Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Gaming Commission Responds to 60 MInutes Story


As expected, there have been responses to the 60 Minutes story that ran this past Sunday about cheating scandals that took place at Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet online poker rooms. The responses have come in answer to the accuracy of information put forth by the news agency and mostly from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission who were definitely painted as the bad guys in the story.


The Kahnawake Gaming Commission currently registers and regulates more than 60% of the existing online poker play. The KGC expressed a belief that several issues were omitted from the 60 Minutes report despite having given that information to the news agency during their research for the story.


Namely, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission has pointed out that most if not all of the monies lost by players on the sites during the course of the cheating scandals has been reimbursed. UltimateBet has allegedly refunded something like twenty million to its victimized players.


The Kahnawake Gaming Commission also wanted to emphasize the scandal occurred while both Absolute and UltimateBet were owned by Excapsa, a public company, and not its current owner, Tokwiro Enterprises, who has been promised a payment from Excapsa of 15 million.


Additional issues brought up by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission that appear to have been missed by 60 Minutes include the change of gaming software in an attempt to prevent further cheating in the future as well as a criminal complaint against the alleged cheater Russ Hamilton.


The story has thrown both the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and online poker under the microscope once again and one can only hope that the right decisions will be made in regards to future operation of this lucrative gaming enterprise.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Tran and 60 Minutes Make Poker News Weekend


Congratulations to JC Tran for taking down the PartyPoker premiere League III title this past weekend and adding an additional $300,000.00 to his winnings this year. Tran is definitely on a roll. He took down a determined Tony G who was holding the lead for most of their heads up battle but outlasted the Aussie, sending him home with second place and 150K for his efforts. Not too shabby.


60 Minutes and the Washington Post covered the Absolute Poker maybe Utltimate bet cheating stories this Sunday. There have been mixed reviews on the way the story was handled. Some don't like the way some facts were glossed over while others were emphasized. There was mention of interviews with top players that took place during the World Series that some people wanted to see but were not aired.


In the meantime it is questionable how the Kahnawake Gaming Commission will come out looking after all the buzz has settled. However you want to look at it. The truth is out there. The cheating happened. A former WSOP champion was named as one of the primary cheaters in the scandal but not much was mentioned in the stories about him. Who knows how closely the commission is regulating. There is talk of over 80 cheating accounts implicated in the scandal. Both Absolute and Ultimate were purchased by somebody in connection with Kahnawake. What else do you need to know. You take a risk playing on the sites. End of story. If you are concerned, keep your money offline. If online play is working for you, more power to you. Don't be surprised if more stories follow.