Pokerstars vs. French Players Resolution

01/16/2012 : PEACE TALKS AT POKERSTARS SUCCEED (Update)
 
French negotiators report a workable compromise
 
A major confrontation between Pokerstars and its rebellious French players  has been averted, according to reports from a negotiatinbg team that visited the Isle of Man headquarters of the giant internet poker operator this week.
 
The team reports that following two days of talks a compromise has been reached on player differences with the operator over tough changes to rake calculation and VIP rewards that Pokerstars claimed were necessary to ameliorate the impact of heavy French government taxation.
 
The online poker information portal Pokerfuse reports that the deal includes an increase in the VPP multiplier from 5.5 to 6 and the tournament multiplier to 6.5, and that Milestone Cash Credits have been upped to above 2011 levels, and Stellar rewards will be increased.
 
There are also one-time compromises for players with high VIP tiers, including bonus compensation and a 2-month extension to maintain their VIP level this year.
 
You can't please everybody, and one of the negotiators appeared to realise this, posting on a popular poker message board:
 
“Many of you will be disappointed but, being realistic, you will understand that we probably got the best deal possible, or we came close at least.”
 
Pokerstars will now sit down with representatives from a wider player interest group scheduled to visit the Isle of Man shortly to discuss similar problems with this operator’s decisions, especially the switch to the “weighted-contributed” rake format, which, it is claimed,  adversely effects high-volume players.