Cereus Poker Network
Tokwiro Enterprises is a private company that owns two online poker cardrooms, Absolute Poker and UltimateBet.[1][2]
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. [3] By October, widespread Internet allegations of cheating led to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission opening an investigation. [4][5]
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, and included all hidden hole cards for all players. 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. [6]
On October 19, an unofficial source within Absolute Poker claimed that an employee hacked the system to "prove a point". [7] 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.[8]
- [...] We will pay for all losses suffered by the affected players as soon as our audit is finished and the amounts are determined.
On November 8, while the Kahnawake Gambling Commission investigation of the incident was still underway, Absolute issued an interim statement claiming the employee cheating took place over a period of forty days, and the cardroom was refunding $1.6million to effected players.[9]
The Quebec provincial police opened an investigation into the matter that is ongoing. [10]
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.
Spokespeople for UltimateBet include professional poker players Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, Dave "Devil Fish" Ulliott, Antonio Esfandiari, and actress Jennifer Tilly.
Like other online poker rooms, UltimateBet also offers a .net play money only cardroom.
UltimateBet has 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, and HORSE).
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 they were selling their assets to a private company and moving to delist from the stock exchange. [11] 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.[12]
The 2007 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event winner, Annette Obrestad never deposited money on a poker site, but won her initial bankroll by winning a freeroll on UltimateBet.
References
- ^ AbsolutePoker.com: Privacy Policy
- ^ UltimateBet.com: Who is UB?
- ^ Bluff Europe: Absolute Poker in 'Superuser' Controversy
- ^ Associated Press: Kahnawake Gaming Commission Starts Probe into AbsolutePoker.com
- ^ eGaming Review: Absolute engulfed in cheating scandal
- ^ Wizard of Odds: Absolute Poker Investigation
- ^ MSNBC: Online Poker Cheating Blamed on an Employee
- ^ Pokernews.com: Absolute Poker - Consultant Cited in Latest Statement
- ^ AllIn Magazine: Absolute Poker Issues Interim Statement On Security Breach
- ^ ABCNEWS.com: Online Poker Players Expose Alleged Fraud
- ^ Bloomberg: Excapsa to Sell Assets, Scrap Listing on U.S. Gaming Crackdown
- ^ The Times: Deferred portion of £130m Excapsa sale raises questions