In a story first reported by Wicked Chops Pokeron Wednesday, Ray Bitar might be out as CEO of Full Tilt Poker. Bitar is one of 11 individuals indicted by the U.S. Government as part of the Black Friday raid on April 15th.

Wicked Chops assessed, “This shouldn’t come as a shocker, as we’d imagine any potential investor doesn’t want to buy a company and have someone indicted by the United States Government running it, but from what we’re hearing, it’s happened and he’s out. Backing the tip up, we’ve spoken to Tilt employees who say there has been no direct communication from Bitar since at least Sunday.”

Wicked Chops officials told PocketFives.com that their source at Full Tilt Poker is “reliable” and the ousting of Bitar likely happened over the weekend. Many of Full Tilt’s pros are gearing up for Day 1A of the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas on Thursday.

Bitar was indicted on charges that included conspiracy to violate the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), violating the UIGEA, operation of an illegal gambling business, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy. He has not yet been taken into U.S. custody.

A source close to Full Tilt Poker told PocketFives that Bitar has been seen around the company’s offices this week. However, they did not know whether he had been ousted as CEO.

In a thread on TwoPlusTwo featuring a Full Tilt Poker “insider” and on Wicked Chops, rumors that the online poker room may have its license reinstated by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission as soon as this week were flying.

In a statement released by Alderney on Tuesday, the Channel Islands regulatory body explained, “Alderney Gambling Control Commission is in discussions, albeit at an early stage, with its licensees trading as Full Tilt Poker and a third party concerning the prospective refinancing of Full Tilt Poker. The objective of these discussions is to enable the site to reopen to its current and prospective players.”

Wicked Chops contended that Full Tilt Poker, whose tables have been idle for a week due to its gaming license being suspended, could come back online as soon as Friday: “Some Tilt employees are being told that Alderney will un-suspend the company’s gaming license by the weekend, possibly as early as Friday… From what we hear, Tilt is preparing for it and has already moved its DNS back to Alderney.”

Also buzzing on Wicked Chops in recent days was news that site pro Phil Ivey (pictured) orchestrated the tentative sale of a majority stake in Full Tilt Poker. Purportedly, a group of investors that Ivey brought in asked for an 80% stake in Full Tilt, an offer that was rejected due to its high percentage of ownership. Ivey then sued in order to be absolved of his contract.

Last week, word of a tentative deal broke in the Los Angeles Times newspaper which would give majority ownership in Full Tilt to a group of European investors. However, the deal was reportedly contingent on the company making amends with the U.S. Department of Justice. Wicked Chops reported, “If everything eventually gets locked in and the deal is blessed by the DOJ and whoever is going to license Tilt in the future, you can bet that Phil Ivey will become the Patron Saint of the Poker World.”

Commenting on a post on TwoPlusTwo about Ivey’s investor group, Full Tilt Poker pro Tom Dwan (pictured) critiqued, “Decent amount of this is surprisingly accurate. Still a bit off, but more accurate than I expected when I opened the thread.” Dwan leveled in a different thread, “[Ivey] deserves a big hug from everyone if this works out and maybe a weak high-five for trying if it doesn’t.”

On the sale itself, Dwan remarked last Friday, “I’m not saying it’s a done deal or anything, but I’m way happier than I was this morning, and it looks way better. Also, I finally feel like the company is making steps in the right direction.”

A public hearing in London is scheduled for July 26th. There, the Alderney Gambling Control Commission will discuss Full Tilt’s wrongdoing for the first time.

Stay tuned to PocketFives.com for the latest Full Tilt Poker news.