Hello,
As a casual player both live and online and a long-time follower of this scandal, I just wanted to add my 2 cents.
This Joe Sebok guy probably means well but what an "absolute"-ly naive kid he is.
There are several points made in this thread which I must agree:
1. Ultimate Bet/Absolute Poker is not a trustworthy entity period. Never was and never will be. Companies owned/run with bad intent do not change their stripes, just their names.
2. This KGC regulatory body appears to be a single fat drunk Native American sitting by himself in a server room in the middle of Canada. All the layers of shell corporations cannot conceal that these guys are all in bed with each other. Oh, and they're not on your side either.
3. This guy Joe Sebok or Joe Serock whatever his name is is being used so badly yet he apparently has no clue. Wow, I would've liked to seen the Dog & Pony show they gave him. His comments about being impressed by them make me cringe, even though I never played nor lost money on that site. I feel bad for those who did and how they must feel. His signing is clearly nothing but a sad and pathetic attempt to try and BUY BACK credibility. Anyone with half a brain can see through these tactics.
4. It is true that he could've POSSIBLY looked good if he had issued a Press Release stating that he "WOULD" sign with UB once his 3 conditions HAVE BEEN met and not a day before. Then once all 3 were met, he could announce his signing as a RESULT of their so-called coming-clean.
5. If they really had changed their stripes, then why did REPUTABLE people like JohnnyBax and Rizen etc recently announce the same thing about UB as Joe did, then subsequently QUIT literally weeks later? Probably not a good sign.
As a casual player on Full Tilt and PStars, if I joined a new site, it would probably be DoylesRoom as they are signing awesome online players like Moormanl and Traheho, not players who I never heard of like this Joe Sebok guy. The only thing that EVER attracted me to UB was not their sleazy front-men, Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke but their Bad Beat Jackpot.
I read a thread today about Phil Hellmuth wanting UB to team up with PStars and FTP to form a rival organization or poker series to Harrahs/WSOP. When it comes down to it, the real question I have is this:
WHAT DOES UB HAVE THAT MAKES IT VALUABLE?
In trying to understand and value businesses, I simply dont understand what they have to still even be a player in this space. FTP has top-name pros that you can play against. PStars has an enormous number of players. Yet UB has nothing I can see other than a bad name and 2 complete clowns as their front-men. Other than being licensed via the KGC, what do they actually offer of value that players cannot get on other sites? Or is it just simply a head-start on dominating certain marketing channels?
I just find it ironic that Phil Hellmuth thinks his UB "brand" is so valuable that he thinks he can rival Harrah's/WSOP. Perhaps with a partnership with FTP and Stars, they could, but FTP and Pstars simply DONT NEED him or UB. He needs THEM, they dont need HIM. Again, what does UB offer other than a known-corrupt website, a known-corrupt regulatory body and 2 of the biggest egomaniac douchbag clowns in poker, PH and AD?
While people here seem to not think much of DoylesRoom, it seems to an outsider like me that they could supplant UB very quickly with the right marketing and affiliate connections/efforts. What makes UB "better" than DoylesRoom? If it is just the software, that is something money can fix.
In conclusion of this rant, Money can buy back a lot of things, but NOT reputations. And I genuinely feel bad for this Joe Sebok guy as he appears to be well-liked and a "nice guy" but man, this dude is NAIVE! UB could do EVERYTHING right from here on out and yet to actual adults like me, who take the time to think for themselves, I would NEVER play on that site no matter what.
That Joe Sebok guy needs to simply look at WHO represents this great UB website and realize now he is a permanent part of THEM: a who's who of CLOWNS: Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, Tiffany Michelle LOLOLOLOLOL and now no matter how hard he tries, Joe sock-puppet muppet.
Poor kid