Rumors Say 60 Minutes Will Air Poker Scandal Story November 9

If you’re eagerly awaiting the 60 Minutes expose of the Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker Scandal, you’ll have to wait a little longer—until November 9 according to current rumors. Actually, that timing makes good sense because it means the story will air just around the time that the World Series of Poker’s final table is about to be played to conclusion.

Rumors say that Mike Sexton, Greg Raymer, Linda Johnson, Gary Wise, and online poker players-turned-sleuths Serge Ravitch, Michael Josem and Todd Witteles were interviewed as part of this story. Poker News recently reported that the Washington Post scheduled a story about online poker to run on or about November 9 too.

It looks like former WSOP main event winner Russ Hamilton has been thrown under the bus as the mastermind behind the scandals, but many in the poker community are wondering if Hamilton is simply a sacrificial lamb being brought to the alter in hopes that other names will not be brought forward in this scandal.

I don’t know all the facts, but simple logic suggests that this had to be a collaborative scandal, and that while Russ might be guilty—he may, in fact, be history’s biggest poker cheat—he is probably not the only one.

Nevertheless, Hamilton makes a compelling sacrificial lamb. He is a big name in the poker world—a WSOP main event bracelet winner—and a guy who has been around for quite some time. Nothing sells scandals to the general public so much as a big name insider. After all, Jose Canseco and Barry Bonds brought media attention to baseball’s steroids scandal in a way that some .220 hitting shortstop never could.

Big names bring out the crowds, for better or for worse, and Hamilton is the kind of big poker name that will attract the attention that 60 Minutes thrives on.

Meanwhile, we’ll all have to wait and wonder for a bit longer.

Did Harrah's Mangle the Publicity Run-Up to the WSOP November Final Table?

When the World Series of Poker decided to move the final table play to November—a full three months after the final table was established at the Rio this summer—many voices in the poker community spoke up against that decision. I didn’t. My opinion was that it might work and it might not, but in any event, it would be impossible to tell without a try.

I favored going with this idea. After all, if it succeeded in making the WSOP even more popular and bigger than it already is, that would be good for poker. If it layed an egg, well, Harrah's could just write it off as an experiment that failed and go back to the way they’ve always done things—by playing the final table as the last day of the WSOP’s summer extravaganza of poker.

One of the underlying reasons for moving the final table three months out in time was that it would allow ESPN to televise it in as near real time as possible.

Another underlying idea was that it would provide time for each of the nine finalists to generate some publicity, get some sponsorship money, and capitalize on their newly-found fame as finalists at poker’s biggest payday.

On May 1, Jeffrey Pollack, then a guest on my Internet radio show, Keep Flopping Aces, on http://www.roundersradio.com/, mentioned that Harrah’s would generate a lot of publicity for the nine finalists in the three month run up to the actual final table being played in November. But this hasn’t happened. Not really.

Each week I receive an email from a PR firm that contains some background information on one of the nine finalists. It’s short, to the point, but not nearly extensive enough to develop a rooting interest in any of the players. I was expecting something akin to what TV does when they broadcast the Olympics—an Up Close and Personal—that tells us something about a competitor’s athletic career, and something about them personally. Information about a career, perhaps, or overcoming some ailment, or some difficult family situation that he or she dealt with—that’s the kind of thing I anticipated seeing, but never did.

In my opinion, one weekly email is not enough to build much rooting interest for any of these competitors if you did not know them before they entered the WSOP, and not nearly enough to generate substantial corporate sponsorship for either them or the WSOP.

Now that the WSOP is right around the corner, most WSOP publicity will be lost for the most part in the sea of daily disasters that have beset our economy. Now, admittedly, that could not have been foreseen. But the run-up to the WSOP is also the run-up to the presidential election, and that was no mystery to anyone.

To really make this three-month hiatus work, it’s my opinion that a publicity blitz should have been unleashed early—right after they shuttered things up at the Rio—and it should have been hard and heavy so that there was time for the players to capitalize on their impending final-table play, and time to get publicity for the event before most of the news would predictably be buried in a slew of pre-presidential election coverage in late October and early November.

Don’t get me wrong. I still believe moving the final table back to November was worth a shot. I just don’t think it was done as well as it could have been, and I’m not sure that the results of what little effort appears to have been put into this will generate the payback expected.

I hope they succeed. But if they don't, I hope they try again. But next year I'd like to see a heavy dose of publicity sent out to the poker media and mainstream media alike. And I'd like to see it happen just as early as possible. So the world can get ready, build a rooting interest in one or more of the competitors, and make the WSOP even more successful than it is. That's good for the WSOP, good for the competitors, a most of all, it's good for poker.

Court Rules Against Sites in KY Internet Poker Domain Name Seizure Case

Well, we all know by now that Franklin County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate, in a 43-page decision, told the 141 Internet gaming sites in the Kentucky domain name seizure case that they must install some form of blocking software to prohibit access to Kentucky residents by November 17.

If they do not, a hearing on the motion to forfeiture those domain names will go forward and the domain names will be turned over permanently to the state.

Judge Wingate ruled that poker is illegal gambling under the Kentucky statute, and that who wins and loses is based entirely on luck.

He also ruled that the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the Internet Commerce Association (ICA), Network Solutions, Inc. (NSI), IGC and iMEGA lacked standing to argue the case in court because none of these groups represented any of the parties to the case.

All of this is sure to be appealed, so stay tuned and we’ll bring you updates as they occur.

Attorney and Poker Writer Shari Geller and I discussed this case for about 25 minutes on October 16 on my Internet radio show, Keep Flopping Aces, that's heard on www.roundersradio.com every Thursday evening. If you want more information on this case, you can listen to that interview as a podcast by pointing your browser to the Rounder's Radio web site. Shari also has an indepth legal analysis of this case on www.pokerlistings.com.

Kentucky Internet Gambling Ruling Set For October 15

Kentucky Judge Thomas Wingate will rule next Wednesday, October 15th on the Governor’s ploy to seize 141 internet gambling domain names in the Commonwealth.

In case you haven’t been following this story (I first covered it on September 26; check out my blog entry for that date), Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear seized 141 internet gambling domains, including those belonging to several major online poker rooms such as Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and others. This triggered some complex legal actions that center on the Commonwealth’s jurisdiction—or lack of it—to seize domain names. Also at issue is whether the URLs in question can be forfeited because they are “gambling devices” according to Kentucky law.

Interestingly enough, TwinSpires.com was not among the 141 internet gambling domains, even though the site is available in Kentucky. Although licensed in Oregon, TwinSpires.com is owned by Kentucky-based Churchill Downs Incorporated (pictured left). This prompted questions about why TwinSpires.com was omitted from the list of 141 offending sites, especially since TwinSpires’ website claims horse racing and poker are similar in nature: “Just like poker, you are not playing against the house. You are playing against the rest of the people wagering on racing; the better your strategy, the more you can win.”

Jim Waters, Director of Policy and Communications for the Bluegrass Institute, commented, “The Governor tried to slip this upon the Kentucky people, but failed when our coalition stood up in Frankfort and openly opposed using the force of government to trample on the rights and liberties of the people.”

SWAT Raid at North Carolina Poker Game

Attacking with full body armor, assault weapons, and masks to conceal their identities, the Fayetteville, North Carolina Police Department behaved like their Dallas, TX counterparts (see blog entries from November 22, 2006 and October 8, 2007) when they raided a recent poker game.

According to the Fayetteville Observer newspaper, city police, with the assistance of North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement agents, conducted a SWAT-style operation that rounded up forty people at a poker tournament in a building that held three poker tables, a few pool tables, and some big-screen TVs. Law enforcement officials shut the tournament down, issued gambling citations to players, and confiscated almost $12,000 in cash—including money taken from people in attendance that wasn’t being wagered. “… looked to be large scale, casino-type operations.”

Chris Lusardi of Fayetteville, the alleged operator of the game, also had his home raided, where police seized another $3,000. Lusardi was arrested and charged with alcohol violations in addition to running a gaming operation.

I guess if you’re in Fayetteville you can sleep soundly tonight, knowing that public safety is improved whenever the local SWAT team raids a poker game that only offends some archaic laws—laws that otherwise serve to provide the police with an opportunity to play cops-and-robbers with all that cool, hi-tech SWAT equipment paid for by you, me, and the rest of this country’s taxpayers.

With money scarce in this economy, and public resources stretched to the breaking point, the cops ought to be out fighting crime, not busting poker games.

Internet Poker Licensing Bill Introduced In Senate

U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced a bill to establish licensed Internet poker in the U.S. and provide American consumers with the vast benefits of a clear regulatory system.

The bill, S. 3616, is the first to focus primarily on poker. According to the Poker Players Alliance, S. 3616, is landmark legislation for the poker community and sets the stage for the next Congress and new Administration to enact sound public policy in the area of Internet poker.

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), with more than one million members nation-wide, commended Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) for introducing S. 3616, the Internet Skill Game Licensing and Control Act.

"This action by Senator Menendez is yet another example that prohibitions on Internet gambling, and specifically poker, will not work to protect consumers," said PPA Chairman and Former Senator Alfonse D'Amato. "The PPA has long advocated for thoughtful and effective licensing and regulation of online poker as a means to protect vulnerable communities, such as children and compulsive gamblers, and provide appropriate controls to thwart consumer fraud and abuse. Senator Menendez's legislation is the right vehicle to achieve those goals."

Key provisions of the bill include:

* Thorough vetting of potential licensees;
* Mandatory implementation of technologies to protect against underage gambling and to monitor and detect individuals with excessive gaming habits;
* High standards to thwart fraud and abuse of customers;
* Regulation to prevent money laundering; and,
* Processes to prevent tax avoidance.

The full text of the bill can be found at http://www.pokerplayersalliance.org/.

Former WSOP Winner Russ Hamilton Named as Primary Force Behind Ultimat Bet Online Poker Cheating Scandal

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission’s report—prepared by Frank Catania, president of Catania Gaming Consultants and former director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, on its licensee, Ultimate Bet—follows a three-and-a-half year cheating scandal that has been well-reported here and elsewhere online.

The audit named names—or at least named one name—and it was former WSOP champion Russ Hamilton (pictured left) who is alleged to be primarily responsible for taking millions from online players at the site.
Hamilton was formerly associated with Ultimate Bet's affiliate program, according to the report.

Hamilton is unlikely to be the only individual involved. Chuck Barnett, spokesperson for the commission, said from what he understands Mr. Hamilton is not the only individual involved, and other names are likely to come out in the final report.

The KGC has imposed these sanctions against Ultimate Bet, which must be in place by Nov. 3, 2008:

* Begin refunding all players adversely affected by the cheating scheme. The company has refunded $6.1 million to date, but this summer received another round of refund requests.

* Remove all persons deemed by the commission as "unsuitable," from the company, including all levels of ownership, management and operation, and is required to continue to provide complete details of all day-to-day operations of the company.

Ultimate Bet was also fined $1.5 million.

Should UB fail to comply with these initial sanctions the commission will immediately revoke its license.

This news came as CBS 60 Minutes was completing its story about the Absolute Poker scandal that is due to air shortly. They will focus on Russ Hamilton and on Allan Grimard, another suspect in the cheating scandal.

We reported on Grimard (also known as AJ Green) on three occasions: As early as a year ago, on October 30, 2007, again on January 20, 2008, and most recently on August 24, 2008.

Grimard was a "consultant" for the Absolute Poker who had previously been a supervisor at Nine.com, another online gambling firm that operated from the same complex as Absolute.

If Hamilton and Grimard (Green) are guilty, they need to face prosecution. I only hope that investigations do not end here, and that Hamilton and Grimard are not simply thrown under the bus with assertions that the investigation is complete. KGC needs to be sure that this investigation is followed to its logical conclusion, regardless of where the chips fall. That’s the only way to bring a sense of completion to the scandal and trust to these two sites in the future.

Duplicate Poker Folds; Foxwoods to Lay Off 700 Employees

Duplicate Poker has pulled the plug and will immediately begin liquidating through a trustee. The following message appeared on the company’s website, along with a link for players to request refunds of their account balances:

Dear players,

Duplicate is sadly bidding farewell to its players. Caught in the middle of the global financial situation the company is not able to continue to provide service. We are a small victim of the global financial crisis. Regretfully as of the today, October 5th, 2008 we are closing our service. We thank our players for being with us. Hopefully at later time and in a better economic climate Duplicate Poker will re-appear.

While Duplicate Poker was folding, the weak economy also hit Foxwoods casino in Connecticut. They reported that about 700 hundred jobs would be cut.

In a statement released by Foxwoods, the casino said the economy is to blame.

With the news that 700 people will be let go in the near future, local business said that it affects them too. Not only are friends and family being laid off, but it hits them at home in their own pocketbook.

Tribal Council Chairman Michael Thomas said in a statement, "As is happening to so many organizations, the economic issues facing our nation and regional consumer economy have negatively impacted our revenue growth. Although it has taken a few months, the recession's impact can now be clearly seen in our industry."

Connecticut's other casino, Mohegan Sun, announced last week it would delay some of its Project Horizon expansion plans.