CBS' "60 Minutes" Program Not Saying When Online Poker Cheat Segment Will Air!

As previously reported, the story about the huge online poker scandals was rumored to air on the CBS news program “60 Minutes” this Sunday, October 26th. However, when prompted for confirmation by certain other news agencies, the show's producers declined to verify the air date, instead saying that the content of the October 26th edition of the program had not yet been determined. 60 Minutes often airs current news content in addition to feature stories.

Of course I and probably every one of you reading this blog are anxious to see this segment and what else might come out about the scandals that we haven´t heard yet. Since CBS originally planned and then filmed this episode before former WSOP champ Russ Hamilton was named as the brains behind the UltimateBet scandal, it's possible that "60 Minutes" decided to further edit the segment in order to cover more about Hamilton.

Show producers stated that the content for the upcoming week is often determined on Thursdays. At press time, its website only listed the content for the October 19th installment, which aired last Sunday night. Stories on Afghanistan, Bank of America, and bullfighting took center stage last week and the show typically airs three features. Recently, 60 Minutes correspondents have also focused on the economic crisis in the United States, the details of the $700 billion bailout that was passed by Congress, and an in-depth look at Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama.

The news program has been making waves in the online poker world. CBS News officials have already interviewed Harrah’s executives as well as those involved with the recent legal actions in Kentucky. Prominent poker players have been interviewed, leaving the door wide open for a variety of topics to be discussed when the online poker story airs.

The scandals at Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker were originally slated to take center stage. The former room has until November 3rd to “commence refunding all players accounts found to have been adversely affected by the cheating of individuals under the control and supervision of the licensee,” according to a mandate issued by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, which is the regulatory body that oversees Ultimate Bet. The site must also “remove any and all persons deemed as ‘unsuitable’ by the KGC from all involvement with the company, which shall include all levels of ownership, management and operation.”

Meanwhile, 60 Minutes could also choose to focus on the recent actions by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, whose seizure order of 141 internet gambling domain names was upheld in a Franklin courtroom by Judge Thomas Wingate last week. That, combined with the upcoming World Series of Poker Main Event final table resuming on November 9th, could make for a very timely feature on the show.