Is AbsolutePoker.com rigged?
Either way, the company is in big trouble. What follows in this post is huge news in the world of online poker and online casinos.
Our story begins in 2003. Absolute Poker’s software is in development and many test accounts are created to make sure the program is working correctly. One of these test accounts, known as account #363, can see the hole cards at any table. This test account can not be used to play in real money games, it is only used for development purposes to see that pots are distributed correctly. The id number of this account being #363 is important because this tells us that this was one of the first accounts ever opened in AbsolutePoker, making it very likely the person in control of this account is someone with intimate ties with the company (owner, founder, employee, programmer, shareholder, etc.)
Follow with me to the opening of Absolute Poker (AP). Four people in different parts of the United States open up accounts at Absolute Poker. These four individuals do not know each other. The names in question are Graycat, Steamroller, DoubleDrag, and Potripper. They play in Absolute Poker for a bit, but they don’t do well and their accounts are not logged into for many months. These are actual and real players, they are not fake players, they do not know each other, and they are not cheaters.
Key moment in the development of Absolute Poker: a major software upgrade is in process in 2007. The company hires programmers from many areas, including Costa Rica. Our villain in this scandal comes across the test account #363 with hole card access. Visions of big money flash in front of his eyes as he envisions hacking his way to big casino cash. He hatches a plan.
He finds inactive accounts at Absolute Poker and changes the password to these accounts at the server level. He opens test account 363 at a separate computer which allows him to see all the hole cards at the table. He then gets family and friends to cash out his winnings to. The way he does this is after he gets a big amount of cash at the poker tables, he plays against his relatives and buddies and loses all his cash to them. DoubleDrag loses to Reymnaldo, Graycat loses to SupercardM55, and Steamroller and Potripper lose to other various friend and family controlled accounts.
September comes, and as the money piles up, so does the ego and greed. Other poker players make comments in chat that they suspect there is cheating and collusion involved. He logs in as DoubleDrag and then loses every hand intentionally in No-Limit in an attempt to cover up his scam as he senses other players may be on to him.
September 3rd. A small private jet plane about to take off from a runway at at San Jose Juan Santamaria International Airport in Costa Rica catches and is forced to stay as firefighters are called to the scene. The two passengers confirmed to be on the small plane were Scott Tom (a co-owner of Absolute Poker and their President since 2005) and his pregnant wife, who was immediately rushed to the hospital to ensure the safety of the child. They were both headed to Columbia with a rumored cargo of $2-$3 million dollars in cash.
September 12th. A well-known online poker tournament player named Marco Johnson, who plays under the screen name CrazyMarco plays in a $1000 buy-in tournament at AbsolutePoker.com. Cheat account Potripper is also playing in this tournament. CrazyMarco loses a head-to-head battle with Potripper when Potripper and asks for the hand history of the final table.
September 17th. The four Absolute Poker accounts (Graycat, Steamroller, DoubleDrag, and Potripper) are suspended and frozen.
September 21st. AbsolutePoker sends CrazyMarco a huge Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file (10MB and a full 65,536 rows, which is limit in Excel for most current versions). The spreadsheet is too complicated and scrambled to look into, so he saves it and decides to analyze it later.
October 12th. An AbsolutePoker.com Controversy">AbsolutePoker.com official statement is released with their official comments on the cheating rumors, gossip, controversy, and overall poker community outrage. The company has been made aware of the poker blogs, chatrooms, and online casino discussion forums that are talking about this situation and they state that they take these allegations “extremely seriously”. They have “determined with reasonable certainty” that no can see the hole cards, and thus there is no superuser account. Their poker security algorithms have allegedly not been compromised and have admitted that “allegations that the player accounts at issue ‘always guessed right’ are unfounded”. On allegations this player exhibited “infinite river agression” (the player never called on the river cards, he only raised or folded), AbsolutePoker.com feels this is “also without merit”. The online casino has admitted that chip dumping did occur and will “investigate this issue”.
October 13th. Flashback to the huge Excel spreadsheet file AbsolutePoker sends to poker player CrazyMarco. TheWacoKidd, at PocketFives, reveals that Absolute Poker had accidentally sent hand histories of the entire tournament and of all the player’s hole cards. Looking through the play of PotRipper, it is obvious to see that he could see the hole cards of the other players due to his impeccable decision making, even in the face of ridiculous odds. As an example, Potripper routinely plays hands such as 2/7, but then folds cards such as KQ when AA is dealt to another player.
October 16th and 17th. 2+2 reports that Potripper’s email address is scott@rivieraltd.com. According to a 2+2 member, the IP address (a unique address that computer electronic devices use in order to identify and communicate with each other) cross references to a cable modem in Costa Rica owned by Scott Tom, who is a co-owner of Absolute Poker and their President since 2005. The Potripper account is now thought to belong to AJ Green, who is a former Director of Operations at AbsolutePoker.com and Scott Tom’s best friend. A.J. Green is the current Vice President of Operations at nine.com. The domain rivieratld.com points to a mail server which is on an IP address allocated to Absolute Entertainment SA, at a data center owned by Mohawk Internet Technologies (originally thought to be the Kahnawake Gaming Commission).
Mohawk Internet Technologies MIT-BLK-01 (NET-66-212-224-0-1)
66.212.224.0 - 66.212.255.255Absolute Entertainment S.A. MIT-ABPOK-02 (NET-66-212-244-128-1)
66.212.244.128 - 66.212.244.255
About 2 hours after the results of this investigation is revealed on the internet, the DNS (domain name server) information for rivieraltd.com is deleted. Absolute Poker claims Scott Tom has not been employed by the company for over a year.
October 19th. An Absolute Poker spokesman now states that their online poker software has been hacked by an employee who was playing using the accounts of Scott Tom and AJ Green. “This is literally a geek trying to prove to senior management that they were wrong and he took it too far,” says the Absolute Poker representative. They also release another official statement, which amounts to them admitting they had “an internal security breach that compromised our systems for a limited period of time” and which has been “completely resolved”.
October 21st. Joe Norton, the “owner of Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG, which holds a 100% interest in Absolute Poker” releases an official statement which says that “the integrity of our poker system was compromised by a high-ranking trusted consultant employed by AP whose position gave him extraordinary access to certain security systems. As has been speculated in several online forums, this consultant devised a sophisticated scheme to manipulate internal systems to access third-party computers and accounts to view hole cards of other customers during play without their knowledge.” Absolute Poker is now giving $500 restitution payments to all watchers of the infamous September 12th Potripper tournament whose email was in the Excel spreadsheet file. Also, poker players that played in the tournament will be bumped up a spot and will receive a refund of their $1000 + $50 entry fee, with interest that will be calculated at 10% per annum (about 1%).
January 16th, 2008. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) has made their final verdict regarding the Absolute Poker cheating scandal. They have fined Absolute $500,000, which must be paid within 60 days. Absolute has also been forced to pay the bill for the investigation by Gaming Associates. Apart from the monetary fines, they have also been hit with other penalties. They are required to place a surety with KGC for two years against future conduct. Absolute will also be randomly audited, at their own expense. As far as those involved in the scandal, KGC has demanded permanent exclusion of those individuals responsible. AbsolutePoker.com has released this statement: “After reviewing the published report, we recognize the completeness and accuracy of the KGC conclusions, and we accept without reservation the KGC’s findings and sanctions. Most importantly, we are pleased, after these many months, that Absolute Poker can finally put behind it a most distressing and regrettable experience for the Company, its employees, and its customers.”
Big thanks to Justin Goff, twoplustwo.com, natarem.com, point-spreads.com and neverwinpoker.com.
Youtube video of the infamous AbsolutePoker tournament won by Potripper:
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30 responses so far ↓
1 Official Absolute Poker Response To Player Fraud Allegations // Oct 17, 2007 at 11:34 am
[...] ← The Absolute Poker Scandal [...]
2 Josh // Oct 17, 2007 at 11:24 pm
I think this is only the beginning of online poker room scandals…Aren’t UB, AP, and Bodog all sister sites???
3 Is AbsolutePoker.com rigged? - Online Players Union Forums // Oct 18, 2007 at 10:08 am
[...] the company (owner, founder, employee, programmer, shareholder, etc.) For more on this just read The Absolute Poker Scandal __________________ "You can’t bluff someone that knows nothing of the game…" The [...]
4 James // Oct 18, 2007 at 8:37 pm
Don’t blame Absolute or Tom whatever his name is. They’re just typical opportunistic scumbags taking advantage in the same way anyone would. You should blame congress and your elected representatives for choosing to pretend poker is immoral rather than making sure an infrastructure for legal play is set up to protect people.
Our states sell billions of dollars worth of gambling lottery tickets and scratch tickets every month while poker rides the fringes of the internet, relegated to a black market where fuck heads have finally begun to do what anyone allowed so much power would do in such a situation.
5 Carlos // Oct 19, 2007 at 1:13 am
The question we should be asking is - who is Scott Tom?
My clients are shareholders of Absolute Poker. Scott Tom is still very much involved in Absolute Poker.
Everyone knows Poker is not legal in the United States. Scott Tom and his American cronies manipulated the corporate structure - playing the age-old shell game - to minimize their exposure to Absolute Poker.
Scott Tom controls everything from behind the scenes. So don’t believe the bullshit “Absolute Poker Management” throws at you - because the Management is Scott Tom.
Scott Tom receives hefty income from Absolute Poker. Looking at his high-flying lifestyle - beautiful house in Costa Rica, luxury cars, frequent private jet travel around the World, and bodyguards - we estimate his income to be in the range of millions per year.
Is Scott Tom stupid enough to cheat the players that have made him wealthy and on top - get caught cheating?
Yes. Scott Tom and his cronies are indeed foolish. Suicidal foolish…
Absolute Poker Management states “Absolute Poker highly values and intends to protect its players, shareholders, business partners, and affiliates.”
Let’s discuss exactly how Scott Tom and his cronies have treated shareholders. These are the people that risked their hard-earned savings to give Absolute Poker its start many years ago.
Scott Tom and his cronies have totally blown off shareholders. While they are busy flying around the World spending thousands and thousands on luxury - shareholders have seen little more than a trickle.
Today, Shareholders are totally ignored by Scott Tom and his Absolute Poker Management. Calls and emails are ignored. Shareholders have no access to Scott Tom. Behind a curtain setup by lawyers, Absolute Poker was sold to yet another shell company belonging to Scott Tom. This minimized any return shareholders can get.
Despite this, shareholders are owed USD 250,000,000. Besides his father and other relatives being paid off secretly, the common shareholder after many delays and excuses can assume only that their money will never be paid back.
Scott Tom and his cronies live in Costa Rica. A country where killing can be bought for a few thousand dollars.
Ask yourself - if you stole $250,000,000 from investors and flaunt your wealth while letting them starve - would you expect to live a long and prosperous life?
Scott Tom and his cronies think so. They think an “independent poker commission” is going to clear them and the players will come rushing back to Absolute Poker. They think legal structures and lawyers will protect them from investors who have waited for many years to get their money back.
The worse problem Scott Tom now faces is Absolute Poker might fall apart because he cheated players. And he cannot pay back investors after giving himself, his cronies, and his family years of luxurious living using money that should have been paid to investors.
Scott Tom and his cronies have no future.
There is only one way out. Pay back the players that they cheated. Pay back the investors they cheated. And do this quickly.
Time has run out for Scott Tom, his cronies, and Absolute Poker.
6 Terry Bolger // Oct 20, 2007 at 12:33 pm
Your article is well written and addresses the situation in a very unbiased way.
I would like to address the Absolute Poker affiliates who are still promoting AP on their forums and websites. Many of these affiliates have completely ignored this scandal. I spent an hour on Friday cruising numerous forums and sites, looking for posts about the Absolute Poker scandal and was very disappointed by the lack of coverage it was getting.
It’s time for you to put the best interests of your players, readers, customers ahead of your desire to earn profit.
I want to thank the boys from two plus two and pocket fives for all their hard work in bringing this cheater to the attention of the community at large and for continuing the fight on our behalf. I know you won’t quit til the truth is revealed.
7 jim // Oct 22, 2007 at 6:42 pm
i stopped playing at absolute after playing a omaha hi low tournament . i could see the flop before it was flopped or the first round of betting was done. In one hand i told the table what the flop was going to be so i would have wittness for complaint. absolute denied it happened even with 8 wittnesses
8 Asger Daugberg // Oct 23, 2007 at 11:02 am
Very interesting article… I hardly know what to believe anymore :s How can a CEO even consider pulling such a scam of at his own multi-billion dollar company? It make no sence, but ok some people never get rich enough to satify their own needs. Also, the way the revealing tourney was played was SO obvious that it seems impossible that he could have done this for a long time without being caught.
Nevertheless, I have no doubt that the case of cheating is true, but how deep it goes I feel I’m yet to fin out..
Asger
9 Withnail // Oct 23, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Based on the consistent immediate reactions to this scandal by interested parties in Absolute Poker, I have to conclude that we are not so different than the Afganistanis after all. Good luck Scott Tom.
10 B. Bron // Oct 26, 2007 at 11:14 am
Absolute Poker Costa Rica represented by Scott and A.J. Green. How to cheat at poker? Ask Scott. Want some cheat money? Ask Scott. It’s about the cheat on line with this cheating scandal blown wide open. That’s what poker is like at Absoloot Poker.
11 JJ // Oct 30, 2007 at 12:19 am
And people said my blog was crazy…
Why is it so unreasonable to think that even though these guys are multi-millionaires that they won’t cheat you to get many more millions?
Now the “this is an isolated incident on only one site” BS can begin.
12 Tony Scarboni // Oct 31, 2007 at 1:33 am
thats why i dont play for alot of money online i bet they have cheating software for all the poker sites
13 patrick // Nov 5, 2007 at 12:33 pm
There are many reasons that a millionaire might decide that they will cheat to become even richer.
One thing I have not seen mentioned on any site while reviewing articles on the Absolute Poker scandal is the fact that many of these sites are controlled by “Organized Crime”.
If you are fooloish enough to believe that “Organized Crime” no longer exists or has lost its hold on American Gaming, I urge you to read “running scared” by John L. Smith. It shows the HEAVY mob influence in “CORPORATE” Las Vegas.
When Sports Betting and Poker were fledling on-line industries they were (and to some extent still are) treated by “Organized Crime” the way the old mob used to use casinos for cheating and the “Skim”. If you dont know what that is I can’t go into it here other than to say it was a form of imbezzaling from your own casino so as to hide profits which then went untaxed.
Perhaps Scott Tom et al. needed to get millions of dollars quickly and then dissappear. If you look at the foolish obvious moves against CrazyMarco, you can see that time was of the essence and we can only guess as to why.
14 Mike James // Nov 8, 2007 at 8:47 pm
SteamRoller account belongs to Scott Phillip Tom since day one.
I worked at AP for quite some time and i can recall some of the management accounts.
so now it is not AP is AB (absolute bullshit) way to go to those thiefs
15 Rigged or Not? - Poker Forums // Nov 11, 2007 at 12:35 pm
[...] Here read this and tell me if there leaving like snow off the roof ….. The Absolute Poker Scandal [...]
16 Poker stars sucks - Page 4 - Railbirds.com Forums // Nov 19, 2007 at 11:37 pm
[...] lost moneys to those involved but one has to wonder about the on line computer games. Hmmm? The Absolute Poker Scandal I just play for fun and drink. If I want real money action I will go to casino. Maybe you should [...]
17 G // Nov 20, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Good luck with that. I just joined yesterday. entered 2 tournaments and got booted off minutes later. I cannot log back into my account and they wont answer my emails. I have tried every email address looking for a response and get nothing. I even tried reseting my password but the new one will not work. I am not talking about big money just the 50 I deposited. “Email support 24/7 and I cant get a reply. Did I join a real site or some friggin SCAM! Wish I would have know about this before a put a single dollar on this site.
18 mike // Dec 16, 2007 at 5:00 am
I use to play at absolute poker but now i am aware of the scandal and it seems to me that this may have went on for some time.if u look at december 30th a player named walter m finished the 150k turney in second place.Then he won the turney on february 17th and also on march 24th.Is he really that great of a player or is he a cheat and if so where is everyones compansation.
19 Willinois Poker World! » The Absolute Poker Scandal // Dec 26, 2007 at 5:30 am
[...] The Absolute Poker Scandal [...]
20 WORST POKER SITE? - Page 2 - PokerForums.org // Jan 2, 2008 at 6:48 pm
[...] had never heard of the Absolute poker scandal so looked it up and came across The Absolute Poker Scandal They have a YouTube PokerXFactor video of the "infamous" tourney and I tell you… it is [...]
21 ferrr // Jan 6, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Potripper scandal represents only the tip of the iceberg, I’ve played there for a few years and I suspect all the games are rigged and AP is collecting all important prizes from all tourneys with significant buy-ins using the Potripper method. So Potripper is the rule not the exception that proves the rule, they were stealing players money for years as they probably still doing it right now …
22 jake // Jan 14, 2008 at 6:18 pm
LAUGHING AT ALL OF YOU WHO STILL PLAY ONLINE….I have played for 10 years on ALL of the sites. You can complain about all of them really. I will tell you that Pokerstars deal is the furthest thing from random as I have seen yet. What is the difference in getting a bullshit deal…a non-random shuffel and what this guy did? Please dont mail with –oh its all random– BS. Its not. When you win with 9-8 off and the very next hand get AA and would bet your house they will lose (and then they do)….you know its all rigged. It sucks that Scott did what he did, but they are ALL corrupt. Play live in Vegas or dont play at all…….thats what I say.
23 nosecandy // Jan 18, 2008 at 11:54 am
Yes I also played at absolute for several years and there were definately some unbelievable rivers calls made, and now I can see how. Fuck absolute.
24 Germany's online gambling ban - Online Players Union Forums // Jan 20, 2008 at 7:52 pm
[...] ?? i know it’s hard to get results from AP when ya have a problem You can start by reading The Absolute Poker Scandal . And do a google search and you’ll find plenty more on the subject . I would never trust that site [...]
25 Poker Religion // Feb 1, 2008 at 1:57 pm
The only thing I can say about Mr. Tom and his crooked ways are that since he is in Costa Rica, the FBI cant touch him for any of this. Our legal system cant touch this man. He has stolen millions from people across the world and probably will continue to do so untouched. I dont think that online poker will ever be governed as it should due to the fact that it is international in nature. The US government cant have all the say in the online world. There would have to be an international online poker gaming committee constructed somehow to watch for huge scandals like this. Even though he is a ruthless prick, Scott Tom does know how to cover his bases and unless something is done there will be scandals on every site from greedy bastards or disgruntled programmers that pull these stunts at some point in time. This isn’t the first online poker scandal and won’t be the last one either. Amazing to see that the owner of a billion dollar company wants to squeeze out a few more million for himself by cheating his very own loyal customers. I just think its hilarious that he owns one of the biggest poker sites and sucks so bad at poker that he needs to cheat! IRONIC
26 Dave // Mar 14, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Only just found out about this today. I’ve played AP for 4 years and really enjoyed it. Looks like I might have been mugged although I only usually play $20 tourneys so I guess these guys aren’t at my level??
27 THEONE // Apr 17, 2008 at 2:53 pm
THINK ABOUT THIS… ACCOUNT 363 TURNS INTO A MIRROR ACOUNT FOR ACOUNT 393 ITS NO GLITCH
28 JJ // May 16, 2008 at 3:45 pm
ALL TH WEB POKER SITES ARE NOT REGULATED THE FCC, THEREFORE, ANYTHING GOES ON THEM. I HAVE PERSONAL EXPERIENCED CHEATERS ON AP POKER. THE ONLY THING WE CAN DO IS NOT PLAY ON THE SITES OR START ARE OWN POKER TOURNEYS AT HOME OR RENT A HALL. OR PLAY AT THE CASINO’S.
DON’T BE FOOLED ANYMORE.
29 Late to the Party: AbsolutePoker Cheat scandal « My Road to Rounding // May 28, 2008 at 10:17 am
[...] Timeline of a scandal from CasinoSmack.com [...]
30 gary // Jun 18, 2008 at 10:55 am
I always wondered if anyone could see my hole cards. Someone needs to dig a hole for Scott Tom .
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