Inside Straight -- News

A Discussion With the COO of Absolute Poker and UltimateBet
By Bob Pajich

Paul Leggett is the chief operating officer (COO) of Tokwiro, the company that owns both Absolute Poker and UltimateBet, the two sites where two separate inside cheating scandals took place starting in 2007. The company recently brought the two sites together on its own new poker platform called CEREUS.

Leggett sat down with Card Player to discuss CEREUS and the past problems of Absolute Poker and UltimateBet. This is only an excerpt of the interview, which can be found in full at CardPlayer.com.

Card Player: What would you tell a player who followed the cheating scandals on both sites about the new platform that would assure him of safety moving forward?

Paul Leggett: It's not just the platform to me, although it's a very, very important part of it. Essentially, obviously, our company, Tokwiro, was plagued with problems in recent years. Both sites that were acquired had a cheating scandal on them. One was an internal employee at Absolute Poker, and the company, I think, did everything it could to rectify the situation properly once it was discovered. And with the UltimateBet scandal, which was inherited from the previous owners, we did everything we could to get to the bottom of everything, understand everything that happened, and reimburse players with a lot of our money; but we also received a settlement of $15 million from the previous owners, which, I think, proves to everybody that we really had nothing to do with this.

We really fought to get the players their money back, so I think we did everything we could to try to rectify these problems, but we also have really changed the entire company.

We started with a complete new management team when I became COO in January of 2008. And we've implemented a new compliance team and a new specialized poker security department, built a new security center, and made huge strides with a bunch of regulatory compliance initiatives. Again, it's the whole company, it's the software, and now we're working on some advanced security initiatives that I think will really help people to feel comfortable.

CP: Let's talk a bit about holding the cheaters responsible. Russ Hamilton was the only cheater named after the investigations were completed. Where are the other names and why isn't Tokwiro putting them out there, and what are you doing to get these guys held accountable?

PL: It's important to understand our role in this whole thing. Essentially, we are a victim by inheriting the cheating when we acquired the businesses. The scandal began many years before we bought them; we've conducted our own internal investigation, and we turned that over to our regulatory body, who conducted their own independent investigation.

The gaming commission subsequently named Russ Hamilton as the main perpetrator, but our investigation determined that there was one main perpetrator who actually cheated and several others who seemed to aid in the cheating, but whether they willingly participated is not conclusive. So, I understand that the public wants us to come out and make accusations and point fingers all over the place, but again, simply, we're just not the judge and jury.

We've done our investigation, we've tried to be as transparent with everything as we could, and the gaming commission has done a good job of at least naming the one person they believed to be the main perpetrator who was doing the actual cheating, and it's very possible that they will name other people if they can confirm them. I know they released in their press release that they are going to work with different police forces. And we're continuing to explore what we can do specifically with the cheaters themselves, but it's very complicated and there are jurisdictional issues, but our first priority was always to get a name released of who was involved and to get the players their money back. But it's not over. We just think we've taken some pretty big steps and made a lot of progress so far.

CP: How far along are you in getting money back to the players?

PL: It's completed, 100 percent.

The Art of the Chop - Poker Negotiations
Two Pros Disagree on Dealmaking
By Stephen A. Murphy



You've just had the tournament of your life and you're sitting at the final table. With outrageous pay jumps for every place and ferocious blinds, the players at the table start discussing a deal. What should you do?
Well, that depends on whom you ask.

Daniel Negreanu, the Card Player 2004 Player of the Year, recommends that you avoid making deals for a variety of reasons. Alex "AJKHoosier1" Kamberis, on pace to become the Card Player 2008 Online Player of the Year, says it's OK to consider it if you don't think you have an edge, but argues that you shouldn't be complacent with what you're scheduled to get.

A chop at the final table occurs when the remaining players decide to split up the prize pool in a way that is different than the tournament is scheduled to pay out.

Negreanu decided a long time ago to adopt a no-chop policy, and he advises other players to consider it.
"By not making a deal, I would never be getting the worst of a deal, and I wouldn't be hustling or swindling anybody into a bad deal," Negreanu said.

Kamberis, who recently negotiated $110,000 more for himself in one of the biggest chops in online poker history in the 2008 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) main event, couldn't disagree more about the "hustling and swindling" attitude.

"Chopping is absolutely part of the game," said Kamberis. "Just like when you're at a table and you read the players, you read the players during a chop - seeing which players aren't really going to fight over it and who's complacent with the money they've already made."

He says that final-table moments are not the time to be generous. He suggests taking what sounds to be an almost Machiavellian approach.

"Don't be afraid to be pretty ruthless. Go after what you can possibly get," said Kamberis.

So, what should you do when presented a chop proposal? You'll have to decide for yourself if chopping is for you, but if you're worried about getting the short end of the stick, there are a few things to keep in mind:

Ask for chop numbers. Sometimes, sneaky (and clever) players will try to persuade you to take a deal with their proposed numbers. Even if you might be willing to give up some cash, you should start out by asking for a by-the-chips chop, to have a reasonable place to begin the negotiations. Virtually all poker sites will accommodate this.

Maintain your poker face. Even if you're thrilled with the proposed deal, you don't want to "show your hand" and thus give up any potential bargaining power that you had.

Understand your position. If you have a 2-1 chip advantage over someone, you really shouldn't be taking even money with another player.

Most professionals, Kamberis included, generally do not like to chop, because usually they are the best players at the table and they feel confident that they will be able to take it down. But if you are playing for a life-changing amount of money, or if you don't believe you have an edge, you might want to consider making a deal.

New Poker Show Hits the Web This Month
Continental Poker Championship Will Show Every Hand
By Bob Pajich

Beginning this month, Turning Stone Casino in New York is the home of a new poker show produced by Continental Poker Championship, LLC, which promises to show every hand and holecards at all of its final tables.

There will be approximately 12 live broadcasts in 2009, and a second major casino in Detroit. Buy-ins for the monthly tournaments will range from $1,500 to $5,000.

The programs will feature commentary from Tom Schneider, 2007 World Series of Poker Player of the Year, and Eric Ulis, founder and CEO of the CPC.

"We are very excited to introduce to the poker community our brand-new, high-quality poker programming that is live, shows all the players' holecards, and features every single hand played as the final table is played down from six players to the champion," Ulis said.

The program will be available to viewers in high definition on a pay-per-view basis via the CPC.TV website. The cost is $14.95 per episode. All events will be archived.

In addition to prize money, the top three players in each tournament will win a gold, silver, or bronze medal.

PokerStars Launches Russian Poker Tour
New Project Looks to Tap Growing Market
By Stephen A. Murphy

For the past two years, the poker-viewing public has seen a Russian on the game's biggest stage, controlling the action, instilling fear into his opponents, and impressing fans with his play.

In 2007, it was bracelet winner Alex Kravchenko, who finished in fourth place in the main event when his A-K couldn't win the race against Jerry Yang's pocket eights. This year, it was the aggressive Ivan Demidov, who made some very creative plays en route to his second-place finish in the world championship.

It was evident that Russia was producing some premier players. Well, the poker community should get ready for a whole lot more.

That's because PokerStars recently announced that it will sponsor the Russian Poker Tour (RPT), starting with two major events in early 2009. The first will take place on Jan. 25 in St. Petersburg; it will be a $5,000 buy-in event. The price of poker goes up on Feb. 22, when Moscow hosts the second RPT event with a $10,000 buy-in.

Both Kravchenko and Demidov are expected to attend the events.

This is far from the first poker tour with which the world's most popular poker website has associated itself. PokerStars also runs satellites for its events on the European Poker Tour, Asia Pacific Poker Tour, and Latin American Poker Tour.

To play for an $8,000 prize package for the RPT St. Petersburg event, click on the "Special" tab of the "Events" section of your PokerStars software. Satellites are running for as little as $2.22 or 111 Frequent Player Points.

World Series of Poker Might Not Have Rebuy Events in 2009
Organizers Also Considering a Winner-Take-All Event
By Stephen A. Murphy

Rebuy events at the World Series of Poker might be on their way out.

WSOP Communications Director Seth Palansky has confirmed that organizers of the World Series are considering the possibility of getting rid of rebuy events in 2009, based on some concerns voiced by players.

"There is a movement to not have any rebuy events," said Palansky. "There is the growing concern that a pro can buy a bracelet in a rebuy event."

Palansky said that player feedback is one of the major factors in creating the WSOP schedule. Every year, Harrah's Entertainment and tournament organizers evaluate the merits and downsides of the previous year's events before coming up with a new schedule.

Palansky stressed that a final decision regarding rebuy events has not yet been made, and that the potential change is merely under consideration.

"There's as good a chance that there won't be rebuys as there is that there will be," said Palansky.

In 2006, WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack created the Player Advisory Council to incorporate the players' point of view into the World Series.

Daniel Negreanu, four-time bracelet winner and a member of the Player Advisory Council, is an advocate of the proposed change.

"I am 100 percent against rebuy tournaments at the WSOP," said Negreanu. "They are fine for other venues, but not for a bracelet."

The popular Canadian player said that the rebuy events are not fair to the average player, who doesn't have an endless amount of money to pour into the event.

"Frankly, it gives players like me an unfair advantage in terms of winning the Player of the Year award," said Negreanu.
But many players are hesitant to see rebuys go.

Poker pro Layne Flack, who won the $1,500 pot-limit Omaha rebuy event this year, dismissed the notion that a bracelet could be bought.

"That's bull----," said Flack. "It's not like there is no play. The field is huge."

Flack pointed out that a player can rebuy only when he has as much or less in chips as when he started the tournament, so it isn't as if someone could just buy a dominant stack.

The World Series has seen a number of notable changes in the past few years. In 2008, the poker community was rocked when Harrah's announced that it would delay the playing of the final table for more than four months. In 2007, World Series of Poker Europe launched in London with three bracelet events. In 2006, the $50,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. tournament debuted, and has remained ever since.

Palansky said that the tournament organizers are also discussing implementation of brand-new tournaments in 2009, including a winner-take-all event. As for the highly debated final-table delay for the main event, he said it was "likely" to stay.