HAS ABSOLUTE POKER SPURNED INDEPENDENT AUDIT OFFER?

9 November 2007

2+2 publisher reveals details of a generous offer to help get to the bottom of the Absolute Poker debacle


With no official progress reports yet forthcoming from either Absolute Poker or Kahnawake Gaming Commission on the promised Gaming Associates inspection, the furore caused by tournament cheating allegations continued this week.

The row stems from player investigations on the 2+2 and other poker message boards that uncovered dishonest play in an online tournament by an Absolute Poker "consultant" who apparently had sight of his opponents' hole cards.

After dismissing the allegations as impossible and untrue for over a month, Absolute Poker and its licensing jurisdiction Kahnawake Gaming Commission admitted there was a problem and announced that the KGC testing contractor Gaming Associates would be brought in to investigate. Absolute Poker is wholly owned by Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG, a Kahnawake company which is owned 100 percent by a former Mohawk chief, Joe Norton.

This week the owners and publishers of the 2+2 forum updated members on some of the behind-the-scenes activity in the scandal.
Mason Malmuth of Two Plus Two Publishing revealed that Absolute Poker had approached him and asked if Two Plus Two would confirm to its forums that Absolute had done everything in its power to address and fix the cheating allegations, security breaches, and improper activity being discussed so widely.

Malmuth told the Absolute representative that he would not make such a statement unless he believed it to be true and thought it was in the best interests of the community.

In a cooperative move, Malmuth suggested that expert and independent investigation of the scandal was required, and offered - at 2+2's expense - to commission his legal representatives to put together a competent and totally independent team to undertake such an initiative. If the results of the project indicated that Absolute Poker was safe for players, Malmuth gave an undertaking that he would post a forum notice to that effect.

"The representative from Absolute Poker who we spoke with initially agreed to these terms and I presented the investigation opportunity to my attorneys," writes Malmuth.

"My attorneys informed me that they would be willing to conduct a thorough investigation of Absolute Poker," Malmuth reports. "The law firm could immediately assemble a team of lawyers, computer specialists, and ex-government fraud investigators to fully analyze the current situation at Absolute and give an accurate report on the same. In order to accept, however, my attorneys needed to make it very clear that:

1. The investigation and report would be for the direct benefit of Two Plus Two and its forums, not Absolute Poker,

2. A positive outcome for Absolute could not be guaranteed,

3. The report and investigation would not include Two Plus Two’s (or its attorneys’) position on the general legality of online poker, and

4. They would accept direct compensation for the investigation only from Two Plus Two as a client."

With the initiative gathering momentum, 2+2's attorneys submitted a detailed plan for the audit, which Malmuth found reasonable and felt would be sure to produce an objective assessment. He forwarded the proposal to Absolute Poker management and.....nothing. No acknowledgement, comment or any indication that the project might move forward.

Malmuth concludes: "We at Two Plus Two don’t know enough about Gaming Associates to judge its ability to conduct an adequate investigation of Absolute Poker.

"We do know, however, that this proposed investigation makes us uneasy for a few reasons:

"First, according to its press release, Absolute Poker is funding the investigation directly, with no third party involved to ensure objectivity.

"Second, Absolute has apparently agreed to allow Bluff Magazine and Pocket Fives to review the findings of the investigation without a similar arrangement for Two Plus Two. This seems strange considering Two Plus Two’s role in uncovering and discussing this situation.

"Finally, Two Plus Two believes that a report from Gaming Associates, an Australian company apparently dealing primarily with Antigua and Barbados companies, may not maintain the same weight and reliability as the international law firm retained by Two Plus Two."

Explaining the reasons for publishing the update, Malmuth wrote: "First, I wanted to inform all Two Plus Two posters of the Absolute situation and our current stance on the issue. Second, I wanted to encourage discussion on whether Absolute’s current investigation proposal with Gaming Associates is adequate to protect its site and the online poker industry in general."

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