Full Tilt board member, Howard Lederer, 2010 WSOP
Major media reported Friday a tentative purchase agreement between Full Tilt Poker and Groupe Bernard Tapie will result in the sale of Full Tilt to the French businessman, Bernard Tapia. Some of the more optimistic reporters believe this will result in players receiving the money that once resided in in their Full Tilt play accounts. We wish you all the luck with that.
Full Tilt Poker is in third stage reputation cancer and even if a mini-miracle occured because of a sale transaction it's highly unlikely the poker playing public will ever again beat a path to the FT door. And without players, the "under new management" Full Tilt becomes just another failed Internet loser and Bernard Tapia would be out the $400 million or so he paid out returning players' money. Somehow this doesn't sound like an astute business deal, is something not right here?
Maybe not. Tapia is known as a person that can breathe life into a morphine drip situation at a mostly defunct business. So who is Bernard Tapie? He's a former owner of Adidias, a prison convict, paid Greg LaMond $1 million a year to ride a bicycle, an accused "fixer" of sporting events, a movie star, personal friend of French president Nicolas Sarkozy, and a convicted tax fraud cheat. Makes for a novel concept to rebuild brand trust. Sounds like the exact type of person Full Tilt needs to spin away all that bad stuff splattered on the infamous red and white logo.
What's next in the continuing Full Tilt saga? If the sale doesn't go through, how about an e-mail blaming the DOJ for squelching the sale resulting in no player account refunds. If the purchase deal is consumated perhaps an email that says something like, "Today's your lucky day. The all new improved Full Tilt Poker finally found the money and we are ready to refund the millions in your player accounts. Simply send a small $1000 fee to cover administrative and processing expenses via Western Union to Yul B. Soree; General Delivery; Paris, France and before you can say, 1 felon, 2 felon, 3 felon, your check will be in the mail."
What do I think? I think players with money in Full Tilt accounts have a much better chance of seeing some of the lost green by organizing flash mobs with pitchforks on the lawns of Full Tilt board members.
