Pattern Not Found
Jennifer Newell
In the last column, the stage was set for a cheating scandal that would rock the online poker world. Take out your notebook because there are more complications to keep track of.
There were allegations of improprieties during an Absolute Poker online tournament and evidence to corroborate those claims in the form of an elaborate hand history sent from an AP representative, complete with IP information, user identification, and e-mail addresses for all participants and observers. Some in-depth analysis of the document by several online players concluded that the alleged cheating group included a former AP executive, Scott Tom, and his friend, A.J. Green.
In response to the growing public interest for an answer from Absolute Poker, the site posted an initial statement on October 12 claiming they ?conducted an extensive investigation in response to the claims it was made aware of and received. The results of that investigation indicated that to the best of Absolute Poker’s knowledge, information and belief there was no security breach.? However, due to the preponderance of evidence to the contrary, along with outrage from the poker community at the all-too-quick self-inquiry, AP agreed to a third party investigation.
The mainstream media also picked up on the story. The New York Times, MSNBC, and ABC were only some of the media outlets that ran stories about the cheating allegations and the overall safety of online poker.
An anonymous source at Absolute Poker spoke to MSNBC and revealed that an internal security breach did compromise the integrity of the online poker site, but no management was involved in the scandal; it was merely a hacker who wanted to experiment with a security flaw. The illegitimate winnings were estimated by this source to be less than $700,000, and none of the funds were actually withdrawn from the online account.
Within days, an e-mail was sent to some Absolute Poker players confirming what the source told MSNBC. Most significantly, the message from AP management vowed that ?all players affected by the security breach will be identified during the audit process that has been initiated and all funds, including interest, will be returned.?
Meanwhile, as the Kahnawake Gaming Commission was conducting the third-party audit of Absolute Poker, questions arose about the company that holds one hundred percent interest in AP being a fair and impartial judge of the situation. The company squashed many of those rumors with a statement released on October 21. Joe Norton, the former Grand Chief of the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake, admitted that wrongdoing occurred and AP was not forthcoming in its explanation of the matter. He also noted that their poker system was compromised by a ?high-ranking trusted consultant employed by AP whose position gave him extraordinary access to certain security systems.?
Absolute Poker began to accept responsibility for the cheating and confirm what players like Nat Arem and Todd Witteles first discovered, though some of Norton’s vague statements still left room for speculation. Affected players began to receive e-mails initiating a return of money spent on tournaments in which cheating occurred, including buy-ins, fees, extra prize money, and ten percent interest on said refunds.
Mark Seif, anAbsolute Poker-sponsored professional player, had been silent on the issue until October 18. In his first personal blog post on the topic, he expressed concern about the possibility of unethical and improper behavior taking place on the site he represents, though he reserved the right to wait until all evidence was taken into consideration before making any decisions or judgments.
Some in the poker community doubt Seif’s sincerity and have not been shy about expressing it on forums, specifically pointing to a 2006 online tournament in which Seif was accused by opponents and observers of cheating. He has been unsuccessful in obtaining hand histories from AP to clear his name to this point.
In Parts 3 and 4, Seif’s role in the business of Absolute Poker and the cheating allegations against him will be examined, as well as the overly-informative Excel document sent to Marco (explained in Part 1) and the possibility that it was leaked by a whistleblower. The saga continues…
See Also: An Absolute Mess, Part 1
Filed under: Poker News