U.S. Full Tilt players who have been waiting nearly three years to be reunited with their account balances will be pleased to know that the first batch of payments in the remission process are due to be released this Friday, Feb. 28.
The funds will be distributed via ACH to players with undisputed account balances provided that those players have also "passed the preliminary testing process" with regard to their bank account information, the FullTiltPokerClaims.com website stated today. That testing process, in which player bank accounts were to receive a dummy deposit transaction in the amount of zero dollars in order to make sure the account was valid, began on Feb. 13.
Those players whose bank accounts passed should be receiving an email from claims administrator Garden City Group (GCG) today or tomorrow advising of the payment amount ahead of the actual deposit that is set to arrive on Friday. Players with bank accounts that failed to pass the test due to incorrect or incomplete information were sent emails last Friday, February 21, with instructions on how to rectify and update their banking information.
That update should be completed by March 13. If the GCG fails to receive the required updated bank account information by that date, checks will be issued to the mailing addresses that players listed on their Petitions for Remission. Those who do successfully rectify their bank account information by March 13 will receive their funds via ACH in the second batch of payments at a date that has yet to be announced.
About 30,000 accounts have been approved for payment and are due to receive a combined $82 million. The GCG's latest update does not break down exactly how much of that $82 million will be dished out this Friday and how much will be held back due to the failure of player bank accounts to properly receive the ($0.00) test transaction.
The first round of payments on Feb. 28 will not include Full Tilt pros, affiliates, or players with account balances that are in dispute. Affiliates have until March 2 to submit their Petitions for Remission. The claims of players labeled as pros and those whose balances don't match with that of the GCG are still under review and further instructions will be announced in due course.
The GCG's update of January 24, 2014 promised payment by the end of February to players without problematic issues and the first batch will apparently be finding its way to player accounts right on time. After a shaky start to the remission process when claims were first accepted in mid-September, the GCG has gotten its act together and now seems to be operating rather efficiently.
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