Way back in March of this year it was rumored that the defunct Full Tilt US online poker web entity would be purchased by PokerStars, and that the new buyers would honor all the IOUs held by previous Full Tilt players still waiting for Ray Bitar and other Full Tilt owners to refund money that is rightfully theirs. The buyout rumors claim to be a part of the United States Justice Department deal that only allows the sale to go through if the new owners replace the accounts and monies owned by individual online poker players when that site was shut down by the same US DOJ.

Groupe Bernard Tapie was the supposed buyer, and approximately $330 million was the amount needed to repay Full Tilt players who had money in their accounts when the website was shut down for breaking United States gambling and banking laws on April 15, 2011, a day known in the online gaming community as Black Friday. It was more recently rumored that Chilipoker CEO Alexandre Dreyfus made a statement specifying that PokerStars was paying $750 million for Full Tilt, which included the player payback money.

And finally Eric Hollreiser, Head of Corporate Communications for PokerStars, stepped forward and made an official announcement verifying that PokerStars was indeed in settlement discussions with the United States DOJ, and that part of the agreement was for the two indicted Full Tilt executives to go clear should the sale go through. One of those executives is of course the controversial CEO of Full Tilt, Ray Bitar, who has finally and officially turned himself in to US authorities. Bitar, working closely with his lawyer and the FBI, traveled to New York City for the official arrest.

Bitar sent a groveling e-mail to his company’s employees recently, addressing the buyout rumors, player payback process and his eventual surrender to FBI agents in the United States. Bitar claims in that e-mail that he and other company executives have been working “hard over the last 15 months to preserve Full Tilt’s assets and potential in order to provide for the repayment of all players,” and said that remains the company’s number one priority. He then goes on to state that turning himself into United States officials is the first step in making that happen, mentioning the deal with PokerStars and the new infusion of capital as the hopeful end to the legal problems and tarnished reputation Full Tilt has incurred.

The Department of Justice has positively confirmed that Bitar is in custody in the United States, and the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, requested an additional week for all those individuals indicted on Black Friday to come forward. Doing so would help facilitate and successfully conclude ongoing settlement issues, which would no doubt resolve legal matters for those individuals as well. In the e-mail Bitar also guaranteed all July salaries for Full Tilt players through a PokerStars agreement, thanking all the Dublin, Ireland employees for their “hard work, patience and understanding during this difficult time.” Bitar’s arrest is the catalyst needed for PokerStars to move in and repay the money owed to disgruntled Full Tilt players, and you can check back here regularly for late breaking news updates on this and other online poker stores.

There are a number of online poker rooms which were not affected in Black Friday and that offer a legitimate online gambling experience. We have taking the time to provide detailed online poker reviews by ThePokerGrind.com to help you evaluate your options, and also have a page especially for USA poker players.