The Saga of Absolute and Ultimate Bet Poker

The Interesting History of Two Sites

Update: Both of these sites have gone in control of the US Department of Justice. Due to the injustice of the justice system many poker sites had their funds seized and could no longer operate – paving way for US companies to push out foreign companies. These two sites are one that many are glad to see go because of fraud activities by the owners. A book called “Rags to Riches” written by Ben Mezrich is apparently very entertaining about the rise and fall + scandals of this company.

UltimateBet (also known as UB.com) and Absolute Poker (AP) are two sister sites that now comprise the Cereus Network, the third or fourth largest network serving US players and in the top ten of all worldwide poker networks.

Insider Cheating

However, both sites experienced lengthy insider-cheating scandals that became public in late 2007 and early 2008 which have damaged their reputations to the point that many online players choose other options. Ironically, the cheating on both sites occurred independently of one another, though the two sites joined forces following the late-2006 passage of the United States’ Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

The scandals at both UB and AP were uncovered by the players themselves, and both sites originally denied the cheating allegations until the evidence became so overwhelming and damaging that the two sites, in turn, finally had to acknowledge the affairs and undertake a player-refunding process. The scandal at Absolute Poker was the first to be uncovered, with known refunds totaling about $1.6 million.

Ultimate Bet Cheating and Refunds

The cheating at UB was unearthed later, in early 2008, but extended back for several years and resulted in refunds totaling some $22 million. The refusal of both the sites and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (an online regulatory agency claiming to have oversight) to fully name all cheaters involved continues to contribute to lingering doubts about both the accuracy of the refunds issued and the identities of those involved. In the AP situation no one was officially named, while the official KGC report in the UB affair lamed blame on former WSOP world champ Russ Hamilton, while failing to name 31 others it claimed were also involved.

While the two sites have rehabilitated their image to some extent, continued problems such as a recent software security leak have plagued the companies’ ongoing reputation. Until a full and independently verified accounting of the cheating is finally revealed, many online players continue to search for other options, bringing to mind a famous quote by Abraham Lincoln:

A Motto of Online Poker

“If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. It is true that you may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”

Author: Joseph Falchetti (twitter)
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