I have been getting emails from people asking who are the biggest money winning poker and casino cheats of all-time. Many are curious about this because they have read the World Series of Poker players all-time prize money lists and the complete WPT all-time poker tournament money lists. Although this will be harder to compile than the poker money-winning lists, as earnings from cheating poker and casinos are not general public knowledge except in some cases, I will do my best to post this list shortly.
Stay Tuned!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Casino Cheating in France! Tricheries Aux Casinos Francais!
I came across this great article in the French Magazine "Le Point" on the massive cheating going on in French Casinos, especially in those ritzy gambling palaces in Monaco, Caanes and along the rest of the French Riviera, where I, myself, have done some serious casino cheating over the years! If you do not read French, use the Google translator and you should get the gist of it...Enjoy.
En 1873, Joseph Jagger repère une roulette défectueuse au casino de Monte-Carlo et décide de l'exploiter à son avantage. En peu de temps, cet ingénieur britannique amasse 2 millions de francs-or, l'équivalent actuel de 3 millions et demi d'euros ! Plus d'un siècle plus tard, de nombreux cerveaux tout aussi ingénieux que peu scrupuleux lui ont emboîté le pas. "La grande époque de la triche sur la Côte d'Azur se situe dans les années 70 et 80", confie Christian B., responsable de la vidéosurveillance du Ruhl Casino Barrière à Nice. Au cours de l'été de 1979, un gang mené par un Tchèque parvient ainsi à rafler 30 millions de francs aux tables de jeu, dont le tiers provient du casino municipal de Cannes. Quatre ans auparavant, des truands fichés au grand banditisme avaient délesté le palais de la Méditerranée à Nice de 5 millions de francs en une seule partie truquée ! C'est aussi le temps des affaires de baronnage, où clients et croupiers sont de mèche, et qui éclaboussent l'ensemble du littoral azuréen."La plus grosse affaire reste celle du Palm Beach à Cannes, à la fin des années 80", confie Anne-Marie Sallenave, chef de la section niçoise de la police des courses et jeux. Dix-huit prévenus avaient été interpellés à l'époque et le casino avait fermé ses portes. Le montant détourné ? "Incalculable", dit-elle. Dans un article publié en avril 1990,L'Humanité parle d'une escroquerie qui "porterait sur 50 millions de francs" rien que pour l'année 1988.
Flagrant délit. En 2011,"la triche est devenue marginale", assure Anne-Marie Sallenave. Il est vrai que, avec l'arrivée de moyens de surveillance performants et l'instauration de réglementations strictes, les tricheurs professionnels semblent appartenir à une espèce en voie d'extinction."Avec 200 caméras installées, je vois passer le moindre moustique dans mon établissement", assure Jean-Charles Pitt, directeur du Ruhl Casino Barrière à Nice. Si l'on ajoute à la vidéosurveillance le contrôle obligatoire d'identité depuis 2006, des tables de jeu sur écoute, la création ces dernières années d'un fichier national qui liste les joueurs indésirables, les casinos de la Côte, une quinzaine en tout, ont toutes les raisons d'afficher une certaine sérénité.
Ce qui n'empêche pas des fraudeurs futés de tenter leur chance. En 2004, à Beaulieu-sur-Mer, un gang international a mis au point un scénario digne de "Mission impossible". Les joueurs utilisaient des minicaméras dissimulées dans leurs manches pour espionner le jeu de leurs adversaires. Les images étaient transmises à un ordinateur piloté par un complice à l'extérieur, qui leur indiquait les consignes à suivre grâce à des oreillettes. Bilan : 40 000 euros extorqués en une soirée au stud poker et une prise en flagrant délit ! "Au début des années 2000, des Italiens, dont un ancien croupier, avaient mis de la limaille de fer dans une bille truquée. Ils agissaient avec un aimant pour la contrôler et ont réussi à prendre 470 000 francs", raconte également Jean-Pierre Alezra, commissaire divisionnaire et chef du Service central des courses et jeux en France. On citera aussi le cas d'Ali Tekintamgac, un Allemand d'origine turque, disqualifié en septembre 2010 du Partouche Poker Tour, au Palm-Beach à Cannes, pour avoir comploté avec un faux journaliste.
Fil invisible. Mais ces cas restent exceptionnels. De manière générale,"la triche reste artisanale", insiste Anne-Marie Sallenave. A l'image de ce joueur qui avait accroché son jeton à un fil de Nylon invisible, juste avant de goûter aux geôles monégasques. Ou de ces trois "empalmeurs" italiens qui dissimulaient des jetons dans le creux de leur paume à l'automne 2010 au casino Ruhl Barrière. Loin des tricheries audacieuses d'autrefois, "on a davantage affaire aujourd'hui à des opportunistes qui volent des jetons qui traînent ", commente Christian B. Une pratique, bien que tolérée par la loi, est particulièrement dans le collimateur des casinos : le comptage de cartes. Avec l'installation ces dernières années de sabots électroniques, qui mélangent le jeu en permanence, cette activité est désormais rendue "impossible ", selon les professionnels. Impossible ? Un employé de casino affirme que, récemment, l'un de ces calculateurs de génie, originaire d'Europe centrale, est reparti avec 100 000 euros en poche après une partie de black jack dans un établissement azuréen. "C'est comme voler une Rolls-Royce en pièces détachées. Ils ne sont qu'une poignée dans le monde à pouvoir faire ce qu'il a fait", dit-il.
Que ce soit aux tables de jeu ou aux machines à sous, on peut se demander combien de petits malins réussissent à passer au travers des mailles du filet. "Le temps que l'on détecte la fraude à la vidéo, les tricheurs sont souvent partis", reconnaît Philippe Frizon, chef de l'antenne PJ à Nice. Difficile ensuite de leur mettre le grappin dessus, d'autant que certains fraudeurs, en majorité des étrangers, n'hésitent pas à utiliser de faux papiers pour parvenir à leurs fins. Certaines arnaques restent également difficiles à authentifier. En 2007, trois Scandinaves sont parvenus à subtiliser 10 000 euros aux machines à sous d'un établissement niçois. Repérée par la vidéo, la bande a finalement été relâchée par manque de preuves. Christian B., du casino Ruhl, l'assure : "99,8 % des affaires finissent par être connues, car les tricheurs reviennent tous."
En 1873, Joseph Jagger repère une roulette défectueuse au casino de Monte-Carlo et décide de l'exploiter à son avantage. En peu de temps, cet ingénieur britannique amasse 2 millions de francs-or, l'équivalent actuel de 3 millions et demi d'euros ! Plus d'un siècle plus tard, de nombreux cerveaux tout aussi ingénieux que peu scrupuleux lui ont emboîté le pas. "La grande époque de la triche sur la Côte d'Azur se situe dans les années 70 et 80", confie Christian B., responsable de la vidéosurveillance du Ruhl Casino Barrière à Nice. Au cours de l'été de 1979, un gang mené par un Tchèque parvient ainsi à rafler 30 millions de francs aux tables de jeu, dont le tiers provient du casino municipal de Cannes. Quatre ans auparavant, des truands fichés au grand banditisme avaient délesté le palais de la Méditerranée à Nice de 5 millions de francs en une seule partie truquée ! C'est aussi le temps des affaires de baronnage, où clients et croupiers sont de mèche, et qui éclaboussent l'ensemble du littoral azuréen."La plus grosse affaire reste celle du Palm Beach à Cannes, à la fin des années 80", confie Anne-Marie Sallenave, chef de la section niçoise de la police des courses et jeux. Dix-huit prévenus avaient été interpellés à l'époque et le casino avait fermé ses portes. Le montant détourné ? "Incalculable", dit-elle. Dans un article publié en avril 1990,L'Humanité parle d'une escroquerie qui "porterait sur 50 millions de francs" rien que pour l'année 1988.
Flagrant délit. En 2011,"la triche est devenue marginale", assure Anne-Marie Sallenave. Il est vrai que, avec l'arrivée de moyens de surveillance performants et l'instauration de réglementations strictes, les tricheurs professionnels semblent appartenir à une espèce en voie d'extinction."Avec 200 caméras installées, je vois passer le moindre moustique dans mon établissement", assure Jean-Charles Pitt, directeur du Ruhl Casino Barrière à Nice. Si l'on ajoute à la vidéosurveillance le contrôle obligatoire d'identité depuis 2006, des tables de jeu sur écoute, la création ces dernières années d'un fichier national qui liste les joueurs indésirables, les casinos de la Côte, une quinzaine en tout, ont toutes les raisons d'afficher une certaine sérénité.
Ce qui n'empêche pas des fraudeurs futés de tenter leur chance. En 2004, à Beaulieu-sur-Mer, un gang international a mis au point un scénario digne de "Mission impossible". Les joueurs utilisaient des minicaméras dissimulées dans leurs manches pour espionner le jeu de leurs adversaires. Les images étaient transmises à un ordinateur piloté par un complice à l'extérieur, qui leur indiquait les consignes à suivre grâce à des oreillettes. Bilan : 40 000 euros extorqués en une soirée au stud poker et une prise en flagrant délit ! "Au début des années 2000, des Italiens, dont un ancien croupier, avaient mis de la limaille de fer dans une bille truquée. Ils agissaient avec un aimant pour la contrôler et ont réussi à prendre 470 000 francs", raconte également Jean-Pierre Alezra, commissaire divisionnaire et chef du Service central des courses et jeux en France. On citera aussi le cas d'Ali Tekintamgac, un Allemand d'origine turque, disqualifié en septembre 2010 du Partouche Poker Tour, au Palm-Beach à Cannes, pour avoir comploté avec un faux journaliste.
Fil invisible. Mais ces cas restent exceptionnels. De manière générale,"la triche reste artisanale", insiste Anne-Marie Sallenave. A l'image de ce joueur qui avait accroché son jeton à un fil de Nylon invisible, juste avant de goûter aux geôles monégasques. Ou de ces trois "empalmeurs" italiens qui dissimulaient des jetons dans le creux de leur paume à l'automne 2010 au casino Ruhl Barrière. Loin des tricheries audacieuses d'autrefois, "on a davantage affaire aujourd'hui à des opportunistes qui volent des jetons qui traînent ", commente Christian B. Une pratique, bien que tolérée par la loi, est particulièrement dans le collimateur des casinos : le comptage de cartes. Avec l'installation ces dernières années de sabots électroniques, qui mélangent le jeu en permanence, cette activité est désormais rendue "impossible ", selon les professionnels. Impossible ? Un employé de casino affirme que, récemment, l'un de ces calculateurs de génie, originaire d'Europe centrale, est reparti avec 100 000 euros en poche après une partie de black jack dans un établissement azuréen. "C'est comme voler une Rolls-Royce en pièces détachées. Ils ne sont qu'une poignée dans le monde à pouvoir faire ce qu'il a fait", dit-il.
Que ce soit aux tables de jeu ou aux machines à sous, on peut se demander combien de petits malins réussissent à passer au travers des mailles du filet. "Le temps que l'on détecte la fraude à la vidéo, les tricheurs sont souvent partis", reconnaît Philippe Frizon, chef de l'antenne PJ à Nice. Difficile ensuite de leur mettre le grappin dessus, d'autant que certains fraudeurs, en majorité des étrangers, n'hésitent pas à utiliser de faux papiers pour parvenir à leurs fins. Certaines arnaques restent également difficiles à authentifier. En 2007, trois Scandinaves sont parvenus à subtiliser 10 000 euros aux machines à sous d'un établissement niçois. Repérée par la vidéo, la bande a finalement été relâchée par manque de preuves. Christian B., du casino Ruhl, l'assure : "99,8 % des affaires finissent par être connues, car les tricheurs reviennent tous."
Monday, August 01, 2011
Retired Hall of Fame Casino Cheat Comes Out of Retirement--At 76 Years Old!
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| Joe Classon |
The great legendary casino and poker cheat, who happens to be my casino cheating mentor who taught me the ropes on cheating casinos and who also is the inventor of many effective casino-cheat moves including the famous "Rainbow Move" that happens to be this month's Scam of the Month has come out of retirement and is now actively cheating casinos...at age 76!
His name, of course, is Joe Classon.
You have all witnessed countless comebacks by famous retired athletes, but as far as I know, this is the first comeback by an "infamous" casino cheat. That he is doing it at the age of 76 is truly a marvel. Why? Because you have to be incredibly in charge of all your mental and physical abilities to be a top-notch casino cheat--even at the age of 21.
Why is Joe Classon doing this?
He called me up the other night and said he was bored. He also wanted to know if I wanted to come out of retirement and join him! Believe me, it was tempting. I am kind of getting bored too in my old age, and I am some twenty years younger than Joe. In any case, I told him no but begged him to keep me abreast of his current and future cheating activities. Joe told me he got a kick out of playing around with my famous "Savannah" roulette pinching move--to the tune of earning $50,000 during the last month with it in Vegas and Atlantic City. He gave me the news after the fact, meaning he has been out stomping the casinos for a month without my knowledge. He also confirmed that the Savannah is the best casino-cheating move ever conceived and believes that the casinos worldwide will never be able to defend against it.
I wished him luck, and after hanging up the phone I had second thoughts--and third thoughts--and even fourth and fifth thoughts about hanging up these computer keys and getting back out there on the green felt battlefield.
But I chickened out.
Good Luck, Joe!!!!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Perhaps Best Casino Cheating Scam of All-Time--Asian Casino Cheats Stick Cameras Inside Shuffle Machines and Film Entire Baccarat Shuffle Sequences!
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| Macau Cheats With Their Equipment |
Article:
Macau police have smashed a mainland syndicate that allegedly swindled casinos out of more than HK$24 million using camera-embedded card shuffling machines, arresting seven men. Detectives are also investigating whether dealers may be involved, but would not reveal the names of the casinos.
The modified card machines were first discovered in January but it was not until March 28 that the alleged culprits were identified.
The seven, including two alleged masterminds, were nabbed at hotels or at the border crossing when they attempted to return to Macau this month.
Aged between 37 and 46, they are mostly from Yunnan, and one hails from Jilin. They are believed to have placed their modified machines in casinos and analyzed the filmed card shuffling sequence before laying down bets on baccarat tables.
The modified devices appear to be the same as the ones used in casinos, but each was fitted with a micro video camera and infrared transmitter. Mirrors were also installed to reflect images of cards to a video camera.
Police allege the footage was transmitted to a center outside the casino where the ring took one to two hours to compute the maximum possible probability of winning at baccarat.
The gamblers then reserved VIP rooms and placed bets according to the analyzed results.
Suen Kam-fai of the Macau Judiciary Police said syndicate members relied on distractions during the machine switches. The alleged masterminds are named Liu and Yang. Two others are said to have criminal records for cheating at card games in casinos in 2005.
The scam came to light in January when technicians carried out regular maintenance of shuffling machines at a casino. Officers with the gaming-related and economic crimes investigation department later launched an investigation and found other machines in Macau casinos. Police seized HK$1 million from the seven and are still calculating the total amount involved in the swindle.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Bigmouth Negreanu's Latest Claim! He Says He Can Use Hole Card Cameras To Take Advantage of Tournament Adversaries!
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| Loudmouth! |
With this year's new World Series of Poker coverage format which broadcasts the play at tables with only half an hour delay, lots of new questions about cheating have arisen, especially when it could involve the media covering the WSOP. (Remember the bloggers and reporters sitting-at-the-table-flashing signals-scam?
I will examine this matter in more detail soon. Below is the pokernewsreport article on Negreanu's latest poker cheating claims.
"American cable television network ESPN’s seven-day trial allowing the online audience of the World Series of Poker (WSOP)’s $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship main event to view entrants’ hole cards on a 30-minute delay was created to prevent cheating.
However, even with this delay and many other precautions – including the hole-card cameras being fed into a secure control room – many of the pros have used this innovation from Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) to their advantage when facing opponents. And rightly so.
Jamie Horowitz, the ESPN co-ordinating producer, pointed out that “the guys in the hole-card room are the only ones who see the live feed, and they are sequestered from the production team, guarded by security, pass a background test and are approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission”.
Yes, ESPN and the WSOP organisers are taking no chances when providing this thrilling improvement to their main event coverage, with Horowitz adding that “cell [mobile] phones and all forms of communication are strictly forbidden from the (hole-card) room”.
Horowitz also stated that “the first time anyone sees the cards (is) when a hand ends (and) we say to [the room], ‘Reveal the hole cards’.”
While previous WSOP events have not been broadcast on television for many weeks after the conclusion of tournaments, this half-an-hour delay has been brought in to provide broadcasters with a much more ‘live’ feel.
But, of course, many of the more experienced pros have utilised this broadcasting development in an attempt to gain even the slightest advantage – particularly when facing an amateur opponent.
Canadian superstar Daniel Negreanu – who has four WSOP gold bracelets – reckons this “new format is a serious competitive disadvantage for the amateur player”, and admitted that he made use of the ‘live’ hole-card cameras to beat an amateur during the initial stages of the main event.
The 36-year-old – who is known as The Poker Kid – confessed that he “had someone texting me with physical tells while I was at the table”, before providing an example of what he was doing when adding that “there was a guy from St Louis – an amateur – and I knew what he was capable of because I had a friend watching for me”.
Negreanu was keen to know what his opponent would do in a particular situation, posing the question: “Does he only bet when he has two aces, or can he be an aggressive bluffer?”
This knowledge, Negreanu believes, means he “can learn that from watching a single hand” to make a move that will win him hands, although this ploy didn’t do him too much good as he finished down in 211th for $47,107!
Broadcasters ESPN, however, are not overly concerned by this use of their technology, with Horowitz dismissing Negreanu’s claim when saying that, while “information is valuable…you need so much information to act on it, the idea that you can take one hand and learn something is absurd”.
Quite rightly, Horowitz pointed out that, “if I bluff and you see it 30 minutes later, I know that you know and you know that I know – so who has the advantage?” Indeed.
He was also at pains to stress that “we’ve made changes to the format in the past, and purists have complained that it threatened the integrity of the game, but – you know what – it didn’t”.
Horowitz concluded by suggesting that, no matter what advantage players believe they gain by seeing an opponent’s hole cards some time later, “the good players win – it’s that simple”.
We’re not so sure, but he certainly has a point. What do you think? Do pros gain an unfair advantage over amateurs? Or is everything fair when sitting down at a table to play some poker?"
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
UK Casino Cheat With A Conscience....Gives Casino Back Chips He Won Roulette Pastposting!
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| Repentant Casino Cheat |
Source: Birmingham Mail
A CROOK with a conscience chose not to cash in his winning chips after fraudulently scooping £425 on a roulette wheel.
A CROOK with a conscience chose not to cash in his winning chips after fraudulently scooping £425 on a roulette wheel.
Birmingham Magistrates’ Court heard that unemployed casino cheat Adam Williams was an opportunist who placed his bet after the table had closed and when the croupier wrongly turned his back.
Not realising what had happened, the roulette spinner thought Williams was a genuine winner and handed him his prize.
The crime took place at Broadway Casino, in Broadway Plaza, Ladywood Middleway, on April 28.
Williams did not cash in his chips that night and, the court heard, regretted his actions the following morning.
His brother later returned the chips to the casino on his behalf, sparking an investigation. CCTV footage of the incident was studied, which led to the croupier being sacked for turning his back on the wheel and Williams being arrested.
At an earlier hearing, 27-year-old Williams, of Horseshoe Crescent, Great Barr, admitted a charge of fraud by false representation. Handing him a fine of £100 with £15 victim surcharge and £100 costs, District Judge Robert Zara gave Williams credit for not seeing through his crime.
“I accept that this was an opportunist fraud which you later repented of,” he told him. “It did have consequences for somebody else but that’s not a matter for this court. You do have a criminal record but nothing for dishonesty since 2003. I take the view that this is serious enough to deal with by way of a financial penalty, though I give you credit for your plea.”
The prosecution was the second case of roulette fraud in Birmingham this year. In May, a croupier and a customer were found guilty of cheating Maxims Casino in Norfolk Road, Edgbaston, out of thousands of pounds. CCTV footage showed Lindon Latham, 30, and his accomplice Damian Lumbley, 25, rigged the wheel to win £4,600.
Thursday, July 07, 2011
Loudmouth Negreanu Accuses Michael Binger of Cheating at World Series of Poker Tournament
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| Negreanu's Victim Binger |
Binger's reaction, which he verbalized, was that Negreanu should shut his goddmaned mouth! Binger also expressed concern that his tournament WSOP life was in jeopardy. Negreanu, a four-time WSOP bracelet winner, did not back down and kept accusing Binger of angle-shooting with half-bets to get a gauge on his opponents' strategies.
My take: As much as I hate Negreanu, especially with his bullshit antics about banning sunglasses at poker tables, he may have a valid point here.
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Tran Organization-Type Dealer-Cheat Mini-Baccarat Scam Hits Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun Casinos in Connecticut...But This Time It`s Not the False-Shuffle---It´s Marking the Baccarat Cards!
Two New York City men accused of cheating a Connecticut casino out of more than $150,000 in a scam involving crooked dealers and marked cards pleaded not guilty on Tuesday.
Leonard Hu and Hung Leung, both of Queens, denied felony casino cheating and larceny charges in New London Superior Court. They remain free after posting bail.
State police said two dealers, Jian Ng and Bong Louie, both of Norwich, marked the 7, 8 and 9 cards at mini-baccarat tables at the Mohegan Sun casino in southeastern Connecticut by bending them with their thumbs and helped Hu and Leung win tens of thousands of dollars.
Mini-baccarat generally is played with the same rules as regular baccarat but with lower betting limits. It involves betting on whether players' hands of cards will beat the dealer's hand.
On Feb. 11 and in the early morning hours of Feb. 12, after Louie had marked the cards and left the table when his shift ended, Hu pocketed $101,600 and Leung walked away with $52,000, a state police arrest warrant affidavit says.
The two dealers also were charged with casino cheating and larceny and were released on bail. Their lawyers didn't return phone messages Tuesday.
State police said Ng admitted marking the cards eight times since last fall but told troopers he didn't know if any other dealers were doing the same thing.
A Mohegan Sun spokeswoman declined to comment Tuesday.
The affidavit said Hu and Ng met at the nearby Foxwoods Resort Casino last fall and Hu asked Ng to mark the mini-baccarat cards in return for $1,000 a night.
A week after winning the $153,600, Hu and Leung returned to the Mohegan Sun and won more than $30,000 at a mini-baccarat table where Ng had marked the cards, state police said. Hu took in more than $25,000, and Leung won $6,100.
Casino patron win-loss records obtained from the Mohegan Sun by state police showed that Hu won nearly $235,000 at mini-baccarat from October to December of last year after state police said he met with Ng. He won another $119,000 last January, troopers said. From January to September 2010, Hu had $129,000 in losses and $37,750 in wins at the casino.
Leung lost $100 at Mohegan Sun in July 2010 but went on to win $9,870 in November, $51,400 in December and $34,600 in January, state police said.
No one answered phone listings for Hu and Leung on Tuesday. Their cases were continued to August 2.
Friday, July 01, 2011
Full Tilt Poker Looking to Kahnawake Gaming Commission For Online Poker License in Wake of Cheat Scandal
Source: Casino City Times
One day after its license to operate an online poker room was suspended by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, rumors are swirling that Full Tilt Poker may be looking to obtain a license from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) to resume games.
While the IP address for www.fulltiltpoker.com is still located in Ireland, a trace route for the IP address shows that traffic is routed through the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory. The final destination was masked, as the trace route did not terminate, but was unable to display the next destination.
Given the nature of Internet traffic, it is highly unlikely that traffic would be routed through the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory unintentionally.
No one from the KGC was immediately available for comment.
Full Tilt was at one time licensed by the KGC. But in 2007, when the U.K. released new rules requiring online casinos, sportsbooks and poker rooms to be licensed by white-listed jurisdictions in order to run advertisements, the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory wasn't one of the white-listed jurisdictions. Full Tilt applied for and received a license from Alderney, which is located just off the northern coast of France, thus allowing the company to continue to market itself to a U.K. audience.
Like Full Tilt, the KGC has seen its share of controversy. Both UB.com and Absolute Poker are licensed by the KGC, and cheating scandals in those poker rooms — combined with the lack of a timely response by the KGC — stained the reputation of the licensing authority.
Full Tilt has had problems meeting its financial obligations since many of its assets were seized and its owner, Ray Bitar, was indicted by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York on money laundering and bank fraud charges on April 15.
According to the KGC's regulations, corporations applying for an online gaming license must have "a good business reputation, sound current financial position and financial background."
American players still have no idea when they might be paid the balance of their accounts, and players outside the U.S. have also reported problems receiving withdrawals.
Even if Full Tilt is able to find a new jurisdiction willing to grant them a license, it may be difficult for the company to find a payment processor. Moneybookers announced yesterday that they would no longer allow players to deposit money on the site, as Full Tilt had been blocking player withdrawals to the payment processor.
UPDATE (4:50 p.m. ET): The KGC has issued a press release stating that Full Tilt has held a "Secondary Client Provider Authorization" with the KGC since July 2010.
"The KGC issues a Secondary CPA only in cases where an operator holds a valid license issued by a primary jurisdiction and has its head office and focus of operations in that primary jurisdiction," the release reads.
It goes on to say that as a result of the AGCC's actions, it is reviewing "all available information" to determine whether that relationship should continue, and that an announcement with regarding that decision will be made shortly.
My take: Well, what else could Full Tilt Poker have been expected to do? Let the online poker cheating go on!
One day after its license to operate an online poker room was suspended by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, rumors are swirling that Full Tilt Poker may be looking to obtain a license from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) to resume games.
While the IP address for www.fulltiltpoker.com is still located in Ireland, a trace route for the IP address shows that traffic is routed through the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory. The final destination was masked, as the trace route did not terminate, but was unable to display the next destination.
Given the nature of Internet traffic, it is highly unlikely that traffic would be routed through the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory unintentionally.
No one from the KGC was immediately available for comment.
Full Tilt was at one time licensed by the KGC. But in 2007, when the U.K. released new rules requiring online casinos, sportsbooks and poker rooms to be licensed by white-listed jurisdictions in order to run advertisements, the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory wasn't one of the white-listed jurisdictions. Full Tilt applied for and received a license from Alderney, which is located just off the northern coast of France, thus allowing the company to continue to market itself to a U.K. audience.
Like Full Tilt, the KGC has seen its share of controversy. Both UB.com and Absolute Poker are licensed by the KGC, and cheating scandals in those poker rooms — combined with the lack of a timely response by the KGC — stained the reputation of the licensing authority.
Full Tilt has had problems meeting its financial obligations since many of its assets were seized and its owner, Ray Bitar, was indicted by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York on money laundering and bank fraud charges on April 15.
According to the KGC's regulations, corporations applying for an online gaming license must have "a good business reputation, sound current financial position and financial background."
American players still have no idea when they might be paid the balance of their accounts, and players outside the U.S. have also reported problems receiving withdrawals.
Even if Full Tilt is able to find a new jurisdiction willing to grant them a license, it may be difficult for the company to find a payment processor. Moneybookers announced yesterday that they would no longer allow players to deposit money on the site, as Full Tilt had been blocking player withdrawals to the payment processor.
UPDATE (4:50 p.m. ET): The KGC has issued a press release stating that Full Tilt has held a "Secondary Client Provider Authorization" with the KGC since July 2010.
"The KGC issues a Secondary CPA only in cases where an operator holds a valid license issued by a primary jurisdiction and has its head office and focus of operations in that primary jurisdiction," the release reads.
It goes on to say that as a result of the AGCC's actions, it is reviewing "all available information" to determine whether that relationship should continue, and that an announcement with regarding that decision will be made shortly.
My take: Well, what else could Full Tilt Poker have been expected to do? Let the online poker cheating go on!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Is It True That Cheating Has Decreased At The World Series of Poker?
Actually, cheating at the World Series of Poker has been declining for several years now, ever since the entry fields exploded to several thousand players for the main event as well as other events. Huge fields like those make it more difficult for the collusion cheating syndicates to get one or more of their members to the final table or even down to the last few tables. If they do not get a player or two down very deep in the tournaments, they will not make a profit, and professional poker cheats are not in it to lose money.
Of course other forms of cheating have thriven at the World Series of Poker, mainly chip dumping, chip pass-offs, chip hold-outs, even counterfeit-chip play. All these forms of tournament chip-cheating are implemented to get the poker cheats more chips in their tournament arsenal. But do to some highly publicized WSOP chip-cheating scandals the past few years, these forms of cheating have decreased as well.
Has poker-cheating been on the decrease overall?
NO WAY, JOSE!!!
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