An update from Wicked Chops Poker on Friday noted that the rumored sale of the dormant Full Tilt Pokerto the world’s largest online poker site, PokerStars, may be signed off on as early as next week. There’s a rumored price tag of $750 million, which reportedly includes paying back Full Tilt’s players and settling the site’s issues with the U.S. Government. Therefore, the question becomes, “Will PokerStars reenter the U.S. market?“

You can refer to Party Gaming’s negotiations with the Federal Government that resulted in that company’s co-founder, Anurag Dikshit, forking over $300 million in 2008. Party Gaming itself settled for over $100 million and inked a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Government.

“If the sale rumors are true, it’ll be interesting to see what the terms of the settlement will be,” Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association(iMEGA) Chairman Joe Brennan told PocketFives. “Are they similar to the terms that Party Gaming negotiated as to whether or not it offers an opportunity to reenter the U.S.?”

Brennan continued, “If PokerStars got a deal similar to Party Gaming’s, then I would imagine if you’re trying to figure out who will be a big winner, PokerStars would. The news, at least for me, is unexpected. I can see why it would make an awful lot of sense, though. Right now, you’re merging what amounts to the GM and Toyota of online poker into one company.”

Although it remains to be seen whether the transaction will be entirely cash-based, Brennan (pictured) called PokerStars dropping three-quarters of a billion dollars on Full Tilt “impressive.” Remember, in early 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, Full Tilt experienced a $60 million cash shortfall.

“For a long time, a lot of people have remarked about how PokerStars is not only the best-run company in i-gaming, but also one of the best run e-commerce companies in the world,” Brennan pointed out. “They’ve always run what amounts to a very proper corporation.” PokerStars remains the lone site affected by Black Friday to pay back its players.

Will PokerStars reenter the U.S. market? Brennan speculated, “I would have to imagine the only way PokerStars would put out that kind of settlement is if they had an opportunity to rehabilitate themselves and reenter the U.S. market. When Party Gaming settled, it was very clearly outlined that it only applied to the DOJ. It did not apply to the IRS and it didn’t apply to state regulators. Therefore, what might state regulators have to say about all of this?”

Steve “Chops” Preiss of Wicked Chops Pokeragreed with Brennan, telling PocketFives on Friday, “From my understanding, the DOJ will not oppose PokerStars’ reentry into the U.S. so long as they fulfill the terms of their agreement. The bigger question is whether the local or Federal regulating bodies will allow PokerStars back in. My gut is that PokerStars will eventually be allowed back into the market so long as Isai Scheinberg is no longer managing the company and potentially no longer an owner.”

Nevada has begun the process of vetting potential online poker providersand has regulations in place. New Jersey and California, among other states, are also debating the issue, while Illinois has started selling Powerball and Mega Millions lottery tickets over the Web.

Meanwhile, land-based casino companies and internet gaming providers have been teaming up in advance of state-by-state or Federal legislation. In that realm, 888has partnered with Caesars Entertainment, PartyPoker has joined forces with MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming, and Chili Gaming has brought its poker product to the Golden Nugget and others.

“If you’re another company, you have to be concerned with this,” Brennan said of gaming giants like Caesars and MGM. “PokerStars just got a lot bigger, if that was possible. All throughout the entire Black Friday affair, they’ve done well by their players by making them whole. Now, they’re going to make Full Tilt’s players whole if the rumors turn out to be true.”

Preiss echoed, “I’d imagine both Stars and Tilt would form brick-and-mortar partnerships just as they did pre-Black Friday. I fully expect Caesars and MGM to do whatever they can to, if nothing else, delay PokerStars’ reentry.” Preiss also revealed that the $750 million price tag for the sale could ultimately end up pushing $1 billion. You’ll recall that in early 2011 before Black Friday, PokerStars teamed up with Wynn, while Full Tilt paired with Fertitta Interactive.

According to PokerScout, which monitors online poker traffic, PokerStars’ Italian- and French-facing sites rank as the sixth and ninth busiest worldwide, respectively, in terms of real money ring game volume. “PokerStars is a dominant global online poker company that has shown it can do well in regulated markets like Italy and France,” Brennan observed.

Will the U.S. be PokerStars’ next target?