Ultimate Bet cheating scandal update: UB may get extension from KGC

November 17, 8:37 PMOnline Poker ExaminerSteven Ruddock

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The Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC), Ultimate Bet’s regulatory agency, may give the online poker site an extension on its mandates that were set forth on September 29th. Tokwiro, the current owners of Ultimate Bet, have asked the KGC for a hearing to determine a new timeline.

The original KGC mandate read that by November 3rd, Ultimate Bet shall “commence refunding all players accounts found to have been adversely affected by the cheating of individuals under the control and supervision of the licensee.” Estimates are that Ultimate Bet had paid out over $6 million as of September 29th.

In its findings, the KGC identified Russ Hamilton as the “main person responsible” for the cheating scandal. Hamilton and his group of cohorts used an auditing tool that allowed them to see the hole cards of other players at the table, originally designed to work out bugs in the system during testing.

The cheating began in May of 2004 and lasted until January, 2008. One of the accounts involved in the scandal, Sleeplesss, was traced back to a home at 1725 Glenview Drive in Las Vegas owned by Hamilton. Other accounts involved in the wrongdoings were NioNio, NoPaddles, nvtease, flatbroke33, ilike2win, UtakeIt2, FlipFlop2, erick456, WhackMe44, RockStarLA, stoned2nite, monizzle, FireNTexas, HeadKase01, LetsPatttty, NYMobser, and WhoWhereWhen.The KGC handed down a $1.5 million fine to Ultimate Bet for the cheating scandal.

UB also had until November 2nd to “remove any and all persons deemed as ‘unsuitable’ by the KGC from all involvement with the company, which shall include all levels of ownership, management, and operation.” In an effort to rehabilitate their image Ultimate Bet has signed an all-star cast, calling it their   “Star Players team". With such personalities as: blackjack pro “Hollywood” Dave Stann and online poker pro Adam “Roothlus” Levy.

Other members of its Star Players team include “Best Damn Poker Show” Season I winner Tracy Scala and  Tiffany Michelle, who was the last woman eliminated in the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event. Top online players, Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy and James “P0KERPR033” Campbell are also part of the star players team.

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