More Upsetting Thoughts About the Absolute Poker Scandal

With a bit of time to think about the Kahnawake Gaming Commission’s lengthy investigation of Absolute Poker, I have a few thoughts and some unanswered questions. Maybe you do too.

How did the data file detailing the entire tournament history get sent out in the first place?

It was supposedly “sent out in error.” But for that to happen, security must have been so lax as to allow a customer service representative—a relatively low paid cog in Absolute’s wheel—to have access to this kind of information. Whether it was sent out inadvertently, or as a “signal” to the poker playing community, there is no security whatsoever if a customer service representative can access this kind of information. It’s sort of like a customer service representative at your local bank having the ability to wire transfer funds out of your account without proper safeguards. It just doesn’t happen. Or it shouldn’t!

Why doesn’t the report name names?
We’ve all heard that Scott Tom and Alan John Grimard—or A.J. Green, his chosen alias—were allegedly the guilty parties who perpetrated the scam, so why aren’t they identified in the audit. The online site Gambling911 even uncovered Grimard’s (Green’s) home address, although they didn’t released it out of concern for his safety. I emailed Grimard (Green) at his email address: peptona@hotmail.com, asking him to come on my radio show to tell his side of the story, but of course he didn’t reply. If A.J. Green and Scott Tom are the guilty parties who perpetrated the scam, why aren’t they identified in the audit? According to the audit report, “Beginning on August 14 for a period of six weeks, the accounts listed below were used to compromise AP’s systems by using software that enabled users to view hole cards of other players, resulting in unfair play.”

The players in question are:

GRAYCAT

PAYUP

STEAMROLLER

POTRIPPER

XXCASHMONEYXX, also known as SUPERCARDSMSS

DOUBLEDRAGRONFALDOXXB also known as ROMNALDO

Who are these players? Please identify them. The entire poker playing world wants to know.

Why was the fine levied against Absolute Poker so very small?
The fine of $500,000 was very small, compared to the seriousness of the offenses and the money Absolute makes. At most, it amounts to a slap on the wrist. I’m not sure how large the fine should have been, but it needs to be a lot larger than a mere half a mil.

Who deleted the logs and records?
If logs and records were deleted, how did the Kahnawake Gaming Commission conduct its investigation in the absence of this information, and more importantly, how were these records deleted? And who deleted them? Did they delete them before or after the investigation began? Are Grimard (Green) and Tom suspected of destruction of evidence in addition to the fraud they perpetrated, or were others involved too?

Why haven’t arrests been made?
Suspects have been identified. At least one (Grimard/Green) is reportedly back in Canada, where he could be indicted for fraud, for the destruction of evidence, and probably a few other crimes too.

The fact that this took place in the Kahnawake Territories shouldn’t mitigate against Canadian authorities taking action. In any event, the perpetrators committed crimes in Canada, the Kahnawake Territories, Costa Rica, and possibly other jurisdictions too.

The bottom line
So far no one has been arrested and brought to justice. As a result, Absolute Poker paid a small fine of $500,000 which amounts to a licensing fee to steal who knows how much, while the guys who did the crime are walking around, free as you and me, with their pockets lined in ill-gotten gains and—apparently—no fear of prosecution, trial, and punishment.

Something really stinks here. The stink has been with us since Day One. It's just getting worse.