Full Tilt Trial Taken Private and Delayed Until September

Full Tilt Poker had its hearing on Tuesday with the Alderney Gambling Control Commission.  Prior to the start of the hearing, there were rumblings that Full Tilt would try and see if they could get the hearing delayed.

Full Tilt trial delayed until September

What happened instead was that Full Tilt requested that the hearing be taken into private.  Matin Heslop, the lawyer representing Full Tilt at the trial made the claim that a fair trail could not be held in public, that the deal being negotiated with European investors could be jeopardized by a public trial, and that Full Tilt’s dealings with the DOJ would be jeopardized by a public trial.

Suffice it to say that those in attendance were not pleased.  Harry Demetriou was among those most vocal asking why the AGCC was protecting a corrupt company and ignoring the needs of players.

During the part of the trial that was open to the public, it was revealed that Full Tilt owes the AGCC at least £250,000 for license payments that they have failed to make.  Heslop claimed that the company could come up with the money in seven days should that mean that they could get their license back.

The commission deliberated and decided to take the trial into private.  After a few hours behind closed doors, the AGCC then announced that in the interest of Full Tilt and in the interest of justice, they are suspending the proceedings.  They also said this would give Full Tilt more time to secure investors for the company.  The AGCC says that the trial will reconvene no later than September 15^th, 2011.

At present, Full Tilt is supposed to be working on a deal with a group of European investors that would give them a majority holding in the company.  Recently, details have surfaced that suggest that the investors are not interested in dealing with anything regarding the United States, causing people to wonder whether US players will get refunded.

Speculation remains that Full Tilt will have to have some plan in place to pay back US players before they will be able to move forward with getting their license reinstated.  Ray Bitar has also not been heard from since about a month ago when it was speculated that he was voted out as CEO of Full Tilt.  These are indeed rocky times for Full Tilt and we will keep you informed on any new developments that arise.

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