/ Matthew Pitt / 06 May 2011 / Leave a Comment 
Ever since "Black Friday" there have been dozens of rumours circulating around the various poker forums and newsgroups, most regarding if any of the three sites involved in the indictments by the American Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) would be able to continue their operations without being able to service American customers.
Most of these rumours were immediately quashed as both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker both reached an agreement with the DoJ and FBI to release the seized funds so they could reimburse their, now banned, American customers. According to reports PokerStars has begun processing withdrawals from American players but Full Tilt has run into problems finding a payment processors but their representatives have said they are looking at solving this problem in the near future.
Players who had money on these two sites are quite confident they will receive their bankrolls back but that confidence is not shared by customers of Absolute Poker and its sister site UB.com, formerly Ultimate Bet, who appear to be in real financial difficulties at present after seeing their traffic plummet by almost 80% since "Black Friday." Although these two sites on the Cereus Network are allowing Americans to play for real money, they are not allowing any financial transactions whatsoever and have even severely limited the withdrawals for non-American customers too.
An email from Madeira Fjord of Norway ,which represents shareholders in the poker sites' parent company, Blanca Games Inc., appeared on the TwoPlusTwo forums showing that they planned to file for bankruptcy protection due to having "no prospects for any cash flow for the foreseeable future." The full email is show below:
Dear xxxx Shareholder,
Since the last meeting of shareholders, there have been a number of developments that affect our Company.
Most importantly, Blanca Gaming has provided notice to our subsidiary Avoine that it is currently unable to make any payments toward its debt obligations. Additionally, Blanca has further advised that there will be no future payments.
Over the past 60 days, the Company has accumulated current debts in excess of $250,000 which are increasing at $100,000+ per month. These obligations are primarily legal and professional fees in Norway.
With no cash on hand and no prospects for any cash flow for the foreseeable future, the Board of Directors is required by Norwegian law to enter the bankruptcy process. The Oslo court will appoint a Receiver who will review the affairs of the Company including the assets, liabilities, and its recent transactions. After a full assessment, the Receiver will make a determination how to enforce any applicable rights, obligations, and obtain the maximum value for its assets in the best interest of the Company.
As the Receiver is a court appointed 3rd party, we can be assured that the Receiver will evaluate all relevant options including any applicable soliciting proposals from interested parties related to the assets of the Company. Funds accumulated through the Receivers' efforts will be disbursed according to Norwegian law.
As of the date of the filing, the Board of Directors is relieved of duty, and all future matters are in the sole control of the Receiver.
Sincerely,
Madeira Fjord, AS Board of Directors
More correspondence appeared on TwoPlusTwo in the form of a memo that was informing Absolute Poker and UB.com's staff that there were going to be wide-scale redundancies at their Costa Rican headquarters, with 95% of the current workforce believed to be now out of work with immediate effect. The initial email and then the memo combined seemed to cause panic in even the most high profile of players, including Isaac Haxton, fearing the worst, was offering to sell the $300,000 in his poker account for as little as $0.20 in the dollar. Haxton does not seem to have much luck with poker legislation as he fell victim when Neteller closed their doors to American customers back when the UIGEA became law in 2006. Then Haxton had over $1,000,000 tied up, thankfully he received all of his money back but whether he gets this money back from Absolute Poker or UB.com remains to be seen.
The parent company of Absolute Poker and UB.com, Blanca Games Inc., were more than aware of the furore being caused and late yesterday afternoon they released an official statement commenting on the downsizing of operations and if Absolute Poker or UB.com were going to be declared bankrupt.
The statement reads as follows:
As previously stated, Absolute Poker and UB ceased their U.S.-facing operations due to recent legal developments in the United States. The company is currently restructuring and is focusing its resources on consolidating its non-U.S., rest-of-the-world operation and software business. In order to have a more efficient and successful future business, an immediate need to downsize and streamline operations significantly at both online poker rooms has been required. Absolute Poker and UB continue to operate their non-U.S.-facing business.
This decision comes after considerable review and analysis of the impact that 'Black Friday' has had on the business as a whole. The workforce has been liquidated, and the process of rehiring approximately 20% of staff in key positions has commenced. All affected employees have been informed of this necessary restructure.
A company spokesperson said: "We regret that we have been compelled to take these actions. We have worked tirelessly to create a truly amazing company that is filled with extraordinary people. We have always been and still remain fully committed to our employees and players. At the same time, we are confident that this restructuring will strengthen the company and its future."
The Company spokesperson also addressed erroneous reports that Blanca has filed for bankruptcy. The apparent confusion over this issue stems from the fact that Blanca recently informed a debt holder, Madeira Fjord, that it was terminating debt payments to, and its relationship with them. As a result, Madeira Fjord apparently filed a notice of bankruptcy in Norway. This notice has no negative impact upon Blanca, the operating company, or its brands. As stated previously, Absolute Poker and UB continue to operate their non-U.S. facing business around the world.
For non-U.S. players, Absolute Poker and UB have increased their maximum withdrawal limits to $1000 for Visa withdrawals and $500 for all other methods. The number of transactions being processed per day has been significantly increased as well. Players are still restricted to one transaction per week, but we are working to return non-U.S. withdrawals to
normal service levels as quickly as possible.
As confirmed earlier this week, the company's legal counsel is in continuing discussions this week with the U.S. Attorney's office to formalize an agreement that would facilitate the return of funds to U.S. Players.
Whether or not Absolute Poker or UB.com can recover from this latest in a long line of crisis and negative publicity remains to be seen but at present it looks like their customers are voting with their feet and leaving the sites in their droves. According to PokerScout.com traffic on the Cereus Network (the network created and shared by the two sites in question) has an average of just 540 cash game players at its tables over a 24 hour period, down from more than 2,000 just a few weeks ago. This means that the network as gone from being one of the top ten most popular to play on down to a very disappointing 27th.
The effects of "Black Friday" do not effect customers of Betfair Poker, simply because Betfair have never accepted American customers and the fact that 100% of customers funds are safe, secure and kept separate from operational funds. Betfair Poker is one of the safest online poker sites available to non-US customers and will always be that way.
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