Online poker devotees who were turned away from the table, figuratively speaking, because of a Department of Justice crackdown last week can at least get their money out of their online accounts, Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced on Wednesday.
Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars have reached agreement with the SDNY whereby U.S. players can access their accounts, Bharara’s office said. The players had been shut out since the poker websites were taken down when the Department of Justice accused the poker outfits of fraud and other charges and moved to seize their assets.
“No individual player accounts were ever frozen or restrained, and each implicated poker company has at all times been free to reimburse any player’s deposited funds,” Bharara said. “This office expects the companies to return the money that U.S. players entrusted to them, and we will work with the poker companies to facilitate the return of funds to players.”
A third online site, Absolute Poker, has yet to reach accord with the DOJ.
Those who enjoyed online poker were furious at the DOJ’s action, as Main Justice reported earlier this week. Comments ranged from vulgar to unprintable. (For a more detailed update, check out The Am Law Daily website.)
