Pokernewsreport.com is reporting that Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet, two of the casualties of Black Friday, are now in a position to pay back their players. The money was frozen when the websites were seized by the Justice Department. The problem is that not only are the refunds late in arriving they will not compare to the actual money lost. The rumor is that the poker giants will be paying back as little as 25 cents on the dollar. Other rumors have suggested that folks that want to receive their payment may have to go through quite a process. As the Department of Justice will be facilitating refunds to the Full Tilt customers we can expect something similar with Absolute and UB. Becoming a part of the federal record for illegal gambling is probably not going to be a popular choice. Its hard to believe that so many months have passed and the players of the Big Three casino sites are still not getting their payday. The amount of money that has been spent on lawyers, investigators, report writers and court fees could explain why players will be losing their winnings. I'm pretty sure you can't claim gambling losses occurring on an illegal website. The drama that has been 2011 in the world of poker shows no signs of stopping in the new year. With board members and owners still to be prosecuted, transfer deals still to be worked out and of course federal legislation still to pass, the world of poker will be in a turmoil for quite a while to come. Lets just hope after the dust settles that poker will emerge a stronger game, more regulated and with better clearer rights for the players.