A week ago, we reported that the Garden City Group (GCG), the organization that was chosen by the U.S Department of Justice (DoJ) to handle the disbursement of Full Tilt Poker funds, expected to be able to give players a firm date on when the claims process would commence by the end of last week. The claims administrator remained true to its word, announcing Friday that things will get started in about a month.
On the official Full Tilt Poker claims website (fulltiltpokerclaims.com), GCG indicated that the start date for the U.S. player claims process will be September 16th. On that date, e-mails will begin to be sent to all eligible former U.S. customers of Full Tilt Poker, using information provided by the online poker room. The e-mail will contain instructions on how to file a petition for reimbursement; those who do not receive the e-mail will still be able to view the same instructions on the claims website and will still be able to submit the proper forms.
Ex-Full Tilt customers will have just 60 days to submit their petitions, as the deadline for submission is November 15th.
Hopefully everything will go smoothly and players will get all of the funds that have been in limbo for over two years. There is a chance, however, that there will be a shortfall. The GCG site makes no guarantees, proclaiming:
If the forfeited funds available for distribution equal or exceed the aggregate FTP Account Balances for all eligible Petitioners, each eligible Petitioner with an approved claim will receive the entirety of his or her FTP Account Balance. If the aggregate FTP Account Balances for all eligible Petitioners exceed the funds available for distribution, payments shall be made to eligible Petitioners on a pro rata basis.
There has also been no mention or promise made regarding any non-cash assets in player accounts, such as tournament tickets, Iron Man medals, or the like. It is not known if they will be converted to cash, though players should probably not count on it.
The money to repay U.S. players comes from the settlement between Full Tilt, PokerStars, and the U.S. Department of Justice in which PokerStars agreed to purchase Full Tilt. The deal totaled $731 million, $547 of which went to the DoJ and $184 million of which was used to pay back non-U.S. customers. The payments to U.S. players, which is expected to be around $186 million, will come out of the amount that the DoJ took from the deal.
Further questions can be addressed directly to the Full Tilt Poker Claims Administration at info@fulltiltpokerclaims.com and by phone at 866-250-2640.