many of FTP’s customers experienced in the intervening years is unacceptable. I cannot be sorry enough for what happened.

During Full Tilt’s rise, I received a lot of praise. I couldn’t see it at the time, but I let the headlines change me. In the first couple of years after Black Friday I made lots of excuses, to my friends, my family and myself, for why I wasn’t the bad guy or big-headed or wrong. In the months immediately following the crisis, I focused a lot of energy on trying to refute allegations that were factually untrue. I convinced myself that I was a victim of circumstance and that criticism was being unfairly directed toward me instead of others. I was missing the bigger picture.

At a wedding in the fall of 2014, I was sitting with a friend, talking about Full Tilt. I was grumbling about how unfair my lot in life had become. My friend didn’t let me off the hook. I’m paraphrasing here, but he said, “Howard, it doesn’t matter whether you knew about the shortfall or what you did to help players get paid. These players feel like you lied to them. You were the face of the company in the poker community. Thousands of players played on the site because they trusted you. Many pros represented the site because they thought you were in control. And you happily accepted the accolades while falling short of their trust.”

At the time, my friend’s response felt like a slap in the face, but it is clear to me now that it was fair. An apology is not enough, but it is what I am able to offer to the poker community in the wake of a travesty that I should not have allowed to happen. I am sorry.

The last time the poker world heard from Lederer was in a lengthy interview with PokerNews dubbed “The Lederer Files”. His answers to the questions in that interview were widely criticized as many felt Lederer was passing off responsibility and failed to answer any direct questions about his involvement in the eventual collapse of the company.

During the WSOPTwitch Town Hall on Thursday afternoon, the topic of Lederer possibly making an appearance at the 2016 WSOP came up and the answer from WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart may have shed some light on Lederer’s summer plans.

“We’ll take everything one day at a time, but I think Howard has been playing in casinos in Las Vegas for some time,” said Stewart. “He has not been barred from the World Series of Poker, but I think there is a good chance that we could see Howard in a tournament seat in the future.”