Black Friday has officially claimed Cereus Network sites Absolute Poker and UB.com as parent company, Blanca Games, has submitted plans to liquidate with a goal of eventually repaying players a portion of the balances owed to them. On the U.S. legislative front, a hearing was held on Tuesday by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee discussing the future of online poker in the country. Read about these stories and more in this edition of the PAS Weekly Industry Update.

Cereus Network Submits Plan for Liquidation: On Friday, the Cereus Network effectively closed down with an announcement that the battered poker room had submitted a liquidation plan to the U.S. Department of Justice for approval. The network has operated since Black Friday to non-US players, but has been a shadow of its former self with traffic down over 99% from Black Friday levels. Players had been receiving very sporadic cashouts of $250-$500 in the weeks leading up to the liquidation announcement.

New House Hearing on Online Poker: The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee held a two hour plus meeting on online poker in the United States. The mostly positive meeting focused on safeguards and consumer protection that would be required if and when online poker is regulated in the country. After the hearing, Chairwoman Rep Mary Bono Mack stated her desire to hold another hearing in the near future but to not expect any legislation to be attached to the Deficit Reduction package that must be decided upon by November 23rd. Check out PAS's summary on the day's events.

Full Tilt Poker Updates: : Early in the week, the Irish Times reported that Full Tilt Poker had made 180 of their 500 staff members "redundant," a plan that had Full Tilt Poker employees first became aware of in September.

In some interesting news, multiple players reported that they received telephone surveys from a magazine with ties to the Tapie investment group. In the survey, players were asked to choose between one of three options on how they would like to receive their funds in a hypothetical repayment scenario: 1) buying shares of Full Tilt with part of their funds 2) cash out immediately with a undermined penalty or 3) be paid in full but released in incremental payments over a year. The survey is noteworthy because it indicates the variety of payment resolutions that Tapie and his group are considering at this time as negotiations continue.

Everleaf Lowers Rake on USD Tables: In an effort to attract more U.S. players to their tables, the Everleaf Gaming Network will be slashing the maximum rake on all US Dollar tables to $1 through December. The move will primarily affect players at No Limit and Pot Limit tables. There is currently very little action at Limit tables on Everleaf, but players seated at these tables at limits of $2/$4 and above will also see the rake greatly reduced.

Latest Traffic Update from PokerScout: PokerScout's latest traffic report details a 1.2% traffic drop after a healthy gain the previous week. An exception to the trend was Merge Gaming, which saw it traffic increase another 7% after soaring 13% the week prior, up 20% since the network began accepting U.S. players for the first time since June. Merge Gaming is once again a top 10 room in terms of online poker traffic, with more than 2200 cash game players on the site during peak times.

Jottings: Entraction rakeback policy and VIP program change...Operators face difficult regulatory regime in Germany...UK unlikely to see Gaming Act changes in near future...Top five CPAs from U.S. poker rooms...Fertitta purchases CyberArts...Ongame promises to fight bots...Maryland Gov proves online poker battle is about the money...D-Amato distances himself from Full Tilt Poker.

Tags: absolute poker, barton bill, cereus, entraction, everleaf, full tilt, minted poker, noiq, ub.com

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‎ Poker Gaming , ‎ Poker Industry News

Today the Kahnakwake Gaming Commission issued a statement that Blanca Games, operator of Absolute Poker and UB.com would begin a process to liquidate the assets of the company and ultimately distribute proceeds to players. The plan has been submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice in the Southern District of New York for approval.

The announcement comes approximately six months after the April 15th Black Friday seizures, which of course saw the domain names seized of the top three U.S. facing sites at the time. After the seizures and the subsequent banning of U.S. players, the Cereus Network took a huge hit that became precipitously worse in the months that followed as cashouts grinded to a halt and a lack of confidence in the brand grew.

For players, this is likely the beginning of a long process that will have to play out over many more months and perhaps years. Although the statement from Kahnawake sounds optimistic, previous liquidations of online poker sites have not gone quickly or produced impressive results. BetonSports, which got into trouble before the UIGEA, eventually paid players just under 5% of their balances that were owed. Other liquidations have produced no return of funds to players.

Read below for the full statement.

(MOHAWK TERRITORY OF KAHNAWAKE – October 27, 2011) – Since the actions taken by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (the “SDNY”) on April 15, 2011, the Commission has been in close and regular discussions with its licensee, Blanca Games Inc. (“Blanca”), operating as Absolute Poker and UB.com (“AP/UB”), to facilitate the reimbursement of both US and non-US players. The Commission has also received regular updates of discussions between AP/UB and the SDNY.

Over the past several weeks, we were advised of a potential solution prepared by Blanca and its representatives, establishing a process to liquidate Blanca’s assets and distribute proceeds to players. We understand that this process has been presented to SDNY for consideration and approval.

The Commission’s foremost concern in this matter has been, and remains, the reimbursement of both US and non-US players, as quickly and completely as possible.
To avoid further prejudice to affected players, the Commission has demanded that all parties complete their discussions and implement a reimbursement solution without further delay.

Tags: absolute poker, cereus network, doj, ub.com

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A new House hearing on online poker will be held this week, while Denmark reports more license applications than expected ahead of a regulated market in 2012. These stories and more are in this edition of the Weekly Industry Update.

House Committee to Hold Hearing on Online Poker This Week: On Tuesday, the House Energy and Commerce Manufacturing committee will hold a hearing on online poker legislation. Rep. Joe Barton, the Congressman who introduced the legislation earlier this year, stated "It’s a first step to showing why the current law is a lose, lose for everyone — the public, the taxpayer, the banking industry, and the people who want to play poker openly and honestly on the Internet. I look forward to an open exchange of ideas." The Barton bill would allow licensed race tracks, poker rooms and casinos to acquire licenses to set up online poker sites. In related news, Donald Trump has stated that his company, Trump Entertainment, would like to be involved in online gambling if/when regulation occurs in the U.S.

Full Tilt Update: This past week was relatively quiet as investor discussions continue. There was a new lawsuit, however, as players filed suit against Full Tilt Poker lawyers. The lawsuit claims that Full Tilt lawyer, Cozen O'Conner, received more than $2 million in fees "from money laundered through a scheme orchestrated by the companies behind Full Tilt Poker."

Meanwhile, Subject Poker has reported that the AGCC falsely reported that the U.S. Department of Justice had seized over $330 when the actual number was roughly $159 million. The story is noteworthy because the original figure would be enough to play players in full, while the actual figure -- which is the total amount seized by the DOJ over the last four years -- is roughly only half of what players are owed. The AGCC reacted to the story by making a follow-up.

Denmark Receive More License Applications than Expected: In 2012, the Denmark online gambling market will be opening up. According to a report from EGR, the Danish Gambling Authority has received twice the expected number of applications: 68 applications from 43 operators. The DGA will announce the new license owners in December.

Cereus Network Dead?: : With players reporting that the Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet cashier is now inaccessible, it appears that the Cereus Network may no longer be operational. Even with the cashier no longer available, cashouts have been extremely slow and sporadic over the last few months. Since Black Friday, the Cereus Network has seen their player base dwindle 99%, down from thousands to less than 100 over the last few months.

Latest Traffic Update from PokerScout: PokerScout reports a large traffic increase for the previous week. The industry rose 2.1% due to some strength from PokerStars and a 7% gain from Merge Gaming, who last week began accepting U.S. players for the first time since June. The network regained the top US-facing room spot from Bodog.

Jottings: EU urged to respect member state right to gambling...Potential future of online gambling regulation...Everleaf Network sees huge traffic growth after Euro Sportsbook joins network...Bwin setting sights on the U.S...Maryland governor wants online poker off agenda

Tags: absolute poker, cereus network, denmark, full tilt poker, poker traffic, regulation, ub.com

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‎ Poker Gaming , ‎ Poker Industry News

Be sure to follow the Poker Affiliate Solutions Twitter feed for the latest updates.

It’s almost hard to believe it’s been a month since Black Friday. In our four week anniversary update on Black Friday, we take look at the Department of Justice confirmation of the Absolute Poker statement released a day prior, comments from WSOP officials about the 2011 World Series of Poker and the latest traffic updates.

DOJ Releases Statement on Agreement with Absolute Poker: On Wednesday night, the Department of Justice released a statement confirming an agreement with Absolute Poker regarding the return of funds to US players. The agreement will provide “assurances to third parties working with Absolute Poker in its legitimate efforts to return player funds.”

Unlike PokerStars and FullTilt Poker, the sites will NOT receive their domain names back as part of the agreement. The terms of the agreement also state that US players can not engage in real money play on either site. The compromise also expressly allows for Absolute Poker and UB.com to continue to do non-US business. An independent monitor has been appointed to ensure Absolute Poker’s compliance to the terms of the agreement. At the time of this writing, some US players were still seen playing at the tables.

WSOP Director discusses WSOP 2011: World Series of Poker Executive Director Ty Stewart said in a conference call on Wednesday that he didn’t see reason why this year’s field of players won’t meet or exceed last year’s figures. The World Series of Poker Main Event attracted over 7,300 players. Not only do many US poker players win their entries through online poker sites each year, but many still have funds tied up at Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker (Poker Stars players have been paid). Stewart did acknowledge, however, that they are “concerned about players not getting funds back in a timely fashion….that could be a salient factor.”

There doesn’t appear to be any new major policy on logos at the WSOP event. In some respect, the problem has fixed itself by operators who have terminated agreements with pros or have asked them not to wear logos at American events. This will be an interested sideshow to witness during this year's World Series of Poker.

Traffic Update: With the dust settling a bit since Black Friday, traffic shifts on a day-to-day basis haven't been as significant, according to PokerScout. Traffic at Merge Gaming is taking a breather. Still, the site did have their 2nd highest peak traffic number in their history on Wednesday (2982) and 3rd highest on Thursday (2889). On the other end of the spectrum, the Cereus Network’s 530 players seen on May 11th was their lowest recorded since Black Friday.

Jottings: LVRJ reports on a new push for legalized poker, this time from the AGA…PPA director John Pappas estimates $100-$500 million in player funds has been held up by the Black Friday domain name seizures…Costa Rican newspaper reports on last week raids…In non-Black Friday news, Spain is one step closer to regulation.


Feel like you’re behind on the developments?:

You can also check out our Twitter feed where we provide you with the latest daily minute developments. For your convenience we have also provided an archive of previous updates:

PAS Statement on DOJ Announcement 4/15
4/16 Cliff Notes: Details of indictment, when US players were shut out, Player funds, canceling of B&M partnerships, Initial statements from PokerStars, Full Tilt and the PPA
DOJ Domain Name Agreement 4/20
4/21 Cliff Notes: DOJ agreement, A new not guilty plea, AP/UB.com new message for US players, statements from gaming commissions of Kahnawake, Isle of Man and Alderney
Incredible Black Friday Promotions: We lay out the best of the best
4/22 Cliff Notes: Online poker traffic update, Antigua weighs in, Absolute Poker statements, collection of statements since 4/15
4/25 Cliff Notes: Merge gaming Breaking traffic records, Arizona credit union shut down, comments from Steve Wynn.
4/26 Cliff Notes: PokerStars Making US Cashouts, Merge Gaming now up 60%.
4/28 Cliff Notes: Jon Kyl Change of Heart?
Merge Gaming Ending Rakeback -- for New players who sign-up after June 1st.
5/3 Cliff Notes: Full Tilt cashouts coming soon?
Mixed Signals at AP/UB
5/6 Cliff Notes: Cereus Network Bankrupt?, Eric Holder says DOJ case was "appropriate"
Absolute Poker/DOJ Agreement

Tags: absolute poker, black friday, cereus network, doj, ub.com, wsop

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‎ Poker Gaming , ‎ Poker Industry News

In breaking news, Absolute Poker has just released a statement that it has reached an agreement with the DOJ to provide them with “all necessary assurances that third parties may work with Absolute Poker to facilitate the return of funds, currently held by third party processors, to players located in the US. This provision is an important step to return US player funds.”

In today’s Black Friday update, we go over this surprising release as well as some other news related to Black Friday.

Absolute Poker Reaches Deal with DOJ: In the statement released today, Absolute Poker and UB.com state that the "top priority has always been, and remains, the refund of account balances to its US players" but goes on to state that "Unfortunately, the Company still faces several legal issues which must be navigated before funds can be paid out to US players."

Other highlights include an appointed Monitor, approved by the US Attorney's Office to insure compliance of the agreement. Cereus has also agreed to cease ALL real money play from players located in the US.

It’s probably safe to say that many did not see this coming. The Cereus Network has lost over 75% of their traffic since Black Friday and had a barrage of bad news hit the network ever since. The release is going to cause some skepticism, but this is a very hopeful sign going forward. This is definitely a topic we will be following closely going forward. The full statement can be read at the bottom of this post.

Cereus Network Statement on Raids and Sponsored Pros: On Saturday, Blanca responded to reports of raids on their Costa Rican offices with a press release. Then on Monday, UB.com and Absolute Poker announced the parting of ways with 11 poker pros including Joe Seebok, Prahlad Friedman, Eric Baldwin and Tiffany Michelle. In the statement released by Blanca Games they stated the following:

“Recently, Absolute Poker and UB ceased their U.S.-facing operations due to legal developments in the United States. To ensure the on-going viability of the business, it has been necessary to downsize certain aspects of Absolute Poker’s and UB’s operations. These efficiency measures have been taken to enable the brands to continue to operate their non-U.S.-facing business.”

Some former UB.com and Absolute Poker pros have weighed in.

Full Tilt Poker Update: Full Tilt Poker has stated that players will be updated during the week of May 15th with additional developments regarding the status of player funds.

PokerScout Traffic Update: PokerScout has released their lastest poker site traffic report. Merge Gaming continues to grow, now up 77% since Black Friday. They have now grown 157% over the last 12 months. Cake Poker and Bodog are both up 28% and Party Poker is the big European winner up 10%. The Yatahay Network is also up 207% over the last 12 months. The entire online market is down 18% since Black Friday, with much of the loss of overall traffic loss coming from Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars. Absolute Poker is also down over 75% the time period.

Jottings: Freakonomics have had some great articles on poker lately: Does poker pass the “daughter test”. Poker is a game of skill. Why the crackdown on internet poker is a mistake…Some online poker pros are debating moving abroad…PPA to host Member fly-in on May 23rd and May 24th…Internet gambling tempting Colorado B&Ms….In non-Black Friday news IGT is looking at acquiring the Entraction Network.

Full Absolute Poker statement can be read below:

ST. JOHN'S, ANTIGUA and BARBUDA--(Marketwire - May 10, 2011) - Absolute Poker, including the UB (formerly Ultimate Bet) brand, hereafter "Absolute Poker," issued the following statement today in relation to civil and criminal matters filed in federal court in Manhattan and made public on April 15, 2011:

Absolute Poker has reached an agreement with the United States Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York ("SDNY"). Under the agreement, the US Attorney's Office has agreed to provide all necessary assurances that third parties may work with Absolute Poker to facilitate the return of funds, currently held by third party processors, to players located in the US. This provision is an important step to returning US player funds.

The Company has also notified the SDNY that it has closed its US-facing operations, and it has agreed to the cessation of real money poker play in the US. As such, Absolute Poker has not requested the return of its worldwide domain names, Absolute Poker and UB, and today's agreement does not provide for their return. The agreement also provides for the appointment of Monitor, approved by the US Attorney's Office, to assess the Company's compliance with the terms of the agreement.

Absolute Poker's top priority has always been, and remains, the refund of account balances to its US players. Unfortunately, the Company still faces several legal issues which must be navigated before funds can be paid out to US players. The Company's US attorneys, Blank Rome LLP, continue to work diligently to resolve these issues, which is a necessary further step to facilitate the return of funds to players. Player funds, therefore, will not become immediately available for withdrawal as a result of today's agreement with the DOJ.

A Company spokesperson said: "Today's signing of the agreement with the DOJ is an important step towards the safe and efficient return of funds to our US players. We can now move as expeditiously as possible to collect player monies from third party processors as a prelude to establishing proper mechanisms for the return of funds to our US players. As previously announced, we have already taken specific actions to exit the US market by closing our US-facing operations. Blank Rome LLP will continue to engage in discussions with the SDNY in order to complete the necessary agreements for the final transfer of frozen fund balances to our US players. This remains our highest priority. We will continue to update our players and the poker community, as we move forward to resolve outstanding issues."

Updated 05-10-2011 at 05:40 PM by GonzoPAS (Update to details of Press release)

Tags: absolute poker, black friday, cereus, doj, player funds, ub.com

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‎ Poker Gaming , ‎ Poker Industry News