In the least shocking but most disheartening news since Black Friday, Holdem Poker Chat has released a copy of an E-Mail sent to shareholders in Madeira Fjord AS (the parent company of the Cereus Poker Network of Absolute Poker and UB Poker). While I have not seen this E-Mail confirmed in any way, MSNBC.com did pick up on the story, but cited only the Holdem Poker Chat article as a source.

The Cereus Poker Network has been the hardest hit after Black Friday, despite still accepting US players at their tables. According to pokerscout.com, the network has lost 76% of its overall traffic, and the remaining traffic consists of 25% US players –meaning they have even farther to tumble.

Even more worrisome is that NO withdrawals have been processed, whether for US or non-US players at the site. So it looks as if Absolute Poker and UB Poker players will be out of luck, as the site appears to be headed for bankruptcy.

Here is a look at the alleged E-Mail:

“Dear Madeira Fjord, AS 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”

Tags: Absolute Poker, Applicable Rights, Assets Liabilities, Bankruptcy Process, Black Friday, Debt Obligations, E Mail, Fjord, Foreseeable Future, Holdem Poker, Madeira, Meeting Of Shareholders, Msnbc, Norwegian Law, Parent Company, Poker Network, poker players, Professional Fees, Shareholder, Withdrawals

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 5th, 2011 at 11:38 am and is filed under Poker Industry News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.