Full Tilt Poker Issues New Statement Prior To AGCC Hearing

With their meeting with the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) looming next week, Full Tilt Poker has released a new statement regarding their operations.

In a release to the website PokerStrategy.com yesterday, the latest statement from the Full Tilt Poker PR machine reveals little to no new information that isn’t already known by the poker industry. The beginning of the statement is a recap of the actions against Full Tilt Poker, first by the U. S. Department of Justice indictments of April 15 and then the decision by the AGCC to suspend Full Tilt’s gaming license on June 29.

The new information provided in the Full Tilt statement regards the financial straits of the company and its continued belief that it will return to the international online poker industry. The statement to PokerStrategy, discussing what Full Tilt has done since the AGCC suspension, reads, “As a result (of “Black Friday” and the AGCC suspension), Pocket Kings Ltd. has adopted a cost optimization program and estimates that they need to reduce their costs by approximately €12 million.”

“This program is intended to streamline the company’s operations in order to better position itself for future growth and profitability in Full Tilt Poker’s markets outside of the U.S.,” the statement continues. “If all of the required cost savings were to be achieved through redundancies, approximately 250 positions could be affected; however the exact number cannot be confirmed until the conclusion of a consultation process with its workforce.”

When it comes to the issue of the reinstatement of their license and continuing to provide online poker to the world, Full Tilt’s current ownership has a remarkably rosy outlook.

“Notwithstanding the foregoing (actions), Pocket Kings firmly believes it has a very strong future in Full Tilt Poker’s non-U. S. markets, and is fully committed to ensuring Full Tilt Poker restores the site and repay players in full. To this end, Full Tilt Poker has retained Sea Port Group Securities, LLC as its financial advisor with regard to raising capital and/or assisting in securing a strategic partner in order to fund continued operations of Full Tilt Poker’s non-U.S. business. The Company is in active discussions with several parties and will provide a further statement in due course.”

As you can see, this latest communique from Full Tilt doesn’t provide any new information to the millions of customers worldwide who have their money locked up in the company. On August 31, Full Tilt released a statement which attempted to explain why the company fell into the situation they are in. In that statement, Full Tilt blamed previous Department of Justice seizures and the alleged theft of monies owed by a payment processor that totaled almost $160 million. Both the August statement and the current release do not broach the most important area for players: if, when or how the company will pay back customers worldwide.

Whether these factors will come into the AGCC decision during the hearing next week will not be known, at least immediately, because the September 19 hearing will be held in private. After a sometimes contentious public hearing on July 29, the AGCC accepted a request from Full Tilt’s attorneys to postpone the AGCC decision and hold any future hearings out of the public eye.

After the July hearing, the AGCC released a statement that read, “As a result of the arguments on behalf of FTP during the pre-hearing application, the Commissioners decided to adjourn the hearing as they felt it was in the best interests of FTP’s customers. A key consideration in their decision was to allow FTP licensees to further pursue advanced commercial negotiations which could lead to a more beneficial outcome for player interests.”

That decision from July has not been as fruitful as both Full Tilt Poker and the AGCC believed it may have been. Although Full Tilt stated in their August release that at least six different groups have examined the Full Tilt operation for potential investment or purchase, none of those options has resulted in a change in the management, ownership or operation. Meanwhile, using the conservative estimate that the Full Tilt operation was making $500,000 a day from the online poker room, the company has lost almost $25 million since their gaming license was suspended by the AGCC.

While Full Tilt may be optimistic about the reinstatement of their license, the hearing next week in front of the AGCC officials may present a stark reality for the company.