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.

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.