http://www.gambling911.com/Absolute-Poker-101807.html By Alejandro Botticelli Gambling911.com October 18, 2007 Absolute Poker has come under allegations of cheating from individuals within the online poker community and it is prepared to clear its name, according to a report filed by 4Flush.com Auditing firm, Gaming Associates, confirmed to 4Flush that they are in communication with Absolute Poker regarding discussion of an audit relating to Absolute Poker. The audit is independent of Absolute Poker, and not paid for by Absolute. Alan Pedley of Gaming Access said today “If we are commissioned to undertake any audit then it will be for and on behalf of the regulatory authority and we will invoice the regulatory authority accordingly. Gaming Associates will not receive any payment whatsoever from the auditee - this is a standard procedure practiced by our clients (regulatory authorities) worldwide.” Bloggers on online poker forums have pointed out irregular play from hand histories that make it appear that a player with the handle "POTRIPPER" seemed to know other players' hole cards. Gambling911.com has come under increasing pressure to remove Absolute Poker as a sponsor as a result of these allegations. "While things looked awfully suspicious, there wasn’t quite a smoking gun, and it was unclear exactly how the cheater might have cheated," wrote Steven D. Levitt in his New York Times opinion piece [1]. Quite by accident, he goes on to explain, "One of the players who’d been cheated requested that Absolute Poker provide hand histories from the tournament (which is standard practice for online sites). In this case, Absolute Poker “accidentally” did not send the usual hand histories, but instead sent a file that contained all sorts of private information that the poker site would never release. "The file contained every player’s hole cards, observations of the tables, and even the IP addresses of every person playing. (I put “accidentally” in quotes because the mistake seems like too great a coincidence when you learn what followed.) I suspect that someone at Absolute knew about the cheating and how it happened, and was acting as a whistleblower by sending these data. If that is the case, I hope whomever “accidentally” sent the file gets their proper hero’s welcome in the end." To make a long story short, one of the suspected cheaters was traced to an IP address that just happened to match that of the Absolute Poker server and an individual that some say is a part owner in Absolute. Absolute Poker has several partners and it will be up to them to determine what actions are taken, if any, to eliminate a "bad seed". "Rogue partners" in the online gambling spectrum is far from a new phenomenon. Sportbet.com has long suffered under the ills of "mismanagement" up until approximately two years ago. BetonSports would later fall into the same trap after its founder, Gary Kaplan, became more removed from the every day operations. He was known to have run a very tight ship. When the company was forced closed by the US government, a number of the executives were caught with their hands in the cookie jar, so to speak. "These allegations come as quite a shock considering Absolute Poker seems on the surface to be very well run and professional," commented Gambling911.com Senior Editor, Payton O'Brien Wednesday night. She admitted that Gambling911.com was in the process of renegotiating its ad contract with Absolute and that all talks would be called off until later this month. "We are confident that this issue will be resolved to everyone's satisfaction but only time will tell and we will make a determination after this audit," she added. "Gambling911.com can ill-afford to have its name dragged through the mud should an independent audit reveal some type of monkey business." The Absolute Poker/Ultimate Bet sponsorship package is among the most lucrative on the Gambling911.com website, O'Brien admits. But even more importantly perhaps, Gambling911.com has become one of Absolute Poker's biggest advertising vehicle. Ms. O'Brien, who manages the Gambling911.com website, had not yet arrived at a decision to dismantle the Absolute Poker banners and logos. "We were in the process of scheduling an urgent conference call for Thursday in an effort to gain reassurance that Absolute management is doing the right thing," O'Brien said. "In the end, we will do what is best for our readers and the online poker community as a whole." Concerns continued to mount late Wednesday after Absolute Poker's licensing regulators announced they will begin their own investigation into this matter. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission in Canada says it has begun a probe into widespread allegations of cheating, utilizing the services of Gaming Associates. Gambling Associate audits and certifications are conducted by a team comprising: CISSP, CISA, CISM and ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Auditor trained personnel and where necessary a PhD in Mathematics. Gambling Associates is an ISO 9001 certified company, that is recognized by authorities in Alderney, Alexander First Nation; Antigua & Barbuda; Gibraltar; Mohawk Territory of Kahnawá:ke; Malta; Norfolk Island; Northern Territory of Australia; The Philippines; the United Kingdom; and Vanuatu - worldwide certification. The Kahnawake commission, which has gained a reputation for being more involved in policy and standards enforcement over the past couple of years, says Absolute holds a gambling license with the commission and is obliged to adhere to its regulations. It is unclear whether similar allegations are being made against Ultimate Bet, an Absolute Poker sister site. [1] http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/the-absolute-poker-cheating-scandal-blown-wide-open/ __________________________________________________________________ CSI 2007 is the only conference that delivers a business-focused overview of enterprise security. It will convene 1,500+ delegates, 80 exhibitors and features 100+ sessions/seminars providing a roadmap for integrating policies and procedures with new tools and techniques. Register now for savings on conference fees and/or free exhibits admission. - www.csiannual.com
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