Casino Games

I'm Calling Out Absolute Poker
The Absolute Poker Scandal is Poker's Story of the YearThe scandal involving Absolute Poker, with the online poker community doing much of the detective work that led to the uncovering of a “superuser� account that had access to all the cards in play during a tournament, is surely the poker news story of the year. The surges of interest within the online poker community held Absolute’s feet to the fire and finally admit that some of their employees had indeed gaffed a tournament to their own benefit. Absolute Promised anAudit Report by December 7, But Failed to Deliver. I Want to Know Why.But now it’s been a month since there’s been any news at all from Absolute. In a November 22 press release they said that an investigation and audit were underway. They promised to send a copy of the audit report to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission by December 7, 2007. So far, no word, and here it is nearly a month beyond the promised date. There’s not even a statement to the effect that the report was delayed, and when its release might be expected. Why Does Anyone Still Play at Absolute?So who’s still playing at Absolute? Quite a few, actually, if you check the stats. I'm Calling Out Absolute for their Failure to Stand Up and AnswerAnd I’m wondering why. On the edge of a new year, it’s time to call out Absolute, and call out anyone who is foolish enough to play at a site that had a major problem and now does not have the intellectual honesty, the courage, the conviction, or the cojones to provide honest answers. I'm Calling Out Absolute's Players Too I’m calling out Absolute’s players too. You must be fools to entrust your money to a site that will not stand up and take responsibility for their actions, or lack thereof, when it comes to keeping your money and your game safe and secure. It’s not like Absolute is the only game in town. Players, you have a choice, and none of the other online poker rooms seem as rife with security and honesty issues as Absolute. Absolute Seems Happy to Let Time Disolve this Story's FurorIt appears as though Absolute is happy to let time pass and erode the furor and indignation that accompanied this story when it first broke. Now, instead of a detective story, the scandal looks to be well on its way to becoming a market place issue. If that’s the case, then only the actions of Absolute’s customers, by voting with their feet, can force Absolute to ‘fess up, explain what really happened, share the audit report with the online poker community, and explain how they will prevent this from happening again. I’ve never played at Absolute. I don’t have any particular axe to grind. But that’s not important. What is important is that I plan never to play there unless Absolute is forthright and forthcoming about their role in online poker’s biggest scandal to date. Absolute Poker: It's Time to Do the Right ThingHappy New Year, Absolute Poker: I’m calling you out to answer for your behavior, and to show the online poker community how you plan to guard against this in the future. I’m also calling out Absolute’s players, asking you why you persist in supporting a site that will not respond to their role in poker’s biggest scandal ever. If you want to help put the Absolute Poker Scandal to rest, take your money and play elsewhere, at least until Absolute bellies up to the bar with some explanations and a plan for going forward. If you believe in honest poker, it’s the least you can do.

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:GRAYCATPAYUPSTEAMROLLERPOTRIPPERXXCASHMONEYXX, also known as SUPERCARDSMSSDOUBLEDRAGRONFALDOXXB also known as ROMNALDOWho 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 lineSo 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.

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