- The PPA’s Rich Muny has found a legal basis for players to submit claims to the Garden City Group for funds lost at UltimateBet and Absolute Poker.
- The precedent is weak and chances of success are not high, but claims could add pressure to the PPA’s lobbying of the DOJ on the issue.
- The cut off date for claims to GCG is November 16.
Rich Muny of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) has proposed that UltimateBet and Absolute Poker victims should register their compensation claims alongside those from Full Tilt. He believes the Garden City Group claims administrator has an obligation to consider them.
As the assets seized by the DOJ from UB/AP had little value, until now there has been no hope of any recovery for players who lost money after the DOJ closed the sites down. What Muny noticed was that the authority for remission quoted by GCG is “United States v. PokerStars, et al., 11 Civ. 2564.”
That “et al”—latin abbreviation for and others—actually includes UB and AP. Muny checked his idea with poker attorney David Gzesh who found a legal precedent. To drop its claim on the UB/AP web domains, the Commonwealth of Kentucky was paid $6m from the fund established to repay Full Tilt victims.
Muny suggests that players who lost money at UB and AP file their claim with the GCG and although there may be little hope of success, the actions may force the DOJ to examine the issue. He has started a thread on the subject at 2+2
The action would also add pressure the DOJ which the PPA is also lobbying: “…the PPA has been working diligently on behalf of players with balances on Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker.”
Rich Muny also warns players not to forget that November 16 is the final day for claims to be submitted to GCG.
