The story adds to the rich lore of American Ponzi schemes, which date back to scam artist Charles Ponzi's Boston international postage coupon fraud in 1920.

The report says that Vensure in 2009 experienced a surge in assets, which attracted regulators, who gradually determined that Vensure was processing the online betting funds. The Journal got hold of some emails from players that suggest that Full Tilt had a system for creating "phantom money" for players, even when actual funds hadn't been posted in their accounts.

It's a complex yarn, but the story -- and a chart showing how players' money allegedly was filtered into an alleged $10-million-a-month in improper payments to Full Tilt officials -- unravels it enough that it makes for an educational read.

In the end, the government has charged, some $444 million that was taken fraudulently from online gamblers got paid to company owners and execs since 2007.

It's still a puzzle to me, though, why gamblers -- let alone investors -- would get involved with a company called Full Tilt. Guess I'm a bit more familiar with pinball than with poker.