Didn’t really see this one coming, but Joe Sebok explained in great detail why he made the decision to join the UltimateBet team. His latest blog post on PokerRoad starts with his skepticism about joining UB when he was asked on previous occasions, and it ends with the reasons he not only agreed to be a sponsored player but a consultant for the company in charge of media and operations.

The stipulation for joining the team came with wanting to ensure that the company moves forward – away from the scandal – in a positive direction and maintains a spotlessly clean reputation and record. Feeling responsible to the poker community that is part of PokerRoad, he wanted to be sure that he will represent a company that he believes in and one that the poker world can again trust. And to show that UB is willing to be as open as possible, the company has agreed to let Sebok’s first priority be the release of all hand histories associated with the scandal and the names of those paired with those accounts. Though KGC wanted no part of releasing the names of Russ Hamilton’s 31 co-conspirators, UB seems to have changed its mind on the subject.

Sebok wrote:

The first order of business with my position at Ub has been to help aid in the release of not only ALL of the hand histories from the super-user scandal, but also the accounts that were used to perpetuate the scandal itself and the actual physical names of those individuals who we believe to have been directly involved in disparate ways with the actual cheating. As most of you know, two-thirds of this has now been accomplished. Please take this as a first step in showing that things will be different at UltimateBet moving forward. I commend Paul and the management team over at Ub for being open to this release and making it happen at my insistence . They deserve all the credit in the world today in taking these first steps in ensuring that this case gets closed, and closed correctly.

As soon as the Kahnawake Gaming Commission released its final decision in the UltimateBet cheating scandal, the questions started hitting. Most of them concerned the secrecy around the list of 31 names said to be associated with Russ Hamilton. A discussion with Chuck Barnett, member of the Board of Supervisors of Mohawk Internet Technologies, provided his reasons for not releasing that list of names.

Mr. Barnett first told me that implicating Hamilton in the scandal was not a problem, as it was “very clear” that he was directly connected and responsible for the crimes being alleged. The names of the 31 individuals associated were another story, he says. The Commission had lengthy discussions regarding the release of those names and ultimately consulted their legal team and law enforcement officials.

On the legal front, they deemed it a civil liability issue, as the suspects are directly linked to Hamilton or the 117 accounts listed BUT there is the possibility that they had no knowledge of the scheme. If they were accused and found to be completely oblivious to or innocent of the crimes, there would be liability in falsely accusing them. There is also some question as to each person’s level of culpability, which can’t be known until they are questioned by the proper authorities. And per law enforcement, naming the individuals would impede a criminal investigation, as anyone named may be able to flee the country, hide, etc. With all things considered, the KGC made the decision to withhold the names.

When asked about the law enforcement agencies involved, Mr. Barnett wouldn’t say much. Legally, all he said he could say was all information from the KGC investigation was turned over to “law enforcement,” which had expressed a distinct interest in pursuing the case. He could not say, however, whether those were Canadian or U.S. authorities, only that there were discussions with “regional and national” agencies.

If/when indictments are handed down or prosecutions are made, or if some other permission is given by law enforcement, the KGC will make public the names – and be happy to do it. Until then, based on overwhelming advice, the list will remain a mystery.

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission’s investigation into the UltimateBet cheating scandal has been concluded with the release of its final decision. The 11-page document does provide some new information.

• In total, Tokwiro, owner of UltimateBet, refunded $22,054,351.91 to players affected by the cheating incidences.
• Tokwiro paid $1.5 million in fines, plus the costs of the investigation, to the KGC.
• Tokwiro is on a one-year “probation” period, during which time it must provide all details of daily operations, including financial and gaming records.
• Going forward, Tokwiro must maintain three sets of web/game logs, one of which will be housed at the offices of the KGC.
• All officers, directors, shareholders, and key people associated with Tokwiro must be known to the KGC.
• There were 23 accounts and 117 usernames used in the cheating.
• Much of the stolen money was disbursed through player-to-player transfers on UB.
• Russell Hamilton, associated at the time with eWorld Holdings Group, was primarily responsible for the scandal. The “vast majority” of the IP addresses used were directly connected to Hamilton.
• Hamilton’s actions that constituted “criminal behaviour” were associated with 31 other individuals, whose names were not released in the document.
• All information has been provided to law enforcement authorities to determine if criminal charges can be filed.

The entire decision can be accessed here by clicking on the “News” link.

The accompanying press release stated:

The decision released today reviews the corrective actions that have been taken by Tokwiro over the past 12 months, and concludes that Tokwiro has provided sufficient evidence to justify the continuation of its license to operate, subject to a number of additional conditions of licensure.

“Despite the unfortunate circumstances that resulted in this cheating, we are satisfied that the actions taken by the Commission provided an equitable result for affected players – our first priority. We remain optimistic that this experience and the lessons learned from it will result in a higher standard of gaming regulation for companies licensed and regulated within the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake and elsewhere,” said Chairman Montour.

Many in the poker industry consider the UltimateBet and Absolute Poker scandals resolved, at least as much as we can expect them to be considering the sources of any information and the lack of the ability to involve U.S. law enforcement due to jurisdictional issues. And while some of us still have eyes and ears open for further developments, such as those that may appear on a Russ Hamilton twitter feed, Haley Hintze, former Editor-in-Chief of PokerNews, has decided to put out all of her well-informed conjecture on her own blog and gives one of the more detailed explanations of how, when, and why the UB/AP scandals were perpetrated. Though she has only posted Part 1, the rest of the story, we presume, is forthcoming.

Part 1 dives into the beginnings and how Hamilton got involved and possibly recruited help. Here is a portion of the post:

There are three reasonable scenarios for how the cheating spread, as spread it surely did:

1) One or more software engineers working on the UB code recognized the illicit profit potential for themselves, and also began to slice money from the games;

2) Hamilton himself recruited one or more Costa Rican workers to assist him in the cheating, as a way of expanding the total money being stolen;

3) Someone at UB caught Hamilton — probably noticing unusual withdrawal amounts relative to the amount of play Hamilton was logging — and decided to cut himself in for a slice of the action.

From some time in 2006, I believe, it was game on in a big way for the cheats. I’d heard whispers as far back as 2005 that something was wrong with the cash games at UB, but I played there very little, only at small stakes, and couldn’t really speak to it.

The post in its entirety can be found here.

Howard Stern wasn’t the only one to join the PPA this week (aka “National Poker Week”). Caught up in the poker-politicky whirlwinds emanating from Washington DC, Russ Hamilton also became a member, as seen here:

Says Hamilton, according to sources plausibly fabricated out of thin air: “Joining the PPA is the right thing to do. It shows you are a good person who really cares about protecting poker players from internet malfeasance. We need US regulation to ensure a fair playing field for all, and so we can appropriately punish anyone who might steal 10s of millions of dollars from unknowing American players. Ha ha ha ha! LOL.”

Hamilton says he also plans to sign the Poker Petition (350k electronic signatures and climbing) and may even submit a video to MyPokerStory.com.

“Mine is a really good one,” he says.

The Hollywood Reporter is, well, reporting from Hollywood that Leonardo DiCaprio is pegged to star in a film about online casinos based in Costa Rica. Not only does the star currently aligned with the film give us hope that it won’t be another Deal, but the writers – Brian Koppelman and David Levien – are the same ones who penned Rounders. And Paramount Pictures has picked up the script. (Note to self: Check in with former employer Paramount for possible consultant positions available. Cha-ching!)

Hmmm, Costa Rican-based online casinos…like UltimateBet and Absolute Poker? Scandals and cheaters and Russ Hamiltons, oh my.

Since the movie is yet untitled, let’s throw out a few gems for Paramount to consider:

Titanic (ooooh, sorry)
UB and Me
Rounders 2 (or Part Deux for my French friends)
Rounderaments
What’s Eating Russ Hamilton?
Gangs of Costa Rica
The 11th Hand

Okay, I’m done. Anyone else?

Talk about a shocker, I know … and even though all our contacts at Full Tilt are being completely mum on the issue, that’s the word from the press box. Have a look for yourself at the Russ Hamilton main event champion banner, which just so happens to be hanging right over media row where some people may or may not occasionally leave patches lying around:

Necessary(?) FYI: JK

One of the first “big” WSOP events will be the special, invitational Champions tourney … a non-bracelet freeroll for all previous main event champions, which will be one of only four televised ESPN events. This made-for-TV No-Limit Hold’em brouhaha — where players are competing for a shiny trophy and a red Corvette — should give the old-dog pros a chance to remind the 21st century WSOP millionaires who’s really boss … and the Varkonyis and Golds and Yangs a chance to say, “Hey, I didn’t just get lucky, Doyle Biznatch!”

27 players are eligible … and almost all have pre-registered. Bobby Baldwin ‘78 has RSVP’d in the negative. But there’s one interesting name on the list of non-confirmeds* — well actually there’re five, but one of these is not like the others … in fact, as a member of the WSOP PAC, he’s probably on Jeffrey Pollack’s speed dial:

Mansour Maltoubi ‘90
Hamid Dastmalchi ‘92
Russ Hamilton ‘94
Noel Furlong ‘99
Chris Ferguson ‘00

None of these are holdouts, from what we’re hearing … just MIA. (Though we’re not so sure the WSOP is looking that hard for Russ, because they could always give his invitation to Layne Flack.)

Wicked Chops is on the hunt for them here.

Pokerati loves voting … and arbitrary lists! To that extent, we took part in helping PokerListings choose the least-popular presidents WSOP main event champions of all time.

Ooh, I almost forgot to post these clips … we know Joan Rivers is willing to do what it takes to make something look better than it really is, and perhaps in an attempt to unoffend poker players and recharge her fan base, she and her daughter appeared on Ellen. The show started with a poker skit:

OK, hmm, interesting. At least this tells all those YouTube commenters that Melissa wasn’t acting in the original outburst.

Here’s their appearance/interview with Ellen (love the Lady Gaga intro — woot!), where Joan doesn’t exactly rescind her disgust for all things poker, but she does downgrade and de-Semitize her Annie hatred by calling her not Hitler, but The Bernie Madoff of Poker. She apparently doesn’t realize that title is already taken by Russ Hamilton — or maybe she does! — but whatever:

We try not to engage in too much schadenfreude here at Pokerati, but the last post about Amarillo Slim’s efforts to restore his stature in the poker world has me contriving a poll in my head about who are/were the most undesirable people in/from poker.

Current Poker Sith Lords
Russ Hamilton — guilty til proven innocent, and with good cause.
Ernie Scherer III — he’s still innocent til proven guilty, but considering that he faces the death penalty for killing his parents to pay off poker debts — and the last 10 Google searches found on his computer were “countries that don’t extradite to the U.S.“, I think we can rest assured that he will not become a Full Tilt pro anytime soon.

Dishonorable Mentions
James McDaniel — this Dallas poker room operator was convicted of killing an ex-cop, engaged in collusion in Oklahoma (my personal observation and unproven accusation), and is currently on trial for supplying drugs to one of his railbirds who ended up OD’d-dead in a portable toilet.

Reformed Reputations
Jamie Gold
Justin Bonomo
Dutch Boyd

Jury Still Out
David Sklansky — technically crime-free, but young aspiring female players are hardly flocking to his tutelage.
Amarillo Slim — he says he’s not guilty, and his family and a lie detector now apparently agree, even though his criminal record implies otherwise.
Layne Flack — everybody seems to like Layne, but unless he’s working undercover a la Poker Brasco, hanging with Russ Hamilton surely won’t help him get sponsored by Ultimate Bet.

So who else? Really, I’m not looking for a bunch of potentially libelous name-calling … but I am looking to create a list of once and future poker bad-guys, and maybe a rating system for criminals and outcasts and offenses that may or may not attract the attention of law enforcement, but still result in scorn and contempt from fellow poker players.

We’ve called him the Bernie Madoff of Poker, but really, that moniker may no longer be apropos … because Bernie’s in jail. Now he’s more like the OJ Simpson of Poker … a man who most believe has so far gotten away with a shameful crime. Sure, no one has died yet, but honestly, it’s only a matter of time, isn’t it? Folks are still being protective of names, but I keep hearing stories of people who were ripped off by Russ Hamilton the way Mike Matusow claims he was … playing heads-up matches, losing, having Hamilton ship the money back to them, losing again, repeat … pay him off in cash. The results have been mortgaged houses, broken marriages, dangerous drug binges, and near-nervous breakdowns. We are talking very real lives here being very really fucked up … and all accuse the same man, who has thus far dodged criminal prosecution.

What makes it worse for these folks is that they haven’t gotten any refunds from Ultimate Bet — because either they paid off their “debts” in cash, or they too have been flagged for further investigation because of the large money transfers between them and Hamilton. So with that in mind, and some $60 million that would otherwise be in the Poker Economy unaccounted for … it’s always interesting to know what this man who has been convicted of nothing (and, sadly, charged with nothing) is up to.

Micon from Neverwin spotted him recently playing 2/5 NL at Red Rock:

Elsewhere around town, reliable sources tell us Hamilton recently played a bar freeroll at one of the pubs at Flamingo and Jones. (Still seeking confirmation on the bar’s name.) No buy-in and no prizes beyond bar tabs and food coupons. Supposedly playing with him in this same event (about six weeks ago?): Layne Flack.

No word on whether either of them made the final table.

More Matusow on Hamilton’s impact here. (Scroll halfway down.)

UPDATE: The bar where Flack and Hamilton were spotted playing a freeroll is Torino’s.

Generally found money is great money, right? I just got an email from UB telling me I have $219 in my VIP account. I haven’t played there since I went bust for all but $8 one day a couple years ago … took that $8 over to the blackjack table and turned it in to $1,000 in 20 minutes and got away with still $800 … then proceeded back to a couple 2/4 NL tables and lost it all in a couple hours.

Anyhow, a little curious to figure out where that money came from — I don’t remember playing Russ Hamilton, but ya never know — but will feel dirty installing the software on a new machine.

UPDATE: Installing UB for Mac apparently isn’t one-click easy. For now I’ll take it as a sign not to mingle with the site.

With banking matters all over the place these days, the IRS reportedly investigating Russ Hamilton, and Barney Frank putting together a bill that would simply strike down the UIGEA as if it never happened, I gotta think, well … I really don’t know what to think. Though it seems major shifts are happening, global-economic finance is admittedly a little beyond my ken. But I’m trying to figure it out, and so far I’ve concluded that banks are clearly important, and anyone who handles the transfer of billions of imaginary dollars has major issues to attend to.

Brilliant, I know.

And actually, not even billions … just $10,000 or more. Apparently a new IRS rule has gone into effect that requires online poker players to treat their online accounts — PokerStars, Full Tilt, et al. — as offshore foreign bank accounts.

Yeow, that’s different. Sources who were winning players online tell me nothing more than a WG-2 was necessary before. Again, I’m not really sure what that means (or what enforcement mechanisms are in place) but do I know this change theoretically affects lots and lots of people and probably at least a few billion dollars. If I’m reading this tax expert right, basically, if all your money in all your accounts added up to $10,000 or more at any point in 2008, you have to file a special form (TD F 90-22.1, which goes to the Dept. of the Treasury, not the IRS) for these accounts, and the fine for not doing so is either $100,000 or half your bankroll, whichever is greater.

That sounds pretty tough. But maybe this is just what comes with the territory as G-men set up a framework for how these online piggy banks, er, poker sites have to work in the future? No word yet on whether or not you’ll ever be able to pay your taxes in PokerStars W$/T$ or Lindens.

So we’re really kinda having some fun over at The Poker Beat. Turns out the shop a bunch of us media types talk amongst ourselves is kinda interesting to at least a few people … and dare I say even more captivating than an hour-long episode of ClubWPT? What’s really making the show work, I think, is that all of us panelists actually wanna listen to the segments we’re not on … it’s turning out to be a great way to find out reliable info about important stuff we may not cover closely, which all turns out to really be just a 57-minute set-up for Joe Stapleton jokes (which really are kinda funny).

On this week’s episode, BJ reports from the LAPC about field sizes and Scotty Nguyen’s repeat performance in the $10k HORSE Event; I chime in to discuss WPT Season 8 and try to fill BJ with job insecurity; Parvis and Gary Wise get all Durrr Challengy vs. Patrik Antonius; and podcast newbie Chops joins the fray to break down the Erick Lindgren vs. Dane Cook comedy feud and Mike Matusow’s fiddna to go ballistic on Russ Hamilton.

on PokerRoad

The Poker Beat
Huff, Nemeth, Michalski, Wise, Parvis, Chops, Stapleton
2/19/09

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NOTE: The five guilty in South Carolina just got fines, not jail time.

Just gettin’ ready to go “en studio” to record the next episode of The Poker Beat. This should be a good one … topics open for discussion between me, BJ, Gary, Stapleton, and Parvis (under the Scott Huff whip) will include:

– Russ Hamilton and Layne Flack on RawVegas.tv
– The Bluff Magazine Online Challenge (complete with breaking news about JJ Prodigy; oops, he did it again!)
– Steroids in poker?
– The poker event sponsorship biz
– Vanessa Rousso and Tiffany Michelle baring some but not all

Listen live here.

And feel free to call in and harass at 866.925.8255.

The Poker Beat Podcast
February 12, 2009

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After Raw Vegas’ attempt to interview Russ Hamilton didn’t go so well, Dave Farra called up former FBI agent and expert on non-verbal communication Joe Navarro to give his opinion on the video.

Watch Joe Navarro on Russ Hamilton Video on RawVegas.tv

This is more than just Rumorati … it’s based on actual purported facts and second-hand semi-verified info:

Word is that the IRS has been in direct contact with at least two important and well-informed online pokerers who may or may not have important data on Russ Hamilton and the money stolen via Ultimate Bet. And this is not just some computer in Washington DC sending out form letters — there’s apparently a special agent in Nevada currently investigating the case.

What they’re interested in is 20 million untaxed dollars. And as is starting to get revealed since RawVegas went commando with their cameras, there is clearly more to this case than just an online poker cheating scandal and subsequent tax evasion … there could be some money laundering involved … which is kinda funny (not funny ha ha) because money laundering was one of the primary reasons given for the UIGEA … and now we have an example of how the law to prevent it may indeed have facilitated it.

I don’t know enough about how IRS investigations work to know what kind of teeth this thing really has — but I’d like to think that so long as the Feds keep an eye out for one-way tickets to Costa Rica by any R. Hamilton’s … in the end, one way or another, his fate is not going to be left in the hands of the Kahnawake.

Must-see … via Wicked Chops … the RawVegas red carpet crew gets some face-to-face time with alleged Ultimate Bet supercheater Russ Hamilton (wearing a clubUBT.com visor, interestingly enough) to see what he has to say about being the Bernie Madoff of Poker:

Watch RUSS HAMILTON UltimateBet Super-User Cheating Scandal (Exclusive Video) on RawVegas.tv

Kudos, btw, to the WCP/RV guys for reminding us that old school gotcha journo-ing does have a purpose.

The new episode is a pretty good one … Joe, Gavin, Shronk (via robot voice), a hot girl, and the other guy Ali Nejad haven’t even gotten to the Annie Duke interview that I clicked over to listen to yet … but they’ve kept me thoroughly infotained talking about the Bellagio 5-Diamond blind structure, November Nine TV appearances, and a few poker hands.

Good stuff. Goes well with FoxNews in the background: PokerRoad Radio, with Annie Duke

UPDATE: OK, I listened … and though I’m not sure I cared to know so many details about Annie Duke-Joe Reitman sex, she does answer some questions revealing why she didn’t participate with 60 Minutes (her claims of their falsehoods to lure her into the story seem totally believable to me — media people do say these things — though I do wonder could they have gone with a more regulation-oriented storyline had she or Paul Legget gone on camera), why she is indeed so confident about AP/UB/Cereus’ commitment to running an honorable business, why she remains a loyal face for the brand (it’s not the money), and how she wants to see Russ Hamilton burn in non-Atheist hell.

She also dances around questions about her rumored appearance on the upcoming season of The Apprentice in a way that semi-confirms she has intimate knowledge of a show beginning in March with a finale in May.

Get your votes in for our unscientific declaration of Poohbah of the Year — it won’t be up much longer. For a while there it looked like the presumptively criminal Russ Hamilton was going to run away with the award for most influential poker person of 2008. But Jeffrey Pollack must’ve emailed his friends and family, because now he looks like a lock for the gold medal. Daniel Negreanu, Barney Frank, and None of the Above all still stand a chance at something.

Go polling … Righthand sidebar, kinda near the top.

They report, you decide:

Watch CBS Videos Online

As has been discussed earlier, Mike Sexton, Greg Raymer and Linda Johnson were also interviewed for the story. In this web exclusive, Steve Kroft discusses tells with them, which seems silly to talk about in reference to online poker.

Watch CBS Videos Online

A quick glimpse of what everyone walked into today … and keep scrolling down for what I think, in my unconfirmed opinion, is a serious tell about which two WSOP champions are the most problematic for anyone who gives a shee-ot about poker. (Hint: Russ Hamilton is one of them.)

There’s good happy poker stuff, too. After all, this $32 Million Sit-n-Go is a celebration:

This doesn’t look too different from the Amazon Room.

But on the other side, with the Showgirls and the hottie DJ, you can tell something’s a little different here.

Kelly Kim’s cheering section: “Double Up! Double Up!”

Ivan Demidov’s fans.

Arguably the largest poker crowd in history?

Peter Eastgate’s cheering section. I think “isser ships” means win, or something like that.

Darus Suharto’s peeps.

A long line to get in outside.

It extends quite a ways, as people line up past the gallery of WSOP champions.

Still going … as mentioned, at least one fan with a special player’s guest ticket was trying to scalp it.

More lineage.

More WSOP main event winners.

At first I thought Russ Hamilton’s banner was missing. But then I found it … they put it out of the way, behind the stairs. Duly noted: allegedly steal $15 million from other poker players via the company you run, and your banner will be semi-banished.

But do you recognize who else is hidden behind the stairwell? That’s 1990 champ Mansour Matloubi.

And interestingly enough, not only is he placed out of view and next to Russ Hamilton, but also his year is out of chronological order. I think it’s a tell. Very interesting. He looks really stressed, too. I wonder if anyone else is putting 2+2 together here?

[CORRECTION: Hamilton was the only one blatantly out of order. So maybe not so damning on Matloubi. Still, I'm suspicious.]

For those who recall the sanctions the Kahnawake Gaming Commission gave to Ultimate Bet regarding the “NioNio” superuser scandal, UB was given until Nov. 3rd to start dispensing refunds to affected customers. However, the pending litigation between Blast-Off Ltd and Excapsa Software Inc. as detailed earlier this year on MSNBC.com has not yet been completed although terms of a settlement are nearly complete. Discussion of the settlement can be found over at 2+2. The company handling the liquidation, WSBG Consulting had a hearing Monday on the settlement and it appears that at least $15m more is due to players affected in the scandal. For those wondering why it’s taken so long for this matter to be settled, going through all the documentation on WSBG’s site and of the previous liquidator Mintz and Partners Limited would be a daunting task for anyone with an interest in the case. Expect some sort of state from UB either Tuesday or Wednesday with further details.

Some other information::

The purchase price that Blast-Off Ltd. paid to Excapsa has dropped from $130m to $81.4m.
Russ Hamilton, owner of 4,304,720 shares of Excapsa, had his shares canceled.

UPDATE: Wicked Chops Poker is reporting that Annie Duke may be leaving Ultimate Bet, and also may have won Celebrity Apprentice.

Refuted by Annie on her blog.

UPDATE #2: Wicked Chops also reports that the 60 Minutes piece on AP/UB will NOT air this coming Sunday.

UPDATE #3: Wendeen Eolis in Poker Player Newspaper reports that Mark Seif is leaving Absolute Poker.

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) has released its initial findings in the UltimateBet scandal. There are some jaw-dropping facts in the statement, like the $6.1 million figure that the KGC states has been reimbursed to cheated UB players, which does not include more reimbursements that are to commence on November 3rd. And Russ Hamilton is officially named as the main person responsible for and said to have benefited from the UB scandal.

Interesting to note that the KGC chose to release this statement as the Aruba Poker Classic gets underway…

(Thanks to Kevin Mathers for the heads-up, and MajorWager.com for being the first website to have reprinted the statement in full.)

The entire statement is as follows:

Kahnawa:ke Gaming Commission Imposes Sanctions on Ultimate Bet with Regard to Cheating Incidents

For immediate release

(MOHAWK TERRITORY OF KAHNAWAKE – September 29, 2008) Kahnawa:ke Gaming Commission (”KGC”) Chairman Dean Montour today announced the initial findings of the audit conducted on licensee Ultimate Bet, as well as the sanctions to be imposed.

According to KGC Chairman Montour, the Commission has reviewed the information provided to it over the past months from Frank Catania of Catania Gaming Consultants of New Jersey; Gaming Associates, an Australian game testing company; and the permit holder. Chairman Montour said, “The Commissioners have made several findings of fact with regard to the cheating that occurred on the Ultimate Bet web site that included the identification of some of the individuals responsible for these incidents as well other significant violations of the Kahnawa:ke Interactive Gaming Regulations.”

The Commission found clear and convincing evidence to support the conclusion that between the approximate dates of May 2004 to January 2008, Russell Hamilton, an individual associated with Ultimate Bet’s affiliate program, was the main person responsible for and benefiting from the multiple cheating incidents. Furthermore, the KGC is currently in contact with the appropriate law enforcement agencies and intends to fully cooperate in the prosecution of all individuals involved in the UB cheating incidents.

Mr. Catania states, “My intention is to provide further information as it is uncovered, although the information already submitted to the KGC relating to Ultimate Bet warrants the KGC taking the actions it has today. Any further evidence uncovered with regard to cheating, withholding or destroying records in our continuing investigation will be reported to the KGC and the proper agency for appropriate action.”

As a result of the KGC’s findings of fact, the Commission called a special meeting, at which time it was unanimously decided to impose the following sanctions against Ultimate Bet:

1. Ultimate Bet is directed that by November 3, 2008 it shall, under the close supervision of the KGC, its employees and agents, commence refunding all players accounts found to have been adversely affected by the cheating of individuals under the control and supervision of the licensee. It is estimated that Ultimate Bet has to date reimbursed $6.1 million USD to players’ accounts found to have been adversely impacted by the cheating activity

2. Ultimate Bet is directed that by November 3, 2008 it is to remove any and all persons deemed as “unsuitable” by the KGC from all involvement with the company, which shall include all levels of ownership, management and operation. Ultimate Bet during that time period until November 3, 2008 is required to continue to provide complete details of all day-to-day operations of the company. These shall include financial as well as daily gaming records to Frank Catania and or his assigns. It is anticipated that this action will provide full disclosure and prevent any further improprieties or wrongdoing from occurring while ensuring that the public is being offered fair and honest games and all player monies will be protected.

3. Ultimate Bet’s control system as defined in section 9 of the Kahnawa:ke Interactive Gaming Regulations has been modified to prevent any further incidents of cheating or related improprieties.

4. Ultimate Bet will not delete or modify any logs including but not limited to web logs and game logs as required by the Kahnawa:ke Interactive Gaming Regulations and will continue to have those logs immediately available for inspection by the KGC or its agents.

5. Ultimate Bet shall immediately pay a fine of $1.5 Million USD to the KGC for its failure to implement and enforce measures to prohibit and detect fraudulent activities.

6. Ultimate Bet’s failure to comply fully with these measures will result in the immediate revocation of its KGC gaming permit.

For those that have forgotten, an article today on msnbc.com brings up the scandal yet again. Mike Brunker ties in a $80m (Canadian) claim against the former owner of UB –Excapsa Software Inc. of Toronto by Blast-Off Ltd. of Malta (the current UB owner).

It goes over the details of the two scandals, including mentions of NioNio, Russ Hamilton’s alleged involvement, 2+2 posters help in breaking the scandal, among other items, definitely worth reading.

As noted in the original post, I recently interviewed Tokwiro Enterprises Chief Operating Officer Paul Leggett about a number of issues the recent UltimateBet and Absolute Poker scandals.

The interview transcript has been broken up into three parts and posted on PokerWorks. Part 1 focuses on Tokwiro’s purchase of AP and UB, and how any inkling of impropriety could be missed in the due diligence phase.

Part 2 delves deeper into the investigations – the internal UB one concluded by Tokwiro itself, the ongoing UB investigation by Gaming Associates, and the “surprise” assignment of Frank Catania to audit Tokwiro as a company. Leggett also discusses the reasons for the reimbursement process lag time, whether or not Russ Hamilton was involved in the cheating, and the roles of Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke in it all.

In Part 3 I gave Leggett a chance to discuss what has been done at UB to rectify the problem and improve security going forward, and why customers should have confidence in UB and AP.

I feel that Leggett was as forthcoming as he was allowed to be, considering the restrictions inherent in the pursuit of legal action. He helped dispel some myths and rumors, though his inability to discuss Hamilton’s alleged involvement or any evidence in the case keeps interested parties in limbo for awhile longer. However, he helped put somewhat of a timeline on information he hopes will be released to the public, and he provided some details about how Tokwiro has tried to overcome the scandals, close security gaps, and regain the trust of the poker public.

Some might say that I’ve been a raving lunatic somewhat vocal about my frustrations with the AP and UB scandals. This is true, and thus I attempted to contact UltimateBet once again in July for answers to some of my questions. To my surprise, I was contacted by the Vice President of PR at Tokwiro Enterprises, UB’s parent company, who said she would respond to my inquiries. After two weeks of no such thing, I was on the verge of writing another rant/post here sending a polite follow-up when I received an e-mail asking if I’d like to speak with the Chief Operating Officer of Tokwiro, Paul Leggett. Ummm, yes, please.

I conducted the interview on Friday, Aug. 8, via telephone, and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised at Mr. Leggett’s willingness to answer my questions as he was able and be as honest as the corporate attorneys would allow. He has been reaching out to other media outlets lately, having done guest appearances on 2+2 and Pocket 5 podcasts, and I was happy to finally have a door opened and someone coming out to answer questions.

The full interview has been submitted to PokerWorks in a three-part series due to the length of the transcribed interview. The first article is up now, and the others will be posted in subsequent days.

Highlights of the interview included dispelling myths and rumors, speaking of the utmost confidence that the perpetrator(s) will be caught and prosecuted, and giving details about new security procedures and systems to prevent future improprieties.

A few excerpts:

In response to a question about how two companies, AP and UB, could be purchased without any knowledge of cheating going on at the highest levels:

“There definitely was due diligence done at the time of purchase… but this is a very large platform that we purchased. Unfortunately, during this due diligence process, we simply did not discover the code that was put on there…”

More…

The official announcement came on July 29, but the post has been delayed as I decided how or if to mention it.

After Tiffany Michelle’s impressive run in the 2008 WSOP main event and 17th place finish, she has been offered a sponsorship deal by UltimateBet. She is now part of the site’s roster of pros, which includes Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy, and James “POKERPRO33” Campbell.

For Tiffany’s poker career, this may seem like a positive step, as she will be able to play more poker – live and online, cash games and tournaments. She will have an income regardless of her poker results, which will do well to make up for the lack of future income from PokerNews. After having previously defended her decision to wear the UB patch on PokerRoad Radio because she felt that the site treated her well during the main event, this announcement came as no surprise.

Even so, the Tiffany Michelle/UB partnership did come as a disappointment to many.
More…

UltimateBet has been dancing around this superuser/cheating scandal for more than six months. Everything was delayed – acknowledgment of the allegations, investigation updates and results, and developments like the alleged ties of Russ Hamilton to the scandal.

Annie Duke has become the spokesperson for UB, and she has had to conduct interviews and give politically correct answers to questions for months as UB has come under fire from every direction. While she is attempting to be the face of UB, as Phil Hellmuth clearly dodges the issue and avoids speaking publicly about it, the company itself is allowing Duke to do what its Public Relations Department – or ownership, for that matter – should be doing. Enough is enough.

Listening to a PokerRoad Radio episode from last week (dated 7/16/08), it became clear that Russ Hamilton will not be defending himself or issuing statements on the UB scandal or his alleged involvement in it. (The discussion of the issue begins approximately 30 minutes into the show.) Hamilton declined the opportunity to speak on the show and clear his name upon the advice of his attorney, though he invited Barry Greenstein and Joe Sebok to visit his home and discuss the issue privately. However, Hamilton’s attorney was there, too, and would not allow Hamilton to address the UB accounts supposedly connected to Hamilton. Greenstein and Sebok insisted that they were not taking sides but felt that Hamilton was genuine in his claims of innocence. Hamilton wanted people to know that when the investigation is complete, names will come out but his will not be one of them. And his attorney wanted to tell people, “Can’t you just wait a couple months?”

No. The poker community has been forced to wait long enough. It is time for answers. Not only does Hamilton need to come clean with any information he is privy to, but Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth need to do the same. A source tells me that Duke and Hellmuth were aware that Hamilton was implicated in this scandal well before Nat Arem posted his personal investigatory findings. Russ Hamilton cannot seem to defend himself, so UB seems content to let his reputation be scarred forever – while claiming innocence from behind closed doors – while the investigation goes on…and on…and on. And UB seems to operate under the notion that no news is good news, and the less information that comes out officially, the better. Transparency seems to be a pipe dream as the story gets murkier by the day.

C’mon, UltimateBet. If there is actually a team of investigators on this issue, it shouldn’t take months to find answers. Your reputation in this industry is crumbling before your eyes, and as part of the poker community, you must step up to the plate and put your not-so-secret hole cards on the table. Show us some respect if you ever hope to get any in return.

(The opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily represent those of Pokerati. They are the sole ravings of a frustrated journalist.)

The UltimateBet Superuser scandal has taken a giant leap into the depths of criminal behavior. If anyone thought the May 29th statement was the end of it, sorry to burst your faith in integrity and good, um, faith.

Nat Arem, the rogue investigator who blew the top off the Absolute Poker scandal, has stepped in to assist with the UB investigation that never seems to end. And the most recent post on his blog, dated today, links some of the superuser accounts on UB to one of the site’s former owners, Russ Hamilton. Yep, that’s 1994 WSOP main event champion, Russ Hamilton. Supposedly, he no longer has a stake in the company, but there are conflicting reports as to his current involvement in UB business.

Here’s a brief excerpt from Arem’s blog:

But it showed that the registered address of at least some of the super user accounts belonged to Russ Hamilton, the former owner of UB.

I basically felt sick to my stomach. I talked to Russ on the phone a few times in the fall — brsavage got me in touch with him. We talked about how disgusting it was that this happened at AP. Russ expressed a strong opinion that he was going to do whatever it took to get things right and, at the time, I believed him that he was going to fight to get things at AP right. He even got me in touch with the guys at AP so I could go down there and meet with them on behalf of PokerNews and the community as a whole. This guy RAILED against the people at AP who were superusing.