Full Tilt Poker Claims

I was one of the 'lucky' few many that had a withdrawal from Full Tilt Poker seized by the United States Federal Government. Yay me!

Sigh.

Thankfully, I had taken almost all of my money off of FTP before the seizure and subsequent shut down of FTP. The Pokerslut Tour had moved over to Poker Stars because of their Home Game and the lower buyins they offered on private tournaments. I had put $100 on there to support my home game play but pulled the rest of my money out of online poker sites. I had my Poker Stars money back within 10 days of the request. Too bad I hadn't moved all my money to Poker Stars.

My seized withdrawal was the final step in divesting from online poker.

Imagine the thrill I felt when I heard the news that accounts had been seized knowing I had just deposited that last withdrawal check. Yep, not long after that I received the bounced deposit notice from my credit union including a 'negotiable copy' of the withdrawal that I could resubmit if/when funds were available.

The announcement that players would be reimbursed was good news but, clearly, it wasn't going to be a fast or easy process. Like many players I submitted my petition but wondered if I would ever see my missing deposit ever again.

The claim process seemed pretty straight forward. My FTP balance was correct - I had managed to turn some FPT points into cold hard cash before the site closed. I also submitted copies of the bounced deposit. All that was left was the waiting. And waiting. And waiting.

The first wave of reimbursements was announced. I received... nothing.

On March 10th I received this response to my query about not receiving any payment:

Thank you for your email. On February 28, 2014, the first round of payments was issued to Petitioners who timely confirmed their FTP Account Balance online. Please be advised that players who disputed their FTP account balance, or who submitted multiple, incomplete or late petitions were not included in this first round of payments. Also, Petitioners who were sent emails asking for correct bank account information were not included in the first round of payments. Information about payments to additional Petitioners will be posted on the administration website when available, at www.fulltiltpokerclaims.com.

The second wave of reimbursements was announced. I received... nothing.

On April 21st I was told:

Thank you for your email. GCG continues to work with the Department of Justice to evaluate disputed Petitions and timelines for the remainder of the distributions. Our records indicate that you did not provide the amount that you are disputing. Please reply with the information so can update your petition accordingly.

Please continue to check this website for information regarding future payments to approved Petitioners.

So, the copy of my bounced withdrawal check was too confusing. They couldn't add that to my verified FTP balance and determine what I was owed. Fine. I did the basic math and sent them an email with that number.

On June 18th I once again asked when I could expect payment and was informed:

Thank you for your email. Our records indicate that you are disputing the account balance provided to us by Full Tilt. GCG is working with the Department of Justice to evaluate disputed and new Petitions and timelines for the remainder of the distributions. We do not have a timeline as of yet for when disputed petitions will be paid.

Please continue to check the administration website at www.fulltiltpokerclaims.com

 

Seriously? No payments have been made to anybody with a disputed balance? Where do you think the money came from to pay these undisputed accounts?

Just to make sure I fired off an email; their response:

Thank you for your email. The distributions that have occurred concerned only those players who accepted and confirmed their FTP account balance. Players with disputed balances have not yet received payment. As mentioned in our prior response, we do not have a timeline as of yet for when disputed petitions will be paid, however, an update will be posted on the administration website once available at www.fulltiltpokerclaims.com.

Turns out NONE of the players with disputed balances have been paid.

None.

None of the people that had money they were expecting to show up in their accounts - money that was taken from them in the seizure - have been paid.

Uh, WTF!?!??!

These people are, arguably, the ones that were most harmed by all of this and not a one of them has been paid.

Those people who had the good fortune of not having requested a withdrawal during that critical time have been paid WITH OUR MONEY.

I don't begrudge them their payments. Really, I don't. They were owed their money as much as I am owed mine. I am annoyed that they are being paid with my money and there's no timeline for my payment.

TL;DR: I'm last in line to get my money back from FTP.