- While there are arguments for retaining Full Tilt, there are strong managerial and corporate financial reasons why the time is right for it to sell the brand.
- Amaya CEO David Baazov shocked the poker industry by buying the Rational Group—there are good reasons for thinking that he could shock it again by selling Full Tilt.
Amaya CEO David Baazov shocked the poker industry by buying the Rational Group—there are good reasons for thinking that he could shock it again by selling Full Tilt.
The Rational Group acquired Full Tilt in a shock move of its own, when in April 2012, it agreed to buy Full Tilt from the US Department of Justice for around $750 million. An estimated $330 million of that price went to repay Full Tilt players whose funds had been considered lost.
The move and subsequent rapid repayment of Full Tilt players cemented PokerStars’ reputation as the most trusted poker room in the world, and gave it an unchallenged dominance over the online poker industry. Also, all charges against PokerStars were dropped as part of the DOJ agreement which helped pave a way for PokerStars to return to the US market by not labeling it a “bad actor.”
The commercial dynamic is different for Amaya, and while there are arguments for retaining Full Tilt, there are strong managerial and corporate financial reasons why the time is right for it to sell the brand.
