Full Tilt, PokerStars, And DOJ Reach A Deal

On Tuesday company officials from Full Tilt Poker's Dublin offices announced that an official deal has been reached between the beleaguered poker company, PokerStars, and the US Department of Justice.

The move will allow for players to finally be paid positive balances that have been held in their accounts for more than a year. Criminal charges against those indicted also will be allowed to stand.

As part of the deal, PokerStars will reportedly pay a large amount of cash to the United States. It has been rumored that the payoff will be around $330 million, with affected players being allowed to place a claim to be paid from those same funds. Those funds will also be made available for cash release within 90 days.

Commenting on the deal Jeff Ifrah, a lawyer for Full Tilt Poker said: "Today, Full Tilt surrendered their assets to the U.S. Department of Justice, who then sold those assets to Poker Stars for $731 million. Of that payment, $330 million will be administered by the Justice Department’s Asset Forfeiture Section to reimburse Full Tilt’s U.S. players."

A statement released by Full Tilt Poker apologized to players, who the company noted suffered through a long stretch in which they were "wondering whether this day would ever come."

Full Tilt also thanked its employees, "whose hard work over the last 15 months preserved the value of the Full Tilt Poker assets so a deal like this could be possible, and to PokerStars and the United States Department of Justice for their efforts in bringing about this resolution."