+1 and then some. Get rid of the damn thing.

But Maui, your avatar is one of the VERY BEST.

You make a key point here Barry. Those most familiar with the workings of Vegas and live games know very well that when a guy leaves the Nevada Gaming Commission, he is already setup with a casino job.

Ex N.J. Gaming officer, now with private company he owns, and probably no prior internet forensics experience leaves a lot to be disired. He may very well be an honest guy, but for years now (longer than most internet players have been alive), the distinction between the casino house and it's regulators has become very blurred.

The whole KGC smells scam to me, but it is to be expected that internet gambling is bound to be an attractive avenue for high level con men.

Mindless assaults on your actions Barry are laughable, and are little more than graffiti on the forum. Frustrating, but soon forgotten.

Thanks for your efforts.

this article was on the 3rd page of The Age which is a newspaper with high circulation here in Melbourne. i cant remember there being an article about poker in there since Hachem won the ME.

Hope it's OK to quote yourself.

One thing that would be very helpful, and Barry G. could help push this along.
Have a PokerStars representative post on here why they have no relationship any longer with KGC. They need to provide specific reasons for terminating this relationship.

No one expects them to comment on UB any any fashion.

And also to explain who is the Interactive Gaming Council that Stars now lists a relationship with.
Do they function as a "Gaming Commission", or is it more of a trade group for like businesses?

Until there can be actual and trustworthy oversight of gambling sites (I hate the phrase Gaming, call it what it is!); Stars or any other site that cares to could take a big step by describing any relationships they have with outside parties that act in some form of game or fraud security.

But it can't be a sales pitch. It has to describe the relationship and if the outide entity provides security; describe if they have unlimited 24 hour access to the site.

You should email support and ask them yourself. 'News, Views, and Gossip' is not the PokerStars support forum.

The Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet scandal has been slashdotted
It's officially of interest to nerds everywhere.

You people jumping on Barry are ridiculous. He went out on a limb and said he thought Russ knew who cheated, thus putting pressure on Russ. He could have just stayed silent like most of the big names that stand to make money by being non-controversial.

Barry has an IRL reputation and can't make wild accusations like the rest of the 17 year olds here.

Absolute Poker has referred to Grimstar as a "consultant" for the company




uh oh

Barry, you are friggin awsome...

Can I have an autograph pic of you cleaning up your sullied rep?

This sentiment that Hamilton and others are exempt from criminal or civil prosecution because of UB's "offshore" status is driving me nuts.

Allow me to play a little fast and loose with facts discussed in this thread to illustrate:

Fact: Russ Hamilton lives in the USA
Fact: Freddy Deeb lives in the USA.
Allegation: Russ Hamilton participated in a consipiracy to defraud Freddy Deeb (et al.) of millions of dollars.

A key component of this fraud was hours of commercial time shown on USA TV (not a stretch if you consider FSN's BDPS is a giant commercial).

Conclusion: RH should definitly be on the hook for fraud and theft charges, mabe even RICO charges. And after he's convicted, why wouldn't Freddy be able to sue Hamilton and UB to recoop losses?

That would involve me leaving my room and going downstairs to the milkbar and checking the newspapers. I'll see if I can make it.

I'm all for the fraudsters being brought to justice, but I just can't help thinking this negative exposure going mainstream is going to be terrible for online poker in the long run.

I think your reputation for fairness and honesty is pretty safe Barry, but how about your reputation for making good "reads"?

What kind of asshat, d-bag thing to say. The guy took the dude at his word, and formed an opinion. Upon recieving new info, he revised his opinion. I mean, its not like he's Phil Hellmuth and can read people's souls or anything. He understands (unlike some of the "kids on 2+2 who jump to conclusions without any facts") that it's a fluid situation and the truth will come out.

Anyone calling Barry out is beyond ******ed.

In reguards to what he said about "2+2 kids on witchhunts" you guys are taking it the wrong way. He's not saying that 2+2 is fos, he's saying it's impossible for anyone to read and believe this garbage because of some of the **** you guys post with no factual base. If you look through all the UB threads without your eyes bleeding you will notice a large percentage of them are outlandish speculation with no facts that actually do more harm than good.

qft. Even in this thread, there are idiot things posted by people who haven't even read a good part of the rest of thread, let alone any of the articles referenced at the top which started the discussion. Lazy, "Cliffs Notes"-seeking, sound-bite spewing ******s.

MSNBC does another article, this time on Russ Hamilton

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26963451/

They should take the case to the feds rather than the LVPD IMO. They can conduct a nationwide investigation and undoubtedly are more computer savvy. They're also much better at tracing money.

Can we stop flaming BarryG for openly, and honestly speaking his mind. Unlike many of you who flame him he never claimed to have the facts, have the truth or even know the truth. He only ever said what he felt and believed.

It takes balls to take a stand, regardless of whether you stand ends up being correct or not.

I don't know about you guys, but I'd much rather have a high-profile pro like Barry speaking his mind than hiding in the shadows. He's the first to admit when and if he makes a mistake, and deserves our respect as I see it.

Whatever happens with the UB BS, it should be about them and the facts, not about Barry. I know it's asking a lot of many forum users, but It helps everyone if you at least try to stay on topic.

Here's a couple more interesting tidbits from this piece:

ZOMG I THINK BARRY WAS BEHIND TEH WHOLE THING1!!1!1

I am uber famous cause I am now one of the people barry mentioned in this post (as making wild accusations with no proof and generally being a moron)

P.S. and he called me a kid despite being 33 woot!
P.P.S props to Barry for being one of the few pros with enough balls to wade into this mess and look for answers

Is it really illegal under Nevada law or is that just another case of thinking UIGEA outlawed online poker? If it is I think it might be tough getting them to prosecute someone for cheating while participating in an illegal activity.

edit: not that I don't think anyone caught shouldn't be prosecuted, cause they should be beaten with a wet noodle and then prosecuted

Catania’s final audit is unlikely to bypass IRS scrutiny

This is all generally correct. The issue isn't whether Russ, assuming he did it, violated federal and state laws within the US, it's whether the authorities will be able to obtain the evidence and witnesses necessary to convict, when that evidence and those witnesses are in the hands of UB.

Nevada does really have a law against playing online poker, though it has never been enforced.

The short version of events will tell you why: Some number of years ago (like 8 or 9) Nevada passed a law to license internet casinos. As part of that law it was made a misdemeanor crime for a Nevada person to play on any internet casino not licensed by Nevada. Then the DOJ went to Nevada and said you cant license internet casinos because that would violate Federal law (almost every non DOJ lawyer disagrees with this statement, except as to sports betting). So nothing else ever happened and the law was forgotten.

But also the law is fundamentally unconstitutional - it violates the Commerce Clause of the Constitution which prevents states from discriminating against foreign companies engaged in interstate commerce.

So yes the law is there, but it is ignored and unconstitutional.

Also, when you steal a drug dealer's weed or money, you are just as guilty of a crime as when you steal a licensed bar's booze or money.

Skallagrim