Poker Game

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.

Green Joker Poker Sponsors Leading Irish Pro (Press Release)
Online poker room Green Joker Poker is proud to announce the addition of popular Irish poker pro Rob Taylor to the Green Joker Poker team. Rob, who finished second in the Irish Rankings in 2007, will play all the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour events under

Let's Make A Deal: How The United States Bought Its Way Out Of Treaty Obligations And Shunned Billions In Tax Revenue In The Process
According to an agreement signed a few days ago, the US will provide the European Union (EU) with trade concessions in mail services and warehousing as compensation for removing gambling services from its World Trade Organization (WTO) commitment. Although the EU sought $100 billion in concessions, these accommodations fall far short of the mark. The agreement offers new U.S. market opportunities for European companies involved in testing and analysis services, as well as in research and development, and postal and courier services.We'll Give Up Online Gaming, Shun Billions in Tax Revenue, and Pay the European Union Billions in Concessions TooGambling will no longer be covered by US WTO commitments, and instead of choosing to regulate and license online gaming and garner billions in tax revenues in the process, the US will provide concessions to the EU in an amount less than $100 billion. Not a good deal from my perspective, but it satisfies those who see online gaming as morally wrong—except, of course, things like horseracing and fantasy sports, which have successfully lobbied their way through our congress and were cut out of the process.No One Gets Off Scot Free...The US decision to renege on treaty commitments to the WTO and close its markets to offshore internet gambling operators, meant the US had to compensate other governments that would be affected by its decision. According to WTO treaty obligations, any government harmed in this manner is entitled to negotiate compensation with the United States. The European Union, Canada, Japan, India, Australia, Costa Rica and Macao joined Antigua in requesting talks. Australia dropped its claim while Japan reached a deal....and Our Bad Deal Now Sets a PrecedentThe agreement between the EU and the US will now play a role in ongoing negotiations between the US and China, India, Canada and other countries over the WTO issue. This includes the dispute with Antigua. A ruling on the amount of compensation due Antigua has been delayed.A Short History of Legislative StupidityLast year the United States’ Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) stopped U.S. banks and credit card companies from processing payments to online gambling businesses located offshore, closing off a growing business worth more than $12 billion. In March 2007, the World Trade Organization ruled that the US ban was illegal. The WTO ruled that although the US had the right to prevent offshore betting to protect public order and public morals, our government broke trade agreements because rules were unequally applied to American operators offering remote betting on horse and dog racing.We Still Have to Worry About Antigua: The Mouse That RoaredThe WTO will soon rule on Antigua’s request to impose $3.4 billion in commercial sanctions against the US for its failure to comply with the ruling. Antigua, the smallest nation ever to win a WTO dispute, has requested an intellectual property rights waiver that would permit software, movie, and music piracy. Needless to say, this alarmed software and media companies no end, including Microsoft and Universal Pictures, and the Recording Industry Association of America.This ruling is a blow to European online gaming companies, as firms such as PartyGaming hoped the EU might turn down a settlement in favor of fighting to restore their ability to operate in the United States.Throw Them Under the Bus, Kick 'em to the Curb ... It's All in a Day's (Political) WorkDoes this agreement sell out American couriers such as UPS and FedEx? Did the EU throw their own gaming industry under the bus? Time will tell. This complex affair could have been settled easily and simply had congress chosen to pass Representative Barney Frank’s (D-MA) bill, but leave it to politicians to continue to muck things up, and kill the goose laying a golden egg full of tax revenue in the process.

Is This The End For The Tao Of Pauly?
One of poker’s best and favorite bloggers, Paul “Dr. Pauly� McGuire (pictured left), whose blog, The Tao of Pauly at http://taopoker.blogspot.com/ is always worth a read, and whose poker tournament reports are terrific is grappling with the possibility of quitting the poker scene entirely. At least he is today.On his blog, he writes, “After a long and intense three years covering the poker scene, I am more than burnt out. The novelty of spanning the globe has worn out and I waste weeks of my life standing in airport security lines or waiting for another delayed flight or finding myself getting issued another bad beat by JetBlue when I get seated next to another crying baby on my flight from JFK to Burbank. I have been living the majority of the last 1,000 days of my life in hotels and hate having to worry if a horde of illegal immigrant maids with sticky fingers will steal my iPod or a wad of $100 bills that I have hidden somewhere in the room. Or worse, a maid will burst into my hotel room at 8 a.m. (even though I have the "Do Not Disturb" sign in full view) just so she can refold my toilet paper into that nifty little triangle."My worst fears have become a reality. My immersion into poker is no longer cool and exciting. It has become a job instead of a lifestyle choice, and by definition, all jobs suck ... It's time for a break ... if I had any advice to give you... it's this... enjoy the Tao of Poker while you can. It might not be here in 2009. "Maybe I should walk away from poker right now? Cash out. Sell the Tao. I have a big stack in life thanks to my tremendous good luck in poker. I should quit while I'm ahead and use the money I earned to fund my personal projects. I have seen poker's ugly side and many of my friends have gotten their collective asses kicked by poker. They have left empty-handed. "Maybe I should just quit after the 2008 WSOP?"At the end of the 2008 WSOP, I'll make that tough decision. If I choose to walk away from poker entirely, well then that's what's going to happen.�Most of us have been there, done that, and let’s face it—living on the road is a horrible existence; in fact it’s no real existence at all. Long ago in another time and place I was a management consultant living out of a suitcase, wearing a suit and tie each day and skilled in the tricks of the trade—like putting on a good dog-and-pony show to impress our clients while convincing them to extend and renew their contracts with us. I had an epiphany of sorts one day that occurred when I awakened in a hotel room and could not remember where I was that morning. I had to pull on a pair of pants, go down to the lobby and pick up a newspaper to tell me what day it was and what city I was in.That’s about the time I decided to get out of consulting, which was lucrative, and do something saner with my life, like playing poker and writing about it.I don’t have any words of advice to offer Pauly. He’ll have to work this one out by himself and I know he will. All I can say is that I really enjoy his work and like having him in the poker world. I hope he stays. But I’ll understand it if he goes.