As thought Full Tilt officials haven’t had enough to worry about, it now seems that Absolute Poker/ Ultimate Bet is gearing to put the final nail in the former poker giant’s coffin. According to a statement from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet Poker will be paying back their former clients as soon as possible. To players who have seen their assets frozen since April, this hardly seems like a timely action, especially since PokerStars returned player funds months ago, but Absolute and UB have only recently resolved their problems with the United States Department of Justice, which means that players may soon see some return on accounts that have been frozen since Black Friday. The solution? To sell off the poker sites and use the revenue to pay back customers.
Blanca Games, the company that owns Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet, intends to sell off the two subsidiaries and use the proceeds to pay back customers. This will almost surely mean the death of these sites, but with no presence in the online poker world for over 6 months, their fate was likely already sealed. However, the important question has to do with whether or not selling off AP and UB will generate enough revenue to equal the $54 million that’s currently owed to players. After all, Absolute/UB doesn’t lead the online poker world in software, and internet businesses aren’t like the mom and pop store on the corner– there’s no storefront, no five year lease on an office, no thousands of dollars worth of equipment that can be auctioned off to the highest bidder. While there are assets to liquidate, it seems doubtful that they’re going to create enough to pay back all the players in full. The exact wording in the press release from the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake is this:
- “Over the past several weeks, we were advised of a potential solution prepared by Blanca and its representatives, establishing a process to liquidate Blanca’s assets and distribute proceeds to players. We understand that this process has been presented to SDNY for consideration and approval.
The Commission’s foremost concern in this matter has been, and remains, the reimbursement of both US and non-US players, as quickly and completely as possible.
To avoid further prejudice to affected players, the Commission has demanded that all parties complete their discussions and implement a reimbursement solution without further delay.”
So what does this mean for former Absolute and Ultimate Bet Poker players? First of all, it may mean that while you’ll see some of your money returned, you may not see all of it. Ever. Some are theorizing that former players on the Cereus Poker Network may be looking at returns at 50 cents on the dollar– if that. Secondly, even a partial reimbursement is likely to create even more anger directed at Full Tilt Poker, which has yet to pay back its customers, despite the fact that the company is being bought by an investor, not sold off in pieces. Lastly, it means that Cereus Poker Network will likely be no more.
Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet Poker were bought by Blanca games in August of 2010, after UB had been under fire from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission for a cheating scandal in which they were ordered to return $22 million to clients. Because Blanca also (partially) owns Helix Gaming International and BingoMania.com, there’s a good chance that this current deal is their way of playing nice with the KGC so that they can be on the group’s good side when it comes time to discuss new legislation for online gambling and the potential move to the US down the line.