Tokwiro Enterprises

Tokwiro Enterprises is a private company that owns two online poker cardrooms, Absolute Poker and UltimateBet. [ [http://www.absolutepoker.com/support/privacy.asp AbsolutePoker.com: Privacy Policy] ] [ [http://www.ultimatebet.com/about-us UltimateBet.com: Who is UB?] ] [ [http://pokerworks.com/article-1371.html Pokerworks.com: Joe Norton AKA Absolute Poker?] ]

Absolute Poker

Absolute Poker is one of the world's ten largest online poker cardrooms. Established in 2003, it is licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission.

2007 security breach

In September 2007, Absolute Poker began defending itself following accusations made by members of several Internet forums that the online poker room has a "superuser" account which allows one player to read the hole cards of another during a game. [ [http://www.bluffeurope.com/newsDetail.aspx?id=14686 Bluff Europe: Absolute Poker in 'Superuser' Controversy] ] By October, widespread Internet allegations of cheating led to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission beginning an investigation. [ [http://www.ktvn.com/Global/story.asp?S=7229673 Associated Press: Kahnawake Gaming Commission Starts Probe into AbsolutePoker.com] ] [ [http://www.egrmagazine.com/item/2198 eGaming Review: Absolute engulfed in cheating scandal] ]

Although allegations had been made about several accounts, one of the most remarkable pieces of evidence was a complete history of a tournament in which a player called "POTRIPPER" played. This history was far more complete than normal; it included all hidden hole cards for all of the players at the table, and the ip addresses of players and third-party observers who were watching the game via the internet. It was sent out, perhaps by accident, when a player complained about suspicious play. Reviewing the data, well-known mathematician and gaming expert Michael Shackleford said:

Hand after hand POTRIPPER’s play is consistent with that of a player who had knowledge of every player’s hole cards. The majority of hands show POTRIPPER bluffing at just the right times when his opponents were weak. Yet, when he was hopelessly outmatched, even with good cards, he laid them down. [ [http://wizardofodds.com/software/absolutepoker.html Wizard of Odds: Absolute Poker Investigation] ]

Shackleford subsequently blacklisted Absolute Poker on his gaming related website. [ [http://wizardofodds.com/blacklist Wizard of Odds: Blacklist] ]

On October 19, an unofficial source within Absolute Poker claimed that an employee had hacked the system to "prove a point". [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21381022/ MSNBC: Online Poker Cheating Blamed on an Employee] ] On October 21, Absolute released an official statement:

...it appears that the integrity of our poker system was compromised by a high-ranking trusted consultant employed by AP whose position gave him extraordinary access to certain security systems. As has been speculated in several online forums, this consultant devised a sophisticated scheme to manipulate internal systems to access third-party computers and accounts to view hole cards of other customers during play without their knowledge. [...] We will pay for all losses suffered by the affected players as soon as our audit is finished and the amounts are determined. [ [http://www.pokernews.com/news/2007/10/absolute-kahnawake-norton-issues-statement.htm Pokernews.com: Absolute Poker - Consultant Cited in Latest Statement] ]

In November 2007, Absolute issued an interim statement claiming the employee cheating had taken place over a period of forty days and that the cardroom was refunding $1.6 million to affected players. [ [http://www.allinmag.com/article.php?article=1122 AllIn Magazine: Absolute Poker Issues Interim Statement On Security Breach] ] The Kahnawake Gaming Commission issued its report on the incident in January 2008. Among other consequences, Absolute Poker was fined $500,000. [ [http://www.kahnawake.com/gamingcommission/KGC-AP-0111.pdf Kahnawake Gambling Commission: In the Matter of Absolute Poker] PDF file]

The Quebec provincial police opened an investigation into the ongoing matter. [ [http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3752500 ABCNEWS.com: Online Poker Players Expose Alleged Fraud] ]

UltimateBet

Founded in 2001, UltimateBet is one of the ten largest online poker cardrooms.

Once a year, UltimateBet hosts a live tournament, the Aruba Poker Classic, which was a World Poker Tour event for the first four seasons of the show. In 2005, Freddy Deeb won the event, claiming the $1,000,000 prize. Prior winners were Eric Brenes in 2004, Erick Lindgren in 2003, and Juha Helppi in 2002. The tournament in 2008 is a $5,000 buy in event with a guaranteed $1 million top prize.

Spokespeople for UltimateBet include professional poker players Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke, as well as actress-turned-poker player Tiffany Michelle. [ [http://www.ultimatebet.com/poker-news/2008/july/UltimateBet-Hollywood-Star-Player Ultimatebet.com: UltimateBet's Star Players Team Turns to Hollywood for Newest Recruit] ]

Like other online poker rooms, UltimateBet also offers a .net play-money-only cardroom.

UltimateBet offers Texas hold 'em, Omaha high and high low, seven card stud high and high low, Pineapple and Triple Draw A-5 and 2-7 Lowball. Mixed games tables are also offered (HO, HOSE, HORSE) and Roshambo.

Prior to the passage of the SAFE Port Act, the software parent company of the cardroom, Excapsa Software was traded on the London Stock Exchange as XCP.L. In October 2006, the company announced it was selling its assets to a private company and moving to delist itself from the stock exchange. [ [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=aFZdS8n5Ejbs Bloomberg: Excapsa to Sell Assets, Scrap Listing on U.S. Gaming Crackdown] ] The legality of the deal was immediately questioned due to the fact that most of the payment would take place after the act became law. [ [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9070-2401861,00.html The Times: Deferred portion of £130m Excapsa sale raises questions] ]

Cheating scandal

UltimateBet had a cheating scandal similar in nature to that of Absolute Poker. [ [http://pokerworks.com/article-2173.html Public Still Awaiting Answers in UltimateBet Cheating Scandal] ] In May 2008, the company released a statement about the scandal, claiming that cheating had taken place from March 2006 to December 2007. However, in a later statement they confirmed that the cheating had begun at the start of 2005:

We have also confirmed that the cheating dates back further then we initially believed. We can now confirm that the cheating began in January 2005, long before Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG acquired UltimateBet from the previous ownership. [ [http://www.ultimatebet.com/poker-news/2008/july/Investigation-Status-Update Status Update on NioNio Investigation] ]

The company claimed the cheating was perpetrated by employees of the former owners, Excapsa Software. [ [http://www.ultimatebet.com/poker-news/2008/may/nionio-findings ULTIMATEBET ISSUES STATEMENT REGARDING UNFAIR PLAY] ] According to the company, the fraudulent activity was traced to unauthorized software code that transferred hole-card information of other players to the perpetrators during play. UltimateBet stated it had removed the cheating software as of February 2008 and began issuing refunds to affected players. [ [http://www.pokernews.com/news/2008/05/ultimate-bet-issues-statement-unfair-play.htm Pokernews.com: Online Site UltimateBet Issues Statement Regarding Unfair Play] ]

On September 29, 2008, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission stated it had found clear and convincing evidence to support a conclusion that between the approximate dates of May 2004 to January 2008, Russ Hamilton was the main person responsible for, and benefitting from, multiple cheating incidents at Ultimate Bet. [ [http://www.pokernews.com/news/2008/09/kahnawake-announces-ultimate-bet-sanctions.htm Kahnawake Gaming Commission Announces Sanctions on UltimateBet: Russ Hamilton Named] ] [ [http://www.kahnawake.com/gamingcommission/kgc092908.pdf Kahnawake Gaming Commission: Kahnawake Gaming Commission Imposes Sanctions on Ultimate Bet with Regard to Cheating Incidents] ]

CEREUS Network

In July 2008, Absolute Poker and Ultimatebet announced a merger between the two sites to form a new poker network called CEREUS Poker. [ [http://www.absolutepoker.com/media/cereus-poker-platform.asp AbsolutePoker.com: Launch of new online poker platform: CEREUS] ]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.absolutepoker.com/ Absolute Poker official site]
* [http://www.ultimatebet.com/ UltimateBet official site]