Gaming Expert Frank Catania to Lead Independent Probe into UltimateBet and Absolute Poker

The probing continues.

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission announced today that it has formed an "Independent Monitoring Team" tasked with completing "a full forensic audit/investigation of the online gaming business" of both UltimateBet and Absolute Poker. The two scandal-ridden sites are operated by Tokwiro Enterprises, which is owned by former Kahnawake chief Joe Tokwiro Norton. Norton also founded Mohawk Internet Technologies, the so-called "utility" company that makes online poker possible in North America.

The IMT will be headed by Frank Catania (pictured), a former Assistant Attorney General and Director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. Catania has been a longtime advocate for the regulation of online gaming and has spoken before Congress on the issue. Catania currently serves on the board of a number of gaming related businesses and has his own consulting business.

According to the release, which was signed by the KGC's senior adviser Murray Marshall, the IMT will be empowered "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."

Of course the KGC has no power to compel any past employee to make themselves avail for such interview so good luck with that.

The KGC goes on further to say that "[i]n the event that any criminal activity is found to have occurred, such activity will be reported to the appropriate authorities for possible prosecution."

We had the chance to ask Marshall this afternoon when he thinks this could take place and he offered the below video response.

Marshall's complete statement on behalf of the KGE after the jump . . .

Online Poker Cheating Scandals Support Case for Government Regulation, Says PPA

UltimateBet's Annie Duke spoke before Congress last November on behalf of the PPA in support of government regulation.

Chairman of the Poker Players Alliance Senator Alfonse D’Amato has just issued a statement on behalf of the PPA addressing the online poker cheating scandals that haven't so much rocked the poker world as they've just provided good forum fodder for a small group of poker players at a website run by creepy old dudes while having absolutely no negative effect on the bottom line for the folks at Absolute Poker and UltimateBet.

In the statement, which will likely have all the efficacy of a Hans Blix letter to Kim Jong-Il, D’Amato calls for officials at AP, UB and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission to "provide a full and transparent accounting of these breaches of the public trust to help lift the black cloud that has been placed over the industry."

D'Amato then argues that the abuses by insiders at both AP and UB show the need for government regulation as it is the government's "basic responsibility" to "provide assurances" to consumers.

Says D'Amato:

"The recent cheating scandals underscore the need for U.S. licensing and regulation of online poker to help protect consumers" . . .

“The federal government cannot continue to abdicate this basic responsibility to millions of its citizens who choose to play poker on the Internet. The attempt to enforce an outright prohibition of online poker is deeply flawed and unworkable, not to mention it invades upon the personal freedoms of law-abiding adults who wish to engage in a game of skill."

For what Ultimate Bet spokesperson Annie Duke said before Congress on behalf of the PPA last November go here.

Related stories:

:: Russ Hamilton Has Some Explaining To Do About UltimateBet Super User Accounts

:: BREAKING: 60 Minutes Interviews Mark Seif, Mike Sexton, Greg Raymer on Online Poker Cheating Scandal

:: Mark Seif on Absolute Poker Scandal: "I Had Nothing To Do With This"

:: Absolute Poker Says 'Geek' Employee Hacked System, Unicorns are Real

Full statement by D'Amato after the jump . . .

Russ Hamilton Has Some Explaining To Do About UltimateBet Super User Accounts

Sweet, we finally found a reason to use a photo of Canseco's girlfriend's cleavage.

Super sleuth Nat Arem discovered something super interesting about super-round Russ Hamilton, a former UltimateBet boss, when he was looking up the address for some of the super user accounts involved in the UB scandal.

Find out what on Nat's blog here.

Read what UB last said about the scandal here.

BREAKING: 60 Minutes Interviews Mark Seif, Mike Sexton, Greg Raymer on Online Poker Cheating Scandal; Feature Rumored to Be a "Hatchet Job" on the Industry

The long awaited 60 Minutes feature on the Absolute Poker online poker cheating scandal took a big step to hitting the small screen today. And Wicked Chops Poker is the only site with photos of the news event.

Anchor Steve Kroft, 62, interviewed Mark Seif (wearing an Absolute Poker jersey), Mike Sexton (not wearing a Party Poker one), Linda Johnson (why? was Shari Flanzer unavailable?), and Greg Raymer (wearing a Poker Stars shirt). The interviews took place in an empty Rio Amazon Room around 11am.

We overheard Raymer discussing the need for the U.S. American government to regulate online poker, and we can surmise because we're smart-like-that that the rest of the messaging from the group was on point with the PPA's platform. Raymer, a Libertarian, said he doesn't see why the government should regulate his actions if they cause no harm to others. Johnson (why her again?) and Sexton both agreed with the need for regulation and taxation.

The wild card in this mix is that 2+2 poster and founder of the AbsolutePokerCheats.com website (here), Michael Josem, was also interviewed. How the stories weaved by Seif and Josem regarding the Absolute scandal will surely be a focal point of the piece and may eventually influence (ever so slightly) how legislators decide to handle the legality of online poker moving forward.

Unfortunately, word from our sources indicate that this 60 Minutes feature will be an outright "hatchet job" on the online poker industry. Although that's really not much of a shocker. But it's certainly not good news either.

More photos from the interviews below. The one of Josem with Seif in the background (second from left) is particularly great.

View the full 60 Minutes online poker scandal photo gallery here. If you swipe photos we appreciate the link back to WCP. And definitely re-watch Mark Seif's interview on the Absolute scandal from last October here or view it in its entirety after the jump.

60 Minutes to Take on Absolute Poker Insider Cheating Scandal

Online poker is about to get some unwanted mainstream media attention.

Word from various sources is that 60 Minutes, the venerable television news program watched mostly by people who do the early bird and smell like mothballs, is doing an investigative story on the Absolute Poker insider cheating scandal, which didn't so much rock the online poker world last October as much as it became forum fodder for a few weeks then fizzled.

According to Nat Arem, the Atlanta kid who helped break the scandal wide open, veteran reporter Steve Kroft will be getting his Mike Wallace on in places like Canada, Costa Rica and Las Vegas as he does a "soup to nuts" piece on how AJ Green, a VP at Absolute Poker, was able to swindle millions of dollars from online poker players by using a "super user" account that allowed him to see opponent's hole cards.

From Arem's blog:

"A few weeks ago, I was contacted by 60 Minutes in conjunction with a reporter from the Washington Post regarding a story about the Absolute Poker scandal from last fall. I was told that they wanted Adanthar and myself for on-camera interviews with Steve Kroft. I later found out they were also interested in interviewing Michael Josem and Marco Johnson. Basically, I spent a little while on the phone with the producer and the Washington Post reporter and recapped the whole story as well as I could from memory. I talked about my involvement and contribution, along with all the other people who were involved."

Trojans Used to See Hole Cards Swipe Millions from Online Poker Players

A story at TechRader.com just came out today claiming that millions of dollars are being stolen from online poker players without many of them even knowing it.

Mikko Hyppönen, a software security experts, claims:

"Online poker players are a massive target for hackers . . . We were just investigating a case where a professional online poker player was attacked by someone he would play against regularly online. And we're talking about professional players, and big money. Hundreds of thousands of euros on the table at a time."

Hyppönen says that the one player lost hundreds of thousands of euros over a short time to some suspicious play, and when they investigated what was happening, they realized that the player's software had been hacked so that another player could see his hole cards.

"[W]hen we looked into it we realised that one of the other players at the table had sent him a tool. A calculater to help optimise the poker playing or whatever. And we found that the application included a Trojan."

"Which means that when he was playing online poker against these people who were in another country, the guy could press a button and he would receive a screenshot of the target’s screen. So he sees the hold cards. If you’re playing poker and the other players know your cards, it’s pretty hard to win."

Read the full article here.

In related news, and really good news if you're a punk ass, scum-of-the-earth cyber criminal, people you don't even know are still stupid enough to download applications from you. Hack away!

What the Faryke? Garza Thinks Kofi May Be a Cheater

With the WPT North American Poker Championship, which for some reason is being held in Canada, which would be akin to holding a European Poker Championship in Albania (a very Angelina Jolie-looking Miss Albania, Eralda Itaj, at right), and not just because their currency (goats?) is probably worth more than the U.S. American dollar now too, but whatever, where were we going with this, oh yeah, with the final table just hours away, a dramabomb has developed around two of the remaining six, Kofi Faryke and Jeff Garza.

And remember, before reading further, EVERYTHING reported in forums is true.

All right, in a nutshell, on the 2+2 Official WPT Niagra Thread, "actionjeff" Garza posted how Kofi, well-known on Poker Stars as "redsoxsux," was playing multiple accounts (or possibly colluding with his brother under the handle "opobi43") in Poker Stars $100 re-buy tournaments. Says Garza:

"...[kofi] and another new player, opobi43, would play a very similar style and put a ton of money into the rebuy periods but also win the tournament with a very high frequency. Opobi and Redsoxsox would often be placed at the same starting table as the fields were smaller a year ago, and would always both build huge stacks and play giant, absurd pots with each other dumping off enormous amounts of chips. I emailed PokerStars about this blatant collusion in the rebuy period and received no response."

In one tournament, it got down to three-handed, and Garza claims it was Kofi's two accounts against his. Garza won. This happened not once, but twice. Garza emailed Poker Stars complaining that Kofi was colluding, and Poker Stars eventually had Kofi banned.

Now Garza and Kofi are at the same final table with Poker Stars rep, Barry Greenstein. Sounds like a certain Alanis Morissette song, who also happens to be from Canada, making it even more like a certain Alanis Morissette song.

We can hear Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten now.

Sexton: "Boy this is a heated final table. As Kofi and Garza have a heated, unpleasant history."
VVP: "That's right Mike. These two have had some huge battles online. I'm sure Garza is glad that Kofi's brother isn't at this final table too."
Sexton: "Heh heh. You can say that again. Let's get back to the action!"

Also in the thread, it's rumored that Cliff "Johnny Bax" Josephy backs Kofi. Take that for what it's worth.

Read the entire 2+2 thread here (go about 3/4 down). Read Garza's full post here. NSFW European commercial with Eralda Itaj here. 

Dan Druff's Rebuttal to Mark Seif on RawVegas.tv

Todd Witteles, otherwise known as Dan Druff from NeverwinPoker.com is pissed. In our last episode of Wicked Chops Poker’s "The Toke", Mark Seif had some choice words for Dan. Now Detective Druff is in studio to defend himself and give his stance on the Absolute Poker Super-User Account scandal.

Watch Dan Druff's video rebuttal below or at RawVegas.tv

Heads Up: Neverwin Poker's Dan Druff to Respond to Mark Seif on RawVegas.tv, And Other Updates

Neverwin Poker's Dan Druff (at right) is set to respond to Mark Seif on RawVegas.tv on Wednesday around 9am EST. Click here around 9am to watch the video, or come back to WCP for the embedded version.

In case you missed AJ Green's potripper.com site launch, click here.

Earlier today, Seif blogged about his interview on RawVegas.tv, clarifying some key points. Read that post here. Watch his RawVegas.tv interview here.

For the top 10 topless movie scenes of all-time, a list that features poker player Shannon Elizabeth, click here.

Mark Seif on Absolute Poker Scandal: "I Had Nothing To Do With This"

For this week's websiode of "The Toke," Absolute Poker pro Mark Seif talks about the super-user account scandal at AP and attempts to clear the air about his involvement while addressing accusations leveled against him. The two-time WSOP bracelet winner shares how he initially heard about the scam and gives his take on AJ Green, the creepy looking kid reportedly behind the insider cheating scam. Seif also says that what happened could also happen at PokerStars.com or Full Tilt. Later in the video, Seif addresses accusations that he himself cheated during a session back in 2006 and takes shots specifically at DanDruff, co-owner of NeverwinPoker.com, for "fanning the flames."

Watch the full Mark Seif video below or at RawVegas.tv here.

Absolute Poker Scandal: New Statement Released, Nothing New Said

Absolute Poker just released a new statement about the super-user account scam through its Costa Rican neighbor PocketFives and Nat Arem on 2p2 that basically says exactly what its old statement said.

The gist is that Absolute was a victim, the perp was a "consultant," Absolute responded "immediately" every step of the way (are "stonewall" and "listlessly" synonyms of immediately?), and the problem's been resolved and people will get their money back.

Ironically, it doesn't claim unicorns are real.

No name appears to be attached to the statement but our guess is it's from the guy in the image to the right.

Read the new Absolute statement after the jump.

Absolute Poker Paying Super-User Sleuth to Visit HQ in Costa Rica

In what may be a really good/bad idea, one of the sleuths who first broke open the Absolute Poker super-user account scandal, Nat Arem (in photo), has accepted an invitation by Absolute to visit the company's heaquarters in Costa Rica in an attempt to gain further insight into the insider cheating scam that hasn't so much rocked the online poker world as it has merely fueled forum fodder for the past few weeks with zero effect on the poker site's bottom line.

In a post on 2p2, the 25-year-old Arem, who many know as the founder of thepokerdb.com and who has a small stake in Bluff Media, makes it known up front that he is receiving compensation from Absolute Poker. How much, he isn't saying yet.

While most seem hopeful that Arem's visit will shed light on the actions of AJ Green, Scott Tom and his Absolute frat tards, many question what can really be gained from a paid trip by Absolute taking place on its own turf with everyone putting on their best face. No doubt this is more of a paid public relations ploy than anything in attempt to win back the trust of the online poker community by winning over one of the guy's speaking for that community.

When asked himself what he is hoping to accomplish in Costa Rica, Arem stated:

I'm hoping to bring back a detailed report for online poker communities explaining my thoughts on the cheating that went on (they have promised to show me details of how it happened), the current management, the effectiveness of the audit, etc.

Arem also states that he plans plan on offering Absolute "a fair amount of advice" on how it should handle the situation from here on out, which, considering they plan on compensating him, sounds a bit like a paid consultant gig to us.

Last we checked the forums, Arem, a stand-up guy who's worked endlessly on uncovering this scandal for absolutely no money, seems to be reconsidering his plans to go to Costa Rica on Absolute's dime. Keep track of the latest in the 2p2 thread here.

UPDATE: Arem just posted on 2p2 saying "FWIW, I am not going anymore on AP's dime" and states that he's most worried about the appearance of being compromised if paid by Absolute. Read about here (scroll down).

Nat Arem's personal blog here.

Absolute Shocker: Did AJ Green et al. Scam $7 Mil with Super User Account?

Online gaming portal Point-Spreads.com is reporting tonight that it has well-placed sources in Costa Rica who are claiming that the Absolute Poker super-user account scam has been going on much, much longer and involves much, much more money than previously thought:

"[T]he scam has been going on for three years and the actual amount that was skimmed from online poker players is estimated at close to $7 million, not the 700k amount that was previously reported. The actual amount is still unknown as an internal audit is underway.

A former employee of Absolute Poker confirmed to Point-Spreads.com that the security department at AP suspected something years ago and we're told it was just the owners testing out the system and to forget about it."

Their sources are also saying what most already believed to be true, that it was Scott Tom who was observing tables using the super-user account while AJ Green (seen in photo with Gambling911's Jenny Woo and her breasts) played as Potripper.

The story goes on to say that the plane carrying Scott Tom, his pregnant wife Gilda Cortés, Oscar Hilt Tatum IV (Absolute's director of CS) and Tatum's wife Sarah Bennet that crashed on the runway in Costa Rica this past September was rumored to have also been carrying a cargo of $2-3 million in cash. How anyone would know that, besides the Toms and Tatums, beats us.

Finally, sources in Costa Rica confirm what we've been hearing more and more from our sources, that AJ Green was a divisive personality, or put another way, a total shit-head.

Read the entire Points-Spread.com piece here.

This post written while an Absolute Poker television commercial runs on ESPN during the WSOP broadcast.

Absolute Poker Changes Story Again, Digs Deeper Hole, AJ Green Implicated

So maybe unicorns aren't real. Absolute Poker has finally released an official statement on the insider cheating scandal that has rocked the online poker world this past week, and not surprisingly, no one is buying it.

On deck to deliver the Absolute bs word this time is Joe Norton (photo at right), an ex Grand Chief of the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake and owner of Tokwiro Enterprises, which holds a 100% interest in Absolute Poker.

While the statement (which you can read in its entirety after the jump) consists mostly of a bunch of empty words written by lawyers and spinsters that gloss over many of the glaring questions raised over the past month, we do learn that Absolute Poker is changing its "geek employee trying to prove a point to senior management" story and is now going with "a high-ranking trusted consultant whose position gave him extraordinary access to certain security systems."

So who be that?

Well Nat Arem and Serge Ravitch, two of the online poker players who've dedicated a ridiculous amount of time to uncovering the truth in the AP case and who should be hired by another online site and paid ridiculous amounts of money as security consultants, are suggesting on 2+2 that AJ Green is the man at the center of the cheating scandal. If you recall, Green is reportedly Potripper and Scott Tom's best friend. He was formerly the VP of operations at Absolute, was ousted and was a manager at Nine.com BUT, and that's a BIG BUTT, according to Arem, Green has in fact been "running daily operations at AP" and is actually the guy who was sending out and approving the early AP statments on the scandal.

So why don't they crucify Green for the sake of saving Absolute? As Arem surmises on 2+2:

"Think about how much he knows about both the money flow, ownership, other scandals, etc within AP and UB. Lots of people with heavy interests in both of those either don't want those stories coming out or they don't want their dirt being told to law enforcement. Basically, he has them by the balls because he has their dirt. Described at the simplest level as blackmail."

If this is true, expect Absolute to continue digging its hole deeper as online poker players refuse to let up until heads roll or Absolute is shut down. Or both.

We have more to say on this but it's time to go eat some tacos.

Read the 2+2 thread on Norton's statement here. See what the P5ers are saying here. Find out what Kemo Sabe means here.

ONE OTHER THING: Meant to post this earlier but unrelatedly, Scott Tom and Oscar Hilt Tatum were passengers in a plane that skidded off the runway in Costa Rica this past September. Some accounts suggest Tom is still the CEO and Hilt the CFO of Absolute and UB. Read the translated news story on the accident here.

UPDATE: Gambling911.com's Christopher Costigan offers some insight on AJ Green, including that he "is described by those who know him in Costa Rica as an 'a**hole'" and that he does not appear to be a part of the fraternity all the original founders belonged to. He also heard a rumor that the person implicated has a coke problem. Read his story here.

Absolute Poker Says 'Geek' Employee Hacked System, Unicorns are Real

It wasn't Scott Tom or AJ Green who cheated players out of hundreds of thousands of dollars on the online poker site AbsolutePoker.com, an anonymous company spokesman told MSNBC this afternoon.

In news that will surely be dismissed by those who have been following the scandal and likely only make matters worse for Absolute, true or not, the spokesman claimed that instead it was some "geek (employee) trying to prove senior managment that they were wrong" who hacked into their system and exploited a flaw that allowed him to see other player's hole cards.

"We acknowledge a significant internal security breach whereby a resource who was infinitely knowledgeable about the system was able to get into the accounts in question. He played on those accounts and he saw hole cards," the spokesman told MSNBC without naming the employee.

"We have closed that security breach and we have identified a very serious issue internally as far as communications flow and we’re resolving that," he said.

The spokesman also told MSNBC that the employee did not withdraw any of the money from the accounts that were used and that the company was contemplating filing a lawsuit and criminal charges against the employee.

Adam Small, co-owner of the Costa Rican-based PocketFives.com, talked with an official from Absolute Poker last night and is quoted in the article saying, "What they said on the phone was that it was not Scott Tom ... and that (the employee) has sort of framed Scott Tom."

Sort of framed? Say what?

In just as credible news, the spokesman concluded by saying he saw a unicorn the other day ridden by a stripper who's really into him.

Full article here.

Images of unicorns here.

Developing...

UPDATE: Absolute Poker has gone hush since yesterday while the forums continue to swell with chatter. One of the most interesting reads we've found has to be online poker pro Chris Savage's thread on PocketFives.com about a call he had last night with someone from the UltimateBet/Absolute Poker system. The person asked Savage: "What if the latest release from AP is all that they can give you? Are the people causing the most uproar over this going to risk killing online poker just to hang someone?" From what we've seen, most are responding to that question along the lines of P5er "New Shawboy" who said, "If the only online poker world I can live in is one where guys like Scott Tom can violate our trust and not be personally accountable, then I don't want to be part of it."

Check out the thread here.

Breaking: Absolute Poker to Admit Insider Cheating Took Place

Well Mark Seif said earlier today that he wants to find out the truth as do the thousands of online poker players who have been following the Absolute Poker cheating scandal, and it looks like they're about to get it. Perhaps.

Adam Small, one of the owners of the Costa Rican-based PocketFives.com, just posted on the P5 forum saying that they have received a phone call from Absolute Poker confirming the suspicions of the online poker community over the past month.

"While we need to be vague in this post to respect their wishes, we can say that their systems were compromised, and that they are prepared to provide the details in a statement coming shortly," shared Small.

"Part of the statement will include a plan to refund players affected by this compromise."

For Small's complete post on the Absolute Poker news, go here.

While we've yet to express our opinion on what all this means for online poker, as some have asked, we will say for now that the guys we met a few years ago running Absolute Poker came across as a bunch of greedy, unscrupulous frat dards content with sucking and with very little concern in ever building a legitimate business operation. We also think that this is an extremely isolated incident involving a couple of despicable fucks who cheated players out of thousands despite, if the claims about Scott Tom and AJ Green are proven true, already making millions rather easily from running a poker site. And oh yeh, we can't understand how anyone is still playing on Absolute Poker but thousands still are right now. Baffling.

Developing....

Absolute Poker to Be Audited As Evidence Of Insider Cheating Mounts

After a month of allegations of cheating involving a super user account that could see player's hole cards, endless forum threads that seem to prove the existence of such and now damning claims that the super user account belonged to its former CEO and new Davidson Matthew Club member Scott Tom, Absolute Poker will now finally be audited by someone other than Absolute Poker.

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission, which granted the gaming license to Absolute's owner Tokwiro Enterprises, has directed Gaming Associates to "conduct a thorough audit of all circumstances, provide findings and recommendations to the commission."

"The audit will not be restricted to examining theories circulating in Internet chat rooms and forums," said KGC commissioner David Montour.

The pending audit follows Absolute Poker's own investigation, which resulted in a statement posted on Mark Seif's blog on BluffMagazine.com that a super user account never existed but pots of gold at the end of rainbows do exist as do leprechauns, unicorns and strippers who dance just to get through college.

As of tonight, Seif, who reportedly has a stake in Absolute Poker, finally issued his own statement on the matter, saying among other things:

"I want to find out the truth. I want to know what, if anything, may have happened . . . I am open to the possibility that improper, unethical and perhaps even unqualified cheating may have occurred at AP. I am even open to the possibility that present or former AP employees, or executives may have participated, condoned or were negligent in failing to discover the alleged improper acts."