4/14/2022

Ray Bitar Full Tilt Poker

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Ray Bitar Full Tilt Poker 4,7/5 1879 reviews
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Take a step back in time to April of 2011, when the US Department of Justice cracked down on major US-facing online poker sites in the unsealing of indictments that became known as Black Friday. PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker were effectively shut down by the American government and several key figureheads in those companies were targeted by multiple allegations of criminal activity, such as illegal online gambling and money laundering. Among them was Ray Bitar, the former CEO and co-founder of Full Tilt Poker.

Decided to take his chances. He paired up with Ray Bitar, and together they launched Full Tilt Poker in July of 2004. They wasted no time bringing big names onboard. The likes of Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, John Juanda, Erick Lindgren, and Jennifer Harman joined Full Tilt Poker, and the room devised a very clever strategy to attract new players. Ray Bitar, co-founder of Full Tilt Poker, said to be penniless and dying Take a step back in time to April of 2011, when the US Department of Justice cracked down on major US-facing online poker sites in the unsealing of indictments that became known as Black Friday.

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Ray bitar full tilt poker chair

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  1. Unlike Lederer, Hamilton and others, one person who did for a time look like he might face some repercussions is former Full Tilt CEO Ray Bitar. He was indicted on five counts for his role in Full Tilt’s illegal operations in the U.S. And, at one time, was looking down the barrel of a potential 145 years in jail.
  2. Internet Poker Coach, Online Poker Strategy, Success and Profitability Playing Poker Online, By The Author Of The No B.S. Guide To Winning Online No-Limit Texas Hold em. Poker News; Full Tilt Poker News on Ray Bitar. Chris Wilcox - April 15, 2013.

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Bitar, along with his founding partner, US poker pro Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, received the highest amount of criticism for his role in what was eventually uncovered to be a ‘Ponzi Scheme’. Once the DOJ seized control of Full Tilt Poker and froze the company’s assets, it turned out that there wasn’t nearly enough money on the books to cover the millions upon millions of dollars in players’ accounts. That money, estimated around $444 million, was instead paid to himself and other directors of the company.

In 2012, PokerStars came to the rescue, agreeing on a settlement with the US government that included paying several hundred million dollars, plus a few hundred million more to purchase the defunct Full Tilt Poker brand. In doing so, PokerStars not only provided the US with more than enough money to reimburse all American members of the Full Tilt online poker site, but agreed to refund the accounts of all non-US players as well in exchange for ownership of the domain. In the meantime, Ray Bitar was being arrested at JFK Airport in New York.

Now jump ahead to April 2013, two years after Black Friday, when Ray Bitar plead guilty to the charges of wire fraud and running an illegal online gambling operation. The judge was prepared to hand down a sentence to the then-41 year old Ray Bitar of 65 years in jail while ordering him to surrender $40 million to the courts. However, Bitar was already suffering from a terminal, Stage Four heart condition. The judge declared that a 65 year term would be “tantamount to a death sentence”, therefore his penalty was reduced to forfeiting the $40 million, which was syphoned from 18 bank accounts across 5 countries.

Full Tilt Poker Ray Bitar

When the news surfaced last week that Ray Bitar would not go to prison for his crimes, the online poker community at large was stunned. Many accused Bitar of faking his heart ailment to avoid prison, saying he essentially ‘got away with it’.

Enter stage right US poker pro Allen Cunningham, former Full Tilt Pro and employee of Mr. Bitar prior to Black Friday. Allen was quick to defend his former boss on the TwoPlusTwo forums. “To all the conspiracy theorists: according to my sources, Ray Bitar is unlikely to live more than a couple years and is nearly penniless. He didn’t get away with anything,” wrote Cunningham.

Raymond Bitar Full Tilt Poker

“I feel like that’s not getting away with it in a karmic way, at least. And especially in contrast to the conjecture at the beginning of the thread that he had hidden accounts and faked the heart problem.” Cunningham attested that he, “would trade places with any of his victims over him. Some people still haven’t gotten paid and it’s mostly Ray Bitar’s fault, but he isn’t benefiting from it.”