After a whirlwind Tuesday, there’s been comparatively little news regarding the collapse of the bid by Groupe Bernard Tapie (GBT) to acquire the assets of Full Tilt Poker (FTP). There’s also been little to no info regarding Tuesday’s rumors of PokerStars swooping in with its own bid to purchase FTP as part of a larger settlement with the US Department of Justice re the Black Friday indictments of Stars and principals Isai Scheinberg and Paul Tate. A few notable figures have tweeted/posted/reported confirmation that the Stars/DoJ negotiations are a done deal, but none cited the identities of the little birdies whispering sweet nothings into poker players’ ears.
On the verifiable developments front, the Alderney Gambling Control Commission released a statement confirming that FTP subsidiary Orinic Ltd. had withdrawn its application for a Category 2 gaming license. The public hearing scheduled for May 3 at which the AGCC agreed to receive input on the wisdom/lunacy of granting Orinic’s bid has also been taken off the books. News of Orinic’s application in early April – combined with a flurry of job postings by FTP tech offshoot Pocket Kings Ltd. – had been viewed as proof positive that GBT was just weeks away from officially announcing the relaunch of FTP 2, but none of that matters now. For the moment, we’re officially in cliché Hollywood western territory. It’s quiet. Maybe too quiet.
