Do You Think We Forgot, UltimateBet?
On March 6, UltimateBet acknowledged that at least one player exhibited an abnormal winning rate on its site. They noted that a third-party audit was in the works, and a complete and thorough investigation was promised.
A few interesting tidbits:
1. UB admitted that it was made aware of the allegations on January 12. They didn’t begin a formal investigation until March 6. It is now May 15, and not a peep has been heard from UB.
2. There are similarities between the UB scandal and the Absolute Poker scandal that stink of more than coincidence.
3. UB has not responded to inquiries on the subject.
A poster on 2+2 broke down the details of the scandal thus far. And Nat Arem posted on PocketFives that he has information that he simply cannot release (???) but assures the public that UB is working on the issue.
Not good enough. It has been too long. UB made the same mistakes as AP – taking too long to admit the problem, resolve it, and communicate with players about it. It is just unacceptable, and I, for one, will continue to publicize the scandal and recommend that players stay far away from Absolute Poker and UltimateBet. (This opinion does not necessarily reflect that of Pokerati.)
DanM says:
May 15th, 2008 at 1:26pm
The people who should be pushed on this are Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke. After all, during the AP scandal, people went after Mark Seif with vigor.
Not saying Annie and Phil need to jump ship just because some forums are stirring … but they should be able to answer direct questions such as, “how can you assure players that the site you represent isn’t run by crooks?”
Follow-up question (depending on their answers) could really put them to the test. Because though I suspect they’d give you a general denial of malfeasance and then try to turn it around as a call for regulation (at least Annie would) … it still comes down to “what have you done if anything to check that the money you receive from this site isn’t dirty? Do these seemingly factual forum accusations concern you at all?”
(And then if I were Annie, my answer would be: “About the same thing you probably did to make sure your economic stimulus check didn’t come from questionable sources … now get off my back, beyotch!”)
DanM says:
May 15th, 2008 at 1:29pm
And Mean Gene’s response, of course, would probably be, “Dude, they don’t pay me enough to worry about it … but they did give me enough money to buy some Bose Hear-No-Evil Noise Canceling Headphones!”
Short-Stacked Shamus says:
May 15th, 2008 at 1:44pm
Annie Duke did comment on the scandal in a post on Pocket Fives (from May 6th). There she says she’s happy with how the investigation has gone thus far. She also says the UB management team is “eager” to make its findings public by the end of May.
California Jen says:
May 15th, 2008 at 2:12pm
Dan, obviously Annie and Phil know about the scandal and have continued their associations with UB anyway. Going after them for statements would produce the same kinds of evasive statements given by Mark Seif in the wake of the AP scandal. “I’m concerned… I’m waiting for the investigation to be completed…” Blah blah.
And, for the record, I did request the assistance of Mean Gene, who did everything he could to try to get some answers for me, but to no avail.
Shamus, thanks for the link to Annie’s post. I have no reason to disbelieve that UB is eager to go public with its findings, but after so many months, that simply isn’t enough. If UB has the findings, it’s time to come out with them, and if they are able, squash the talk about a cover-up and publicity nightmare.
DanM says:
May 15th, 2008 at 2:37pm
Fair enough, I guess … I mean after all, everyone wants to keep their business interests in good line. And frankly I don’t care because I don’t play on either of those sites … and it’s not like I would jump ship and holler had PartyPoker gotten caught up in some scandal when I was on their payroll.
But still, I guess I was being hard on Annie thinking she had plenty of other options. But considering how poker sponsorships are going these days, maybe not …
So all this rambling is leading me to the conclusion that I don’t know what to think — except I surely don’t accept at face value the word of a company whose damage control plan seems to mirror that of the Catholic Church.
Mean Gene says:
May 15th, 2008 at 3:43pm
Technically I bought those Bose noise-canceling headphones with cash I made covering the WSOP for PokerNews.
And believe me, I worry about it.
DanM says:
May 15th, 2008 at 3:50pm
I know you do, Gene … hope it didn’t come across as if I were picking on you. We’re all just trying to make a living in tough times … most of us by doing the right things.
I am clearly off my commenting and posting game today. Two nights in a row of boozing has done me in. Just trying to get in drinking shape for the WSOP, of course.
Kevin Mathers says:
May 20th, 2008 at 8:20pm
Just wanted to add a link to a recent thread on 2+2 in the News, Views and Gossip forum regarding the scandal:
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthread.php?t=208114
California Jen says:
May 20th, 2008 at 11:29pm
Thanks, Kevin. I hope something on one of our sites makes UB take notice and clear this up – if they can!