Major Absolute Poker Issue

[SlotsWizard]

Originally Posted by pokeraddict

The entire community owes a huge thank you to Crazymarco, Nat, Adanthar, JoseM and countless others that have helped compile the proof needed to expose the rogue acts that have taken place at Absolute Poker. These people may have saved the poker community hundreds of thousands of dollars if not more if it had been allowed to continue. The ball is now in AP's court if they want to make this as close to right as they can.

Who wants to bet that the final straw was the page added earlier today by The Wizard of Odds? They probably saw that and decided it was time to come clean.

In any event... congrats to everyone who was involved in busting this case wide open.

[Pinababy69]

Originally Posted by pokeraddict

I am trying my best to do a service to those here that do not want to follow the hundreds of pages of threads at 2+2/P5's and NWP.

And I think you've done an outstanding job Pokeraddict. If not for you, I never would have even been able to "grasp" this whole thing. And your forum is mind boggling to me, lol. As quick as you get through reading one page, four more have been added to the thread.

So, at least on my part, thanks very much.

Originally Posted by SlotsWizard

Who wants to bet that the final straw was the page added earlier today by The Wizard of Odds? They probably saw that and decided it was time to come clean.

You could be onto something there SW. That and Bryan's post a couple of pages back saying that more people were involved in it now. I think alot more went on here behind the scenes, involving a few different people, and we may never know.

I am a bit shocked that AP has decided to come clean, but am ecstatic about it. I think it is exactly what they should do. People can be very forgiving, if the accused parties would only come clean. It is a big first step in the right direction.

Edited to add: As Pokeraddict mentioned, kudos and thanks to everyone he listed in his post above. Absolutely outstanding work and dogged determination.

[SlotsWizard]

The true test of their character will be not only what the statement says, but how they go about publicizing it. Are they only going to send it to the forums (and auditors, etc.), or are they going to do the right thing and put a notice (or link to it) in an obvious place on their home page so that even the unaware (if there are any) can know what happened as well?

There's a great quote on page 3 of that Pocket Fives link which I won't steal but it basically says that we really shouldn't be applauding them for finally being truthful; they should have been truthful from the beginning.

[Pinababy69]

Originally Posted by SlotsWizard

The true test of their character will be not only what the statement says, but how they go about publicizing it. Are they only going to send it to the forums (and auditors, etc.), or are they going to do the right thing and put a notice (or link to it) in an obvious place on their home page so that even the unaware (if there are any) can know what happened as well?

There's a great quote on page 3 of that Pocket Fives link which I won't steal but it basically says that we really shouldn't be applauding them for finally being truthful; they should have been truthful from the beginning.

LOL SW, that sounds familiar. Isn't that what alot of us screamed for with the JPF SEO fiasco last year? Full admission of culpability, and having it publicized on more than just forums.

I see alot of similiarities between these two cases.

And yeah, that P5 quote is very appropriate. But I still think it's a good first step. Not all who are caught doing something dirty or underhanded will ever come clean. Let's see where they go with it from here.

[Jstyal]

Originally Posted by pokeraddict

Keep in mind that a good chunk of our rake goes towards fraud. If the industry were regulated the funding sources would be much more legit and the fraud would go way down IMO.

Well that's interesting and certainly debatable. For instance, sites like Neteller were legit and reputable, and look at Pokerstars--they have done an awesome job so far in cracking down on bots, fraud, and providing us with excellent customer service. The legitimacy, trustworthiness, reputability we seek is already there imo. How else would have Neteller and Pokerstars become #1 in their respective fields if this wasn't the case.

Interesting topic nevertheless. And I hope i didn't derail this thread too much. Back to the business on hand.

[Jstyal]

Originally Posted by pokeraddict

http://www.pocketfives.com/18B87A4F-...9C725E0FA.aspx

To any of those that still had any doubts click the above link. AP has confessed. I guess I don't have to worry about getting sued now.

This is excellent news. The big media outlets were getting in on this. It was just a matter of time before they came clean. What a fantastic player and player advocacy community we have.

[pokeraddict]

Originally Posted by Jstyal

Well that's interesting but certainly debatable. Sites like Neteller were legit and reputable, and look at Pokerstars--they have done an awesome job so far in cracking down on bots, fraud, and providing us with excellent customer service. The legitimacy, trustworthiness, reputability we seek is already there imo. How else would have Neteller and Pokerstars become #1 in their respective fields if this wasn't the case.

Interesting topic nevertheless. And I hope i didn't derail this thread too much. Back to the business on hand.

IMO the funding sources for US players would be more secure then they are now. FWIW Neteller had/has tons of problems with fraud. People would use instacash and not have the money in their bank or simply charge back losses. This does not include the more traditional identity theft fraud.

It's just my opinion more legit and secure payment options would be available in a regulated market.

[Jstyal]

Originally Posted by pokeraddict

IMO the funding sources for US players would be more secure then they are now. FWIW Neteller had/has tons of problems with fraud. People would use instacash and not have the money in their bank or simply charge back losses. This does not include the more traditional identity theft fraud.

It's just my opinion more legit and secure payment options would be available in a regulated market.

Can you define what you mean by regulated market? Are you talking about regulating online poker rooms? Internet casinos? The web wallets? Are you talking about regulation at the federal level or the state level or both?

FWIW if you're talking about regulating the web wallets: Remember that the American Paypal has been unregulated for years because even the feds say they don't have to adhere to federal banking regulations. Their service doesn't fall under the federal legal definition of a bank, hence the regulations do not apply to them. If Paypal isn't regulated, then a Neteller type service operating similarly to Paypal in the states wouldn't be regulated at the federal level either.

That's not to say the states themselves cannot regulate these payment solutions any which they want. They can, individually. But they haven't so far with Paypal...and Paypal still decided, even without the burden of following federal regulations, to stop processing gambling transactions altogether.

[Casinomeister]

Well this is great news, not that AP's systems were compromised, but that they actually had taken this incident seriously and are putting an end to this episode.

Who needs regulation when we have players that can produce evidence and convincing arguments? I want to thank everyone who presented these arguments in a clear and concise manner. And yes, I knew that the Wizard was dealing with this. I'm not about to steal his thunder.

I don't think we have heard the end of it though, but I am elated that AP is recognizing that 99% of their players can't be wrong.

[fatshaft]

Originally Posted by GaryWatson

Unban lots0

He may have stepped over the line with the name calling, but thats it. Controversial thread. Give him his due & lets make this as unbiased as we can.

I'm with Gary. It may be a bit like rubber necking a car crash, but I would like to see what he has to say now, he was after all their only defender.

As for Absolute, at least they have owned up, but their anti-fraud and collusion people must be either totally corrupt, or completely incompetent.