They are calling it “Black Friday” who they are though, I am not quite sure who first coined the phrase; but it was a pretty dark day for all those involved with Poker Stars, Absolute Bet and Full Tilt poker online. The Big Boys of US online poker finally go their comeuppance from the US Department of Justice and have now been indicted, the domain names confiscated and the sites effectively shut down. This is a really big news story in the world of online poker, where none of us believed that these colossal online money-making concerns could ever be shut down.
As well shutting down the sites on Friday the 15th April, eleven people were also indicted and arrested; these included Raymond Bitar, John Campos, Chad Elie and the brains behind Poker Stars – Isai Scheinberg. I have to be honest, but I was under the impression that Isai Scheinberg never entered the US, for the precise reason that he might be arrested. It is possible he may have been indicted, but not arrested as yet.
The terms of the indictment accused Elie of opening “bank accounts” in the US through deceptive means. He is being charged on nine counts in the Department of Justice indictment, including:
- violation of UIGEA
- conspiracy to commit bank fraud
- and money laundering.
Elie, who hails from Las Vegas was released after his court appearance in Manhattan today (Tuesday 19th April) on $250,000 bail. Campos is being charged on 6 of the 9 indictable counts; was released yesterday on a $25,000 bond and passport surrender; he is vice chairman and part-owner for SunFirst Bank, which supposedly processed payments for both PokerStars and Full Tilt.
We are not really sure what has happened with Bitar and Scheinberg but what we do know is that things are all of a sudden looking up for 888, Bwin.Party, Wynn, and William Hill Poker. Why are we not surprised?
Apparently this week, more people than ever before were suddenly interested in online gambling news – particularly with regards to Black Friday and poker. The entire poker community has been scouring the news to see what fresh information is available, including me; but so far this is all I have got. The world of online gambling will keep turning despite all the fans of these sites who are more than likely in mourning. It is also highly probably that massive amounts of members’ funds may have been lost to these indictments. Of course we are also only guessing at this juncture.
European gambling sites have been doing massive business this week in the wake of the shut-down of these US poker giants, but will the situation last – we don’t know? At least let them make hay while the sun shines. Share prices are rocketing at other gambling concerns and it is believed that in the light of this DOJ indictment; European countries who have granted Poker Stars and Full Tilt licenses, may in fact reconsider approval; we can only wait and see.