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Paul Leggett Discusses Ultimate Bet Scandal[ return to main articles page ]

By: Dan
Published on Jul 30th, 2008
This week, the Ultimate Bet scandal and the formation of CEREUS take center stage on the PocketFives.com Podcast, as we welcome Paul Leggett, Chief Operating Officer of Tokwire, the parent company of Absolute Poker and UB. Leggett has had a busy 2008 calendar year, as Ultimate Bet has been plagued by a scandal purportedly involving its former owners. Last week, Tokwire announced the formation of CEREUS, the third largest poker network. CEREUS isn’t a new online poker site; rather, the network will merge the player bases of Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker. With so much attention being drawn to Tokwire, let’s take a look at the latest from the investigation as well as what you can expect from CEREUS.

Though the investigation into the cheating on Ultimate Bet may have taken longer than many would have expected, Leggett claims that the company is doing all it can to resolve the situation: “There has never been any cover up in our investigation. We’ve made two statements listing the accounts that were involved and we made another statement last week regarding the completion of our investigation. We handed our findings over to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission.” He continues, focusing on the transparency of Ultimate Bet’s investigation: “We’ve tried to be forthcoming as to how the cheating happened. People will be happy when this is over that our investigation was thorough and that we’ve caught all of the cheating.”

Ultimate Bet’s option to pursue legal action is one reason why Leggett hasn’t publicly pointed fingers at who was behind the scandal: “I get asked all the time why we can’t name who cheated. There’s nothing I would like better than to name the perpetrator’s name, but our situation isn’t that simple. We’ve collected a massive amount of evidence, including the IP addresses that accessed the cheating tool, withdrawal records, and statements we’ve taken from people. I’m confident in my own mind that I know who the perpetrator is, but I can’t condemn someone publicly. We’re not a court of law, so we have to be careful in what we say.” In addition, Tokwire’s lawyers have advised Leggett and others to avoid placing blame.

On how Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker have been affected, Leggett explains, “We just inherited this problem and we’re doing everything we can to fix it and satisfy the public. We’re trying to rebuild the brand, rebuild trust, and show that we’re secure. The business has never benefited from any one of these instances of cheating. It’s only suffered.” His words to advice to other owners and operators of online poker sites: “I would strongly advise to other online poker sites that any security issue is a major disaster for your business. Our brands have been tarnished and associated with cheating very heavily. We have to fight and prove to the world that we are committed to transparency. “

Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker both officially became part of the CEREUS network last week. The players from each site will be merged together, forming the third largest online poker network. Ultimate Bet has two million registered users by itself. Leggett discusses the background of the formation of CEREUS: “It’s been talked about ever since Tokwire acquired Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker. One day, we would merge the two poker rooms to create a better poker experience. In recent times, it’s become more important to us. Our product is going to be more simplified and efficient so that we can roll out new products faster, we can provide our customers with better service, and we can dump our cost savings into enhancing one platform.” No skins are expected in the near future for CEREUS. A massive new security center is planned. In recent weeks, the company has hired new auditors and security team members in order to enhance this area of Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker.

He sums up his thoughts on the Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker misgivings by lamenting, “We’ve had a drop in business this year and we’ve struggled to continue to grow. We have years of work to do to repair these brands and fix this situation completely.” Check out the entire interview with Paul Leggett, Chief Operating Officer of Tokwire, this week on the PocketFives.com Podcast.

Comments

  1. EddieO EddieO is offline

    Tampa, FL
    United States

    Posts: 1,635
    Joined: May 07

    Jul 31st, 2008 (7/31/2008 1:25pm)

    <p>If the company was doing everything possible wouldn't it make more sense to allocate all available time and focus on the investigation, instead of launching a new platform mid scandal while players are still waiting on refunds from being cheated?  </p>
  2. DiMzZ DiMzZ is offline

    East Lansing, MI
    United States

    Posts: 150
    Joined: Jul 08

    Jul 31st, 2008 (7/31/2008 1:37pm) in reply to Dan

    <p>I am sick of hearing about UB and AP and CEREUS...I feel like they are giving pocketfives.com a little something extra. If you see their television commercials, any body could plainly see they were not classy or secure poker rooms. Girls in bikini's, and one pro sponsor, etc. does not equate to  secure software and poker.</p>
  3. oHiSocietyo oHiSocietyo is offline

    Papillion, NE
    United States

    Posts: 20
    Joined: Jan 07

    Jul 31st, 2008 (7/31/2008 2:40pm) in reply to Dan

    <p>Here is a thought.....dont deposit there! The old saying,"Once a cheater,always a cheater!" comes to mind. </p>
  4. theNorfman theNorfman is offline

    Toronto
    Canada

    Posts: 104
    Joined: Jul 07

    Jul 31st, 2008 (7/31/2008 3:39pm) in reply to Dan

    <p>nothing would make me happier than having a 3rd tier 1 site with good tourneys throughout the day/night....they are trying to make news for themselves to create a buzz and have done a decent job.  Now I wonder whether the players will follow.  after bubbling the final table of the 200k there this weekend, I, for one, will not </p>
    188 3
  5. sprstoner sprstoner is offline

    Posts: 1,343
    Joined: Feb 06

    Jul 31st, 2008 (7/31/2008 5:04pm) in reply to Dan

    <p>i really dont see how it was possible that either  the new owners or the high ups in the new management were clueless that this was going on. im pretty sure they needed inside help. plus how retarded would the new management's security team have to be not notice the strange patterns.</p>
    <p>on top of using common sense, they would not find the other accounts, 2+2ers had to find them, as as soon as they were pointed out, ub admitted to it, pretty sure they knew already and were just trying to get out of refunds. or is their security team really that retarded...</p>
    <p>sorry new owners and new management, you have no credibility.</p>
     
  6. jetpoker jetpoker is offline

    Australia

    Posts: 222
    Joined: Sep 07

    Jul 31st, 2008 (7/31/2008 7:15pm) in reply to Dan

    <p>I dont mean to be rude and this will probley be removed but why does Pocket Fives, in my opinion promote/support these dodgey buggers.</p>
    <p>I mean anytime anyone cheats (player or site) it stabs another knife in the back of online play and that in turn hurts us all, the good people who just enjoy playing this game.</p>
    <p>I thought pocket fives ( which iam very fond of) was for the player after all if the was no player there would be no pocket fives.</p>
    <p>I would never support any cheaters present or past, there are too many good site's and good player's to ever think of supporting any shonky buisness.</p>
    <p>I would hate to see the day that online becomes banned because of scandal and if we all support these site's and if the site's that are not doing so well keep signing up the dog cheating players in there desperat grab's for cash then sooner or later it will all come to an end</p>
  7. CyberSleuth CyberSleuth is offline

    Los Angeles, CA
    United States

    Posts: 80
    Joined: Feb 08

    Jul 31st, 2008 (7/31/2008 10:52pm) in reply to Dan

    <p>^^^^^ Agreed.  What was the purpose of this podcast?  It was the same UB company line. Same interview as with Annie Duke.  No questions about the ownership or its relationship with the KGC.  This was a promotion.</p>
  8. kasilof kasilof is offline

    Northridge, CA
    United States

    Posts: 864
    Joined: Jun 06

    Aug 1st, 2008 (8/1/2008 3:29am) in reply to Dan

    <p>I think they should contract about 10 linux kernel and security gurus that have found holes and allow pay them to come to Canada and review a copy of the web-server software.  They might have to sign non-disclosure agreements.  Thus, it would be independent since we could cross check the names in the linux community.  We also could ask them questions.  Furthermore, they would probably give you tips to make your software run better.</p>
  9. GuitarGuyP GuitarGuyP is offline

    Toronto
    Canada

    Posts: 4
    Joined: May 06

    Aug 1st, 2008 (8/1/2008 8:38am) in reply to Dan

    <p>I understand both sides of the coin on this one. On one hand, it does feel like there's an abnormal amount of content about UB, AP, and CEREUS as of late and I understand how readers can feel like they're being beaten over the head with UB advertising in a way. I can also understand an owner of a business feeling like he's walked right into a meltdown caused by previous owners which he had nothing to do with and desperately wanting to make his intent clear to offer a quality product to his customers. I think if you take a moment to really consider each sides viewpoint, it becomes clear that there is a fine line between the two. If you want to restore confidence in your product, you have to make yourself seen and heard.</p>
    <p>I think the best advice here comes from oHiSocietyo who said:</p>
    <p>"Here is a thought.....dont deposit there!"</p>
  10. Azone Azone is offline

    Paradise Valley, AZ
    United States

    Posts: 939
    Joined: Apr 05

    Aug 1st, 2008 (8/1/2008 11:00am) in reply to Dan

    <p>I remember a few years ago a well known online pro just crushed me on this site for stating a simple truth. What was rather ironic about his comments is that what he basically stated in rebuttal to me was that too many of us are invested too much for any rumors about internet gaming sites to be flying around. </p>
    <p>My point then and now was that the Kahnawake (con awake?) gaming commission will never be the people to regulate this industry. A bunch of young millionaire's in Costa Rica with a computer room can do anything, and now we see that argument in certain circumstances has become reality. If there are 2 or 3 known instances of this type of manipulation, do we think it is happening more often?</p>
    <p>Proper enforcement and regulation is the answer. This would give greater reassurance to the players, and help make the US make a ton of tax revenue/regulation. But in these weird times the exact opposite has occured. A few moral/immoral far right have usurped the free trade capitalist republicans and democrats.</p>
    <p>One last question, based on knowing how sites can be manipulated, anyone worried about the effect their speech may have on their play in the cyber world?</p>
  11. virgo005 virgo005 is offline

    Barrie
    Canada

    Posts: 28
    Joined: Aug 07

    Aug 1st, 2008 (8/1/2008 1:53pm) in reply to Dan

    <p>I'm new to pocketfives and already am sick of hearing about this UB scandal stuff.. I can see talking about it if there was any breaking news regarding the issue but other than the formation of CEREUS (which has already been written about) there's not! </p>
    <p>I would rather hear more about the guys that made the WSOP final table or stories from some top online players...I would rather read my textbooks than these articles</p>
 

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