Chris Krafcik Talks Full Tilt Poker, California Poker and the Federal Legislative Front
Speaking as part of the Quadjacks.com 24 hour live podcast marathon leading up to a critical hearing to determine the fate of Full Tilt Poker Tuesday, Chris Krafcik, an independent research analyst working for gambling industry consultancies and publishers, claimed FTP could be “too tainted” for a rumored European investment group to take over assets.
Owners are indicted, but assets of FTP haven’t been seized. However, there could be risk for an investor in buying the “good assets”. They could still be tainted by impending litigation, but it’s hard to say for sure.
The hearing is scheduled for 10 am London time Tuesday (July 26, 2011). No customers have been paid by Full Tilt Poker since the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) pulled the company’s license on June 29. US players have been waiting for payouts since April 15, essentially the reason for the AGCC decision. Full Tilt’s co-founders were indicted and charged with money laundering and bank fraud by the US Justice Department on that date.
Krafcik also expressed hope that the US federal government stands a better chance than ever of legalizing online poker.
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From the Quadjacks.com cliff notes:
* Federal legislation looking interesting for a change. Clear alignment between two powerful Senators (Reid/Kyl). Agree that online poker should be legal and regulated. Lobbyists describe their joint letter as a “trust-building exercise”.
* The (Joe) Barton bill is not going anywhere, and was never expected to. It was just made to show Reid that there was, and could be, bipartisan support for internet poker. Krafcik has been told this by numerous sources.
And finally, in regard to California becoming the first state to legalize Internet poker, Krafcik says “don’t count on it”.
He claimed that the California poker legislation not really going anywhere, not much time left in the session. Top lobbyists say it won’t happen this year.
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
