In breaking news from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission(KGC), Blanca Games, the parent company of the CEREUS Network sites Absolute Poker and UB, has proposed liquidating its assets in order to repay players. Text found in a KGC press release on Thursday explains, “Over the past several weeks, we were advised of a potential solution prepared by Blanca and its representatives establishing a process to liquidate Blanca’s assets and distribute proceeds to players. We understand that this process has been presented to SDNY for consideration and approval.”

The KGC noted that it has received “regular updates of discussions” between Absolute Poker and the U.S. Department of Justice, which ran the embattled site from the American market on Black Friday. Since then, Blanca Games has failed to repay Absolute Poker and UB players in a situation that is eerily similar to the one unfolding on Full Tilt Poker.

The KGC asserted that its top priority remained “the reimbursement of both U.S. and non-U.S. players as quickly and completely as possible.” The licensing body added that it wanted to be apprised of the situation as soon as possible: “To avoid further prejudice to affected players, the Commission has demanded that all parties complete their discussions and implement a reimbursement solution without further delay.” No hard deadline was given.

An e-mail posted on PocketFivesasserted that CEREUS officials were considering selling its assets. The e-mail, which was sent to a member of the online poker community, read in part, “We are currently in active discussions with a number of parties about potential sales opportunities and we continue to work diligently to devise a solution that will allow us to distribute funds to players. This has been, however, a complicated process.”

In terms of a time line, the same e-mail distributed by the CEREUS Network noted, “We believe that we are close to finalizing a well-considered process of distributing funds to players that will be fair for all account holders. We expect, therefore, to issue a statement in the near future providing the details of this process.” The e-mail was sent to a PocketFives member in Minnesota in response to an inquiry submitted two weeks prior.

Earlier this week, PocketFives posted an exclusive statement we received from the CEREUS Network that gave no indication that a possible sale or liquidation was in the works. We were told, “As previously stated, the distribution of funds to our U.S. players remains our highest priority. However, we are still in discussions with the DOJ in order to facilitate player payments and, consequently, can make no further comments at this time. We will provide an update at the appropriate time.”

Why the CEREUS Network lacks the capital to pay back players is not known.

Over on TwoPlusTwo, posters were reacting to the news that the CEREUS Network could be liquidated in order to cash out customers. One poster wrote, “If UB pays out before Full Tilt, then there is something wrong with the world.”

Others speculated as to whether U.S. and non-U.S. players would be treated differently in a settlement: “If this investor/buyer is interested in only the software platform and assets, I’d have to assume U.S. and non-U.S. players would be grouped together as part of the solution.”

Blanca Games founder Stuart Gordon also created and owns BingoMania.com and Helix Gaming International. Whether those two outfits will be part of a potential liquidation of Blanca Games remains to be seen. According to Blanca’s website, “The operations of the Blanca Group are conducted by subsidiaries and associated companies. Blanca Games has headquarters in Antigua and offices located in Costa Rica.”

The CEREUS Network has been largely mum since Black Friday, with its most recent public statement coming in May. Its cash game traffic has slid 99% year-over-year in the wake of Black Friday according to PokerScout.

In August, the KGC renewed Full Tilt Poker’s secondary licensedespite the room’s primary license being suspended; its primary license was later revoked altogether. Groupe Bernard Tapie conditionally purchased Full Tilt Poker shortly thereafter, although the sale has not been finalized.

We’ll keep you posted on the latest right here on PocketFives.