As the poker industry continues to buzz about rumors of discussions between Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars, the mainstream media has cast its gaze in the direction of online poker. The Wall Street Journal’s Alexandra Berzon, who has reported at length on the Black Friday indictments since last year, reported early Wednesday morningthat PokerStars is in discussions with the DOJ to not only settle its legal woes, but also take on the embattled Full Tilt Poker.

Acquiring the assets of Full Tilt Poker is a small part of what would in actuality be an overall settlement of the Black Friday indictments, according to Berzon, and there are no firm numbers as to what it would cost PokerStars to settle with the Federal Government.

Berzon, who was featured in the poker documentary “All In: The Poker Movie” discussing the Federal indictments of Black Friday, stated that PokerStars would take on the debt owed by Full Tilt Poker, including paying out an estimated $300 million worldwide and $150 million to U.S. players, and pay the appropriate fines levied against both companies to the DOJ.

Berzon also stated that the assets PokerStars would acquire in its purchase of Full Tilt Poker are, as of yet, unknown.

While the discussion of a settlement between the Feds and PokerStars is a step in the right direction, Berzon noted that the discussions would have no impact on the criminal charges faced by alleged founders of both companies, according to confidential talks with a source.

Under the April 2011 indictment, the alleged founders of the two companies – Isai Scheinberg and Paul Tate of PokerStars and Ray Bitar (pictured) and Nelson Burtnick of Full Tilt Poker – would still face criminal charges of bank fraud, money laundering, and running an illegal gambling operation. Berzon’s article did not mention the legal status of Full Tilt’s Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, and Rafe Furst, who were charged with orchestrating a Ponzi scheme.

Reuterspicked up on Berzon’s work in its own article a few hours later. In both cases, the articles cite that the DOJ, PokerStars, and Full Tilt Poker are being rather silent on the discussions due to the nature of the talks.

On the PokerStars Blog, Eric Hollreiser, the Head of Corporate Communications for PokerStars, stated, “We’ve had a lot of enquiries and there’s lots of speculation on the forums, so I wanted to address the PokerStars chatter. As you know, PokerStars is in settlement discussions with the U.S. Department of Justice. As such settlement discussions are always confidential, we are unable to comment on rumors. As soon as we have information to share publicly, we will do so.”

The rumors continue to swirl as to why PokerStars is supposedly looking to purchase its former rival. Comments on PocketFiveshave speculated that the purchase, as a part of the settlement of the Federal case, could allow PokerStars to return to the U.S. market once online poker is regulated. There are other speculations that PokerStars is making the purchase as a PR move for goodwill.

Finally, there are some concerns by posters that the purchase of Full Tilt by PokerStars would amount to a monopoly, as only one other company, bwin.Party, can even begin to come close to what a combined PokerStars/Full Tilt operation would amount to.

The attention from such mainstream media giants as the Wall Street Journal, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, and Reuters gives a great deal of credence to the multitude of rumors that are running rampant about the poker world. Berzon’s involvement, after her reporting on the Federal Government’s response to online poker, allows for a glimmer of truth for poker players watching from the sidelines.

In addition to the WSJ and Reuters, such mainstream outlets as SI.com, BusinessWeek, and ESPN have also added their commentary on the ongoing developments.

Check out PocketFives’ related articles:

PokerStars Stays Mum on Full Tilt Acquisition Rumors
Poker Community Reacts to PokerStars Rumored Purchase of Full Tilt
Analysis of Alleged Full Tilt Buyout by PokerStars
GBT: Issues Surrounding FTP Purchase “Proved Unresolvable”
Rumor: PokerStars Buys Full Tilt, GBT Says Statement Coming Shortly