Former Full Tilt Poker owner Raymond Bitar all but dropped off the face of the year since his website was indicted during Black Friday last year. Unable to refund American players their money, the site has been unable to resume its operations. It has been over a year since we have heard from him, but now that Bitar has turned himself in to the authorities, he has commented on the progress of player refunds.
“Full Tilt should never have gotten into a position where it could not repay player funds,” Bitar has said in a recently released statement.
Over the course of the past year, American authorities have determined that Bitar and the other owners of Full Tilt Poker had pocketed $430 million, leaving just $70 million in the company’s accounts to offer player withdrawal funds. When the site was shut down, more than $350 million was owed to players, but Full Tilt Poker’s reserves could not meet the demands.
Now, Bitar has stated that he will do whatever it takes to ensure that players receive their money. A number of solutions have been presented, including an acquisition by Groupe Bernard Tapie, but none have panned out.
“I will continue to do whatever is required to get the players repaid,” says Bitar. “I hope that it will happen soon.”
