Though I’m not expert enough to confirm or deny any validity, this video did give me pause. To the untrained eye, it sure does look like possible (if not certain) cheating software in play on ClubWPT, the World Poker Tour’s subscription-based non-gambling site — you know, the one Mike Sexton is heavily pimping on Poker After Dark (in commercial spots previously occupied by Full Tilt) as the safest American online poker alternative out there.

Interesting to see the code explained, visually, for a clearer understanding of how God-mode in the UB Scandal probably worked … then extra-curious to realize Jim Ryan, CEO of WPT-parent Party Gaming, was CEO of Excapsa Software, Ultimate Bet partner, during the heyday of cheating on their site.

And while some may think little of it, because hey, it’s just pretend money … we all know free-play online poker isn’t just about the joys of truly amateur poker … it’s about preparation for real-money online gambling. The WSOP is pushing their free Facebook-app game throughout the Amazon Room, after all, and Zynga takes a rake in their “cash games”. Do a Google search for “Zynga poker rigged” or “Facebook poker scam” … The screams of cheating and scandal are more outrageous than AP/UB/Cereus ever coulda had to cover up.

Whether the apparent security flaws at Club WPT are a matter of coincidence, ignorance, incompetence, or shenanigans, it does make you wonder who will be ready for American players when real-money online poker comes into play.

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

[audio:http://www.pokerroad.com/upload/radio/23/audio/TPB_02_19_09.mp3]

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

After some speculation amongst poker insiders between Dan and Pauly, it seems that the bigwigs at the World Poker Tour and Full Tilt Poker were talking….just not about a buy-out. The agreement has been signed and announced to give FullTiltPoker.net the title of “exclusive educational poker sponsor” for all WPT Season 7 episodes to air on Fox Sports Net someday.

To add a little more speculation to the mix, this contractual friendship between WPT and FTP could lead to bigger and better things should the WPT Enterprises end up going private in the next few months. With the WPT having officially dropped any hopes of running its own online gaming site, with the exception of ClubWPT (that inside sources tell me is not doing well), the company could very well be entertaining the idea of partnering in a bigger way with Full Tilt in the future. Speculation only at this point…

For now, here is today’s press release:

FullTiltPoker.net is Exclusive Educational Poker Sponsor for WPT Season VII Episodes Airing on Fox Sports Net and in Mexico

LOS ANGELES, Nov 06, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — World Poker Tour(R) creator WPT Enterprises (Nasdaq:WPTE) and FullTiltPoker.net(TM) today announced a television sponsorship deal, aligning the leading powerhouses in televised and online poker. The deal–which is based on a unique sponsorship model for the sports and entertainment television industry–further boosts WPTE’s growing sponsorship business.

Under the agreement, FullTiltPoker.net(TM) receives title sponsorship and exclusive rights to in-show educational gaming brand integration for the 26 all-new WPT Season VII episodes scheduled to air on Fox Sports Net in the United States, as well as Season VII episodes that air in Mexico.

“We are delighted to be in partnership with FullTiltPoker.net(TM) and bring together two very strong brands with proven global reach and a loyal network of poker fans,” said Steve Lipscomb, WPTE founder, president and CEO. “With WPT’s incredible brand value and TV distribution through FSN coupled with FullTiltPoker.net’s massive online following, this partnership opens more channels to reach new fans and continue feeding the appetite for new poker content.”

FullTiltPoker.net(TM) is one of the leading online poker instruction sites, featuring Team Full Tilt – 13 world-renowned poker pros. Team Full Tilt is a select group of the world’s finest professional poker players, including Chris Ferguson, Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Jennifer Harman, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, Phil Gordon, John Juanda, Mike Matusow, Gus Hansen, Allen Cunningham, and Patrik Antonius who have collectively won 10 WPT titles, 35 World Series of Poker bracelets and more than $80 million in career earnings. FullTiltPoker.net(TM) offers players the unique opportunity to Learn, Chat and Play with the best poker pros in the game.

ClubWPT is the newest show to come out of the World Poker Tour family and the first to premiere on Fox Sports Net, and, well, I expected better.

Let me start by saying that I’m a fan of the WPT and have been since I was employed in their accounting department. I always secretly pull for the WPT to do well. And in truth, despite my criticisms of the company and its decisions at times, I feel that they’ve weathered some storms and still managed to put together a quality product every time. That is why it pained me to watch ClubWPT when it premiered on Saturday.

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

Antonio at the WPT press conference

A few impressions from the press conference with Antonio Esfandiari and Steve Lipscomb:

~Antonio is immensely happy about this deal. He has a deep respect and fondness for the WPT. Though he was being cool, as always, he was close to just bubbling over.

~Antonio is going to be representing the WPT on television, in advertising, with Club WPT, and with anything they do in the global market, including WPT Online.

~Steve seems to have a lot of respect for Antonio as well. He feels that Antonio represents players from every background and culture, but he is one of the classy players who doesn’t insult others, has an incredible passion for the game, and will represent the WPT well. Steve mentioned more than once that when Antonio won his WPT title, he went straight to his dad’s place to surprise him with a huge chunk of $$$ and told him to retire; he was particularly struck by that.

And click below for a few quotes from today’s conference:

More…