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The poker world received a bit of really good news on the Full Tilt poker front on Tuesday as Subject: Poker is reporting that the US Department of Justice and Groupe Bernard Tapie have come to a preliminary agreement on repayment of players at Full Tilt Poker. According to the report, GBT would take on all debts associated with players at Full Tilt Poker outside of the US, while the DOJ would handle the repayment of US players (ostensibly from the seized funds they have taken from Full Tilt Poker).

While the news seems like a huge hurdle has been cleared in the sale of the ailing online poker company, there are still many questions that need to be answered and at least one major hurdle left to clear.

In order for the deal to come to fruition the Full Tilt Poker shareholders must vote to sell the company to Groupe Bernard Tapie –for which the shareholders will likely receive zero compensation—by a 2/3’s margin. With Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Ray Bitar and others having reaped millions in compensation over the last few years, some shareholders may feel jaded, and could block the deal –but this seems like the least likely option of the two.

According to Subject: Poker and other sources, an E-Mail was sent out by Ray Bitar explaining the details of the deal, and urging shareholders to vote yes:

Dear members,

I am pleased to announce that today the Department of Justice and Groupe Bernard Tapie have reached an agreement in principle regarding the acquisition of the companies comprising Full Tilt Poker. My understanding is the deal provides that in exchange for an agreed upon payment by GBT, and a GBT commitment to assume responsibility for payment of ROW players, DOJ will reimburse US players and settle the outstanding civil litigation with the companies comprising FTP. Beyond these conditions, issues like the time frame and process for repayment of players remain unclear at this point and time.

With DOJ’s consent now in hand, GBT may now proceed to finalize an agreement to acquire the companies or assets that comprise FTP. That agreement will very likely address the status of your shares or interests in the successor company. When I receive that agreement, I will coordinate with our attorneys to ensure the terms of that proposed agreement will be shared with the membership and voted on.

-Ray