They report, you decide:
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.
OK, I just read Part 1 of the Washington Post story by Gilbert Gaul on cheating at Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet. I thought it was great and on target and technically correct to the letter when discussing legal matters. I learned a bunch of stuff I didn’t know, too.
Two-and-a-half specific things caught my eye:
(The name of the alleged cheater has circulated widely among poker players on the Internet. The Post is not publishing his name because, even though he purportedly confessed to AbsolutePoker, the company did not release its records and would not discuss the matter. The alleged cheater declined requests to be interviewed.)
Maybe I just haven’t been following it close enough on the forums, but I’m wondering whom they’re referring to here.
The story also doesn’t reference the new formation of Cereus, after acknowledging that UB would likely lose its license and be out of business soon. Hmmm. But that’s really new, and this story was possibly put to bed a few weeks ago?
The other thing is the last graf:
The Kahnawake now say they operate one of the most secure Internet gambling operations in the world. Tokwiro says it has “established cutting-edge security systems that make us the safest site in the industry.” But Catania said he does not expect cheating to stop: “I’m sure there are people out there right now figuring out, let’s say, ‘Here’s a way we can do it again.’
Yikes, that last sentence leaves it open-ended as to how part two of the story will fall when it comes to legalization efforts.
I really like poker’s chances (because I sincerely believe despite our internal battles with shadiness, our industry is on the right side of legal issues here) … and from what I’ve learned in my rookie dabblings in poker (and strip-club) politics, the treatment this story is getting in Washington DC — a big investigative feature spread out over two days with lots of informative sidebars — now guarantees (I’m like 86 percent sure) that our issue is on the 2009 political agenda. I’m not totally comfortable yet, of course. Current feeling in my gut is comparable to waiting for the river when all-in against an 8- or 9-outer. A little unsettling. But hey, that’s what we came here for, right?
In addition to the story itself, the WP’s got a bunch of goodies for those who want to dig deeper, or just check their work:
So there you have it. It would hard to expect anything more thorough. Kudos to “special correspondent Gary Wise“, too, for playing poker-biz fixer for the WP investigative team turning over rocks.
Part 1 of the WaPo investigative report
They’re running the story over 2 days, Sunday covers the AP/UB situation. Monday asks the question: Should Internet Gambling Be Legal?
The Reporters Notebook by Gilbert M. Gaul helps answer the question as to how the Kahnawake Nation became a leader in online gambling.
Back in May, Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy joined Team UB to much fanfare. A few minutes ago, he posted on 2+2 this message:
Just wanted you guys to know that you will no longer see me as a redlined pro in their lobbies, nor will you see me wearing their patches at live events any more.
That is all for now,
Bax
More updates when available, in the meantime Bax still appears as a pro bounty on their site.
Update: Bax’s staking partner Eric “Sheets” Haber added the following in the 2+2 thread:
The reason why Bax is no longer a UB pro is simply because UB renegged on its deal with him.
I was there for the phone conversation and can attest that this is the case.
They called him and openly renegged on their agreement without explanation and should be ashamed for doing so imo.
Ultimate Bet reneging on a promise? Say it isn’t so!
Dan Druff over at Neverwin breaks down the Paul Leggett memo in a way that might make some think the AP/UB scandal is still going on, or at least a cover-up is:
* Tokwiro agreed not to prosecute the perpetrator in the Absolute Poker cheating, and to protect that individual’s identity, because this was the only way to ensure that the ability to cheat was fully discovered and disabled. Because of this decision, AP could continue operating and begin to reimburse affected players as quickly as possible.
Pretty sweet deal for the guy, huh? Wouldn’t you like to work for a company that will agree not to prosecute you for stealing millions from them, provided that you just show them how you did it, if caught? There is zero chance that this is true. It would have been easy for them to deconstruct this after-the-fact without this asshole’s help. Obviously they are protecting him either due to continued association/affiliation (likely), fear that he will spill the beans on everyone and everything else there (also likely), or both (most likely).
Must-read for anyone who wants to understand what all the hubbub is about.
While most of the poker community will anxiously be awaiting the 60 Minutes piece on the Absolute Poker/Ultimate Bet incidents at around 7pm ET Sunday; the Washington Post, who were investigating the story along with CBS News, will have their own story available in their Sunday edition. Their piece, which will also be found on their website, may be a better indicator as to how the 60 Minutes story will be covered later that night. Also, it’s figured that the Washington Post won’t be as limited in trying to tell the complete story, since 60 Minutes has to try and explain the situation along with discussing the legality of online gambling in a 12-15 minute piece. . There will also be an online chat on Monday with WaPo investigative reporter Gilbert M. Gaul and Serge Ravitch, an online player who was also involved in the investigation.
Nat Arem sure has sources. He recently received a forward of an inter-company memo from Tokwiro Enterprises COO Paul Leggett regarding the upcoming 60 Minutes story. Leggett has reason to believe that there will be a bias against Tokwiro and its companies, going further to say that online poker will emerge with a bad reputation. Thus, they did not appear on camera for interviews. (A little like saying that the jury has a bias, the judge is going to declare me guilty, so why defend myself?)
Leggett wrote:
“We have every reason to believe that the 60 Minutes producers are intent on portraying the online poker industry and our companies in a negative light, and we do not expect that the program will be either fair or balanced.
Because of 60 Minutes’ apparent bias against Tokwiro and online poker, we have decided not to appear on camera. We have, however, had many conversations with the program’s producers. We provided them with extensive background materials and documents, and we answered questions on-the-record, but off-camera. Despite all this, it is not likely that our views will be properly represented. Therefore, it is important that all of our staff know the following facts about our company:”
The remainder of the memo states some facts about Tokwiro Enterprises and the cheating scandals, most of which were released to the public in UltimateBet, Absolute Poker, or Kahnawake Gaming Commission press releases or statements.
The tone of the memo and words chosen by Leggett indicate that the 60 Minutes piece could portray online poker in a bad light. In fact, what Leggett fears is that Tokwiro and its online poker entities will look bad. Well, that is entirely possible because the way in which the scandals were handled was bad, and if that comes out in the reporting, who is really at fault, especially when the company in question refuses to go on camera with a statement and show otherwise? And in truth, what is said about AP, UB, and Tokwiro really doesn’t reflect on the entire online poker world, and there still remains some hope that the reporters for 60 Minutes and the Washington Post will make that clear distinction.
The day that UB and AP finally merge to create the Cereus Poker Network, comes this from the 60 Minutes section of CBSnews.com:
THE CHEATERS - 60 MINUTES and The Washington Post reveal how online poker players suspecting cheating were forced to successfully ferret out the cheaters themselves. That’s because managers of the mostly-unregulated $18 billion Internet gambling industry failed to respond to their complaints. Steve Kroft and The Washington Post’s Gilbert Gaul report. Ira Rosen is the producer.
It’ll be the first story on this coming Sunday’s 60 Minutes broadcast, and should be available online by Monday morning.
Reminded via a Tiffany Michelle MySpace status update — “Excited about the Cereus launch this week!”:
The player pools, tables, tourneys, etc. from Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet magically merge today.
Trying to keep an open mind … because theoretically it is possible that the combination of two sites caught in the biggest cheating scandals in the nascent history of the online poker industry — having learned painful lessons firsthand — could become a paragon of integrity and security, a model for fully legal American online poker in the future.
But I just can’t help to think back to the Dallas underground … when a saturated market had rooms and games beginning to merge, two shady operators joining forces seldom led to anything good (save for some pretty juicy opening-weekend tourneys).
That’s my bias, I suppose … but with that in the back of my mind, I can’t help but think of how one of these sites seemed rotten at the core (with the exception of Mark Seif, I’ve yet to hear any former employee say anything good about Absolute), and the other … well, sure, they’ve changed management and have plenty of good peeps working for them (Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, Mean Gene, et al.) … but the top of the pyramid hasn’t really changed as far as we can tell. And with all due respect to those who are just trying to throw good poker times … the mysterious, closely-guarded nature of Tokwiro+Kahnawake+UB+Chief Joe operating on the protected lands of the Mohawk Nation (with offices in Costa Rica) … that’s the definition of shady! Sorry, it just is.
Still, with $22 million in refunds, the action’s gotta be good.
If there seems to be a little more action than usual on Ultimate Bet these days, it’s because a lot of players have been given new cash with the promise “this time we won’t cheat you out of it.” Donkey Bomber got a rebate of about $1,400 — see, Tom, the economy is already looking up, as you just got back what you lost to me on the presidential election — which showed up unexpectedly in his account along with an email with a bunch of legal documents attached. That’s small potatoes compared to the couple hundred-k that Josh Arieh supposedly got refunded.
(If you were someone who unknowingly lost money to the cheating, wouldn’t you love to study the replays of the hands where your action seemed to go bizarrely awry?)
Further reports say at least one of the above-mentioned refundees has been playing with it, and winning a lot. Considering that most new players on UB clearly haven’t done some basic searching on the internet, it’s plausible that the games here are particularly soft these days.
I really wanna believe what Annie Duke says about the fantastic security now in play at UB … and heck, beyond playing there, might Pokerati actually be able to make some affiliate bucks off any pimpage? For now, of course, all we’ve got to go on giving necessary reassurances is an AP/UB infomercial explaining it all that has since been taken down once people actually started to see it.
It’s not quite 60 Minutes … in fact, it’s closer to 73 minutes. Absolute Poker/Ultimate Bet honcho Paul Leggett speaks with the CBC’s (Canadian Broadcast Company) Susan Reisler for an extremely detailed and stoic Q&A. I can tell you I’m very suspicious. This looks like an infomercial to me. (The apparent title of the show is simply “Poker” — I wasn’t aware of that investigative journalism news program.) Though she gets into all the controversial issues — and even the inbred nature of AP/UB/Tokwiro/Norton/Kahnawake — there’s no follow-up to anything that might sound peculiar (like the inbred nature of AP/UB/Tokwiro/Norton/Kahnawake) … she just allows him to state the facts and timelines, as if he were giving a legal deposition under questioning from his own attorney.
CONFIRMED: This is indeed a production by Tokwiro Enterprises, aka AP/UB. Anyone wanna wager on how many attorneys were standing off-camera to keep all commentary in legal line?
Sorry if I sound cynical. Really, it’s an admirable effort from Paul Leggett, the guy Annie Duke stands so strongly behind. Via the mock news program format, he addresses just about any question any of us have had about the whole Black Sox of Poker sitch. Kudos to you, Mr. Leggett, seriously, and thanks for finally coming forward with so much candid info. Personally, I’m starting to see your point of view on all this … and there were only a few questions where your answers made me wonder why Ms. Reisler didn’t follow up with: “But don’t you think that sounds fucked up?”
Click here for the entire 9-part library … bonus points if you can find the point where Leggett says “We were the victim here.”
Also check out the vid below, where Annie Duke speaks her mind on why she’s so loyal and has so much faith in AP/UB security … right down to algorithms and dealing with bots … and be sure to watch 4 minutes and 10 seconds in, where Reisler does her 60 Minutes style wrap-up: Everything is safe and secure, and Russell Hamilton is the Ultimate Bad Guy — he’s not part of Tokwiro and is in really big trouble if they can ever get their hands on him.
[Cue neoclassical new-age healing music.]
NOTE: KafkaCR? That’s the new YouTube video uploader’s name … OK, the CR is for Costa Rica … but Kafka? The Jewish-Bohemian novelist who, according to Wikipedia, wrote about “troubled individuals in a nightmarishly impersonal and bureaucratic world”?
Oh, wait … I get it … Metamorphisis! Very clever project name, whether intentional or not.
A press release was just received from Tokwiro Enterprises, noting that a settlement was reached between Excapsa Software (previous owner of UltimateBet) and Tokwiro Enterprises (current owner of UB) for $15 million. The amount is the same as what was still owed to players who were cheated in the UB scandal, as determined by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission in its decision on the case, and those players have now received their refunds.
COURT APPROVES $15 MILLION SETTLEMENT OF TOKWIRO CLAIMS AGAINST EXCAPSA SOFTWARE
Tokwiro Claimed Damages As A Result of UltimateBet Cheating Scandal
Refunds To Affected Players Completed MONTREAL (NOVEMBER 5, 2008) — Tokwiro Enterprises, ENRG (”Tokwiro”), the owner of AbsolutePoker and UltimateBet, today confirmed the settlement of its claims against Excapsa Software, the previous owner of UltimateBet. The Honorable Madame Justice Sarah E. Pepall of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice endorsed the settlement on November 3, 2008. Under the terms of the agreement, Excapsa will pay US$15 million to Blast-Off Ltd., the Tokwiro-controlled company that originally acquired UltimateBet. This payment will be used immediately to refund players who were affected by the cheating scandal that Tokwiro inherited when it purchased the business from Excapsa.
Paul Leggett, Tokwiro’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “We are pleased that we have finally agreed to a settlement with the previous owners of UltimateBet, and we are happy to announce the completion of the final refunds to players. Together with our regulatory body, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, we have fought long and hard to hold those responsible accountable for the fraud, to refund players, and to ensure this can never happen again. Now that the main perpetrator has been named, the settlement with the previous owners is behind us, and players have received refunds, it should now be apparent that Tokwiro had no involvement in this cheating and that we have fought to correct it with every tool at our disposal.
“We continue to reserve the right to pursue further legal action against any individual or individuals involved in stealing from us or our customers. With this settlement, however, our claims against Excapsa are satisfied, and all player refunds will be completed. This brings us significantly forward in our search for justice in the aftermath of the cheating scandal,” concluded Mr. Leggett.
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.
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.
Tiffany Michelle was the subject of much controversy over the summer when she signed a WSOP main event sponsorship deal with UltimateBet and incurred the wrath of Tony G and PokerNews in the process. There were several sides to that story, which consisted of a response from Tiffany and a personal account/semi-truce from Tony G.
Less than a month later, Tiffany signed a longer-term deal with UB. That spurred some talk within the poker community, but she is in the news again, this time as a result of her actions at the WSOP main event as chronicled by ESPN. The most talked-about incident involved her calling the clock on an opponent, during a hand of which she was not a part, and the criticism she received from Craig Marquis. If you haven’t seen it, here ya go, with the hand in question at the beginning of the video:
Evidently, Tiffany received some not-so-cutesy messages from people after the show aired, and she responded with a post on her website, MySpace, and 2+2. In essence, she blamed television editing, the fact that she’s a female, and the non-understanding people have of her and her poker game for the hubbub. To see the entire message, as posted on her website, click here.
In response to the post on 2+2 by Tiffany of the above-mentioned message, Craig Marquis called her disrespectful and rude. To see his short and not-sweet forum comment, click here.
Another perspective on Tiffany’s general demeanor at the WSOP main event was posted by F-Train, wherein he called her self-impressed and noted that as a tournament reporter, he was not a fan. For the post, click here.
The Poker King also had a few things to say about Tiffany by calling her out for general bad behavior and opining that her hype-train is now nothing more than smoldering wreckage. The entire opinion post can be found by clicking here.
While this is certainly not the biggest of controversies to hit the poker community, it has several interesting sides to it.
I was shoring up on some fundamentals just last night, re-watching Phil Hellmuth’s Million Dollar Online Poker Secrets. This whole video series is pretty funny now, because it was recorded in 2004, in the early days of the poker boom (when online sites were making a whopping $100k a day!) … and you see a much younger PokerBrat not being too bratty to the folks who shelled out $25 or so for his winning wisdom.
Anyhow, it was really just background music here at Pokerati headquarters until I came across the chapter about “Online Cheating”. Though this vid was not a UB pimp-fest (Full Tilt had just started to pioneer the concept of logoing up the pros), it’s clear by references to his play at Ultimate Bet (in other chapters) that whatever relationship he has/had with the site was starting to take shape … which makes the comments below all the more funny/ironic:
“As far as the sites being crooked or not, no,” he says. “It just drives me crazy when I see a lot of people complaining about being cheated. I just shake my head and say, ‘I’d like to see their hand histories.’”
Be careful what you wish for, no?
Interestingly, his advice for if you do think you are being cheated … simply leave the table and go somewhere else. “Click out of that game and click into the one right next door.” Fair enough, which is why I hope he understands why some of us still have a hard time recommending the site he represents.
NOTE: I finished up $68 on PokerStars while watching this. Thanks, Phil!
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.
While the poker community focuses a great deal of attention on the Kentucky governor’s attempt at censorship and the potential for Rep. Barney Frank to do something with H.R. 6870 after it recently passed in the House Financial Services Committee, there are a few other poker news nuggets to pass on.
~Without so much as a press release to announce it, it seems that UltimateBet has signed Michael Binger as one of its newest team members. Oh, Michael, you too? Adam Levy has also joined the team, again with no official notice from the UB staff. The news came via Mean Gene’s UB Aruba blog and a picture posted from the welcome party.
~Short-Stacked Shamus gave his take on the recent issue of CardPlayer magazine in which Jeff Shulman said that CP was unaware of Scotty Nguyen’s unsportsmanlike behavior at the 2008 WSOP $50K HORSE event because of restricted media access at the final table. Disingenuous was the word over at Hard-Boiled Poker.
~It seems that the Eastern Europeans love them some internet gambling, and no recession will get in their way. A researcher with Global Betting and Gaming Consultants shows that a steady increase will continue because of favorable broadband and law changes, not to mention the Eastern Europeans’ “propensity to gamble.”
~Evidently, Senator John McCain likes him some gambling, specifically high-limit craps. How negative EV… The New York Times has looked into McCain’s ties to Indian gaming, and the gaming industry in general, and dug up some interesting info about lobbyists and McCain’s connections to them.
~The more I hear about WSOP “November Nine” chipleader Dennis Phillips, the more he seems like a great guy whose inner philanthropist has been able to shine with his $900K take-home money and potential for the $9.1 million first prize. In this episode of PokerRoad Radio released during the Borgata Poker Classic earlier this month, the guys sat down with Phillips and coach Roy Winston (huh?) where he explains that decision and his future plans.
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…”
The readers have spoken … and 42 percent of you are so damn principled that you wouldn’t even consider accepting tournament buy-ins from Ultimate Bet or Absolute, while 22 percent have a more mercenary attitude and/or have forgiven UB/AP. 18 percent of us aren’t sure, 12 percent have become so cynical that what’s the point of trying to lead a good life, and 6 percent are saying random shit that makes them kinda unclassifiable. So there you have it.
There’s a new poll up (on the right) where I’m curious … with our current knowledge of the poker world, business developments, main-event final-table hype in action, the state of poker on TV, political wildcards, and, of course, intangibles … how big do you expect the main event in the 2009 WSOP to be?
With all the attention on the UB/Absolute scandal today, I thought I’d offer some perspective on non-poker scandals. And since poker is a “sport” …
Sports Illustrated/CNN have compiled a photo gallery representing the 13 biggest “Gambling Scandals in Sports.” (No, UB and Absolute didn’t make the list.)
The scandals date from the Black Sox of 1919 (when the Chicago White Sox famously threw the World Series) to the NBA referee (Tim Donaghy) who pleaded guilty to accepting money from a gambler. Basketball was the most offending sport, with six of the 13 spots on the list (46%). Boston College has the dubious honor of being listed twice (for basketball in the late ’70s and football in the mid ’90s).
The last item on the list (which appears to be in no particular order) is about former NHL player Rick Tocchet, who has played in a major poker tournament or two.
Check out the full list here. (Keep in mind that this list only includes gambling scandals, and not cheating scandals in general.)
I find it interesting that while individual players must live with the consequences for decades (Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, etc.), the organizations that allowed such cheating to take place usually pay only a short-term penalty before returning to full respectability.
It’s not a perfect parallel to the UB/Absolute scandal, but I think it’s relevant. It’s possible that after a few years, this scandal may be nothing more than a footnote to those two companies. What do you think?
If you find sports scandals boring, you can always check out SI’s second-most popular gallery (at the moment): “The Best 1980s Swimsuits,” with a vintage Christie Brinkley SI cover in the leadoff spot. In middle school, I claimed that my initials stood for “Billy Joel,” and he was my uncle. He married Christie later that year, and my popularity soared. Wait … swimsuit photos? Am I blogging for Pokerati or Wicked Chops?
Justin Shronk is also disappointed in Tiffany Michelle’s decision to sign with UB, and he made no bones about his feelings in an open, thoughtful letter to her on the PokerRoad website. In his Pokerazzi column dated today, he notes that he wants the best for his friend but believes this sponsorship deal is not it, and he hopes she goes the way of Eric “Rizen” Lynch and detaches herself from the UB brand.
Shronk’s letter in full is reprinted here:
BACKGROUND: I worked with Tiffany Michelle as Multimedia Manager for PokerNews from February to October of ‘07. Tiffany was our first on-camera hostess at the LAPC in February ‘07 and we worked together everyday at the ‘07 WSOP. I still consider her a good friend and respected colleague.
Tiff,
As is everyone that knows you, I’m really proud of what you did in the recent WSOP Main Event – and not just for placing 17th, someone does that every year. I took genuine joy in watching the poise with which you handled yourself every single day of the tournament. Maybe it was the lack of testosterone, or maybe it was your experience in front of cameras and crowds, but it’s not often you see a first-timer displaying more class than a lot of the players who’ve been there before.
That being said, as proud and happy as I’ve been for you, I’ve been equally disappointed with some of your choices – namely your association with Ultimate Bet. At this point, no one needs the details of the cheating scandal spelled out, and you probably know more about it than I do. This letter isn’t meant as an indictment of Ultimate Bet as a company – for that you can read the news releases or forums. Ultimate Bet is presumably now as clean as any other site, but it’s the past behavior of their owners that makes your decision such a terrible one. The current owners of Ultimate Bet are accused of dishonest and borderline criminal activity – and by representing the site you’re helping these same people make money.
I meant to put this picture up (or at least its predecessor) about 10 months ago to make fun of Tom, who was being told, sorry, there just aren’t any sponsorship deals out there for fat, balding middle-aged white American pros. So either someone was lying to Tom and/or he’s simply no Shawn Rice, because clearly Ultimate Bet wasn’t shying away from a certain marketably questionable ilk. Anyhow, the guys pictured here are the colonels in the “UB Army” Tiffany Michelle just joined. They are all supposedly really nice guys and seem happy to help market Ultimate Bet in exchange for buy-ins and free hats. Is that so bad?
In fact, I had forgotten … they even added another bald white guy to their mix recently — Scott Ian, the guitarist for Anthrax! Dude, Anthrax rocks! The guy Ian replaced in the pic (via Photoshop, apparently) was Jim Worth (aka KrazyKanuck). Not sure if Worth left the team on his own accord/principles, a la Eric Lynch (Rizen) or if he just couldn’t keep up with the “gripping lifestyles” (UB’s phrase, not mine) of Rice, Mark Kroon (P0kerH0), and Gary DeBernardi (Debo34). But regardless, you’ll notice Ian isn’t wearing any Ultimate Bet logotry in this official UB pic, but he is proudly displaying a Satanic pentagram from what we can only assume was a previous long-term patch deal with the devil.
I really don’t know where I stand on this — especially without knowing the backing details and long-term intangibles — nor whether or not it’s even my position to have a stance when I think just about everyone is stupid, lame, and corrupt for working for The Man!. So I have put it to the readers … new unscientific poll on the right, asking how you would handle a potential business relationship with and de facto endorsement of an ethically challenged poker enterprise.
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…
BJ’s had a hearty welcome to the Pokerati team, and I haven’t done any posts in a while, so here’s a few recent stories making news, while I’m wondering what Darus Suharto’s doing right now…
The last woman standing at this year’s WSOP Main Event, Tiffany Michelle, officially becomes part of Team UB.
For those of you waiting for checks from Bodog, you may be waiting even longer for that money now that the Fed has taken $24 million of the site’s money.
Speaking of the government, four pro-UIGEA Representatives ask the Federal Reserve and US Treasury for clarification as to what is”illegal Internet gambling”
The FSN/WPT alliance gets a bit stronger in September, with a TV series tied into the WPT’s subscription based site ClubWPT.com
Despite the fact that things are finally happening and some progress is being shown with regards to the UltimateBet investigation, it seems that everyone involved wants to suddenly be a part of bringing the scandal to some sort of resolution. After six months of acknowledging and investigating and hoping it goes away, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, Gaming Associates, Frank Catania, Tokwiro Enterprises, and UB all care deeply about getting this done.
Funny how when a third party is brought in to investigate Tokwiro Enterprises, owner of UltimateBet and Absolute Poker, Tokwiro suddenly concludes its own UB investigation days later. Wait, Tokwiro was investigating its own company’s scandal? Sounds a little like the U.S. Government…but I won’t get into that here.
In a statement published on the UB website, Tokwiro comes to the surprising conclusion that it had no part in the cheating that took place on UB prior to the purchase of the company. It notes that there were 19 accounts and 88 usernames associated with the “complex web of player-to-player transfers and withdrawals” that took place to scam real players on the site, and refunds to cheated players are in the process of being determined and issued. All results of the investigation have reportedly been turned over to the KGC.
Here is the statement in full:
MONTREAL, CANADA - (July 25, 2008) - Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG (”Tokwiro”), proprietors of UltimateBet.com (”UB”), one of the ten largest on-line poker cardrooms, today announced that it has concluded the investigation into allegations of unfair play on UB’s web site.
Tokwiro has compiled complete forensic evidence including the IP addresses, devices, transfer and withdrawal histories, and names associated with the player accounts that benefited from illicitly viewing hole card information. The results of Tokwiro’s internal investigation have been turned over to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) and its auditors, as that regulatory body continues its independent investigation. These results are in addition to the data which Tokwiro has already shared with the KGC.
Tokwiro has identified a total of 19 accounts and 88 associated usernames that were involved in the cheating, including the accounts that were named in Tokwiro’s publicly posted investigation updates of May 29, 2008 and July 8, 2008. The same perpetrators that were previously identified controlled all of these usernames. There are no new perpetrators involved, only new usernames. Usernames were changed many times over the course of the cheating scam in an apparent scheme to avoid detection. Our complete list of usernames involved in the cheating scheme has now been turned over to the KGC, and the Company does not expect to uncover any additional usernames.
Paul Leggett, Tokwiro’s Chief Operating Officer, said, “Make no mistake: our management team is outraged that this cheating occurred on our site through illicit software placed on the UB servers prior to our purchasing UltimateBet. Tokwiro is aggressively pursuing legal avenues of redress in order to protect and compensate our players and the business. Rest assured that we will release more information to the poker community and to the public at large as we enforce our and our players’ rights.”
“With respect to refunds to the affected players, we are continuing our analysis in order to determine the refund amounts. We will move forward with another round of refunds in the weeks ahead. We thank the poker community for its invaluable contributions to this investigation and assure it that we remain committed to fully investigating any claims of fraud on our site,” Mr. Leggett said.
The investigation revealed that the perpetrators logged into the client software, using an account that had the ability to view hole cards. The ability of a specific account to view hole cards was enabled by illicit software that was placed on the UltimateBet servers prior to October 2006, which was before Tokwiro acquired the business.
The account that was used to view hole cards never actually played in a game. Instead, the perpetrators used hole card information gained from logging in with this account while playing on other accounts, which thereby benefited from the cheating. The money won by the accounts that received hole card information was then moved around and off the site in a complex web of player-to-player transfers and withdrawals. This contributed to the complexity of Tokwiro’s efforts to uncover the truth.
Mr. Leggett concluded: “We cannot over-emphasize the fact that Tokwiro and its entire management team had no knowledge of the illicit software until it was revealed by our investigation; and no one associated with Tokwiro was involved in the cheating scheme at any point.”
Oooooh, somebody might be in trooooouble! Or this could be a necessary step to ensure that the CEREUS network will have no problems. Either way, the situation is getting dicier.
Less than a week after the Kahnawake Gaming Commission finally stepped into the UltimateBet fray and noted that it’s hoping to have a final decision released in the coming days, the KGC has released another statement. This one is interesting in that it details the beginning of a new and separate investigation, this one into Tokwiro Enterprises, the parent company of UltimateBet and Absolute Poker. The most noteworthy aspect of this situation is that Tokwiro Enterprises is owned by Joe Norton, former Grand Chief of Kahnawake. Yep. Take that and put in in your pocket.
The details of the independent investigation being launched is in the full copy of the statement below:
Mohawk Territory of Kahnawa:ke
July 27, 2008KAHNAWA:KE GAMING COMMISSION APPOINTS INDEPENDENT MONITORING-INVESTIGATION TEAM
Effective immediately, the Kahnawa:ke Gaming Commission (KGC) has appointed an independent monitor, led by former New Jersey State Gaming Regulator, Frank Catania, to investigate the KGC Licensee, Tokwiro Ent., parent company of both Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet.Mr. Catania is a former Director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), the regulatory and enforcement agency responsible for maintaining integrity and trust in all Atlantic City gaming operations. As division director, he was a driving force in updating the New Jersey Casino Control Act by fine tuning the balance between regulatory necessity and economic stewardship. After leaving the DGE, he served as the vice president in charge of compliance for Players International, Inc. where he was instrumental in resolving compliance issues the company had encountered in the State of Louisiana, prior to his appointment. He is a principal in Catania Gaming Consultants and the Law Offices of Catania & Associates LLC
The Independent Monitoring Team will be given the task of completing a full forensic audit/investigation of the online gaming business of both licensed entities. The main purpose of the investigation is to ensure that the games offered to the public are fair and honest and that all player protections as required by the Kahnawa:ke Gaming Regulations are being complied with, without exception. The monitoring team will also be charged with verification that all those involved in the fraudulent activities in any manner, no matter how slight, have been or are removed from the licensee company and verify that Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker have submitted to full compliance with the directives issued by the KGC and recommended by the independent monitor.
Furthermore, Mr. Catania’s team will be empowered by the KGC to have full access to interview all employees, past or present, review all records, contact and interview all sub contractors and individuals whom the monitoring team believes necessary. Any failure by the licensees could result in immediate revocation of their license privileges with the KGC. In the event that any criminal activity is found to have occurred, such activity will be reported to the appropriate authorities for possible prosecution.
KGC License Holder, Tokwiro Enterprises has agreed to comply fully and submit to this independent monitor.
KGC Chairman, Dean Montour adds, “While the ongoing investigative process has dominated the attention of the KGC in recent months, we are fully confident in the ability of the Independent Monitoring Team to deliver results and assist the Commission in bringing this matter to a decisive conclusion.”
As per the terms of the monitoring agreement, and at the conclusion of the process, the KGC will review the report of the monitoring team and enter the results into their final considerations at the time of ruling in the Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker investigations.
Murray Marshall
Senior Advisor
Kahnawa:ke Gaming Commission
