UltimateBet Cheating Confirmed, Muchos Poker Banned From iPoker

In case you missed it, today’s Three Way Action focuses on the recent evidence released confirming cheating on UltimateBet, Muchos Poker losing access the iPoker Network, and Full Tilt Poker’s two new game additions.

Cheating On UltimateBet Confirmed With Audio Recording

From 2003 to 2007, UltimateBet became home to the most prominent online poker cheating scandal ever. After several years of gathering evidence, an audio tape recorded by UB’s former owner Russ Hamilton was brought forward on Friday which presented incriminating evidence against himself for viewing his opponent’s hole cards during the game.

However, it wasn’t only Hamilton’s voice that was heard in the recording as it also involved UltimateBet Founder and Iovation CEO Greg Pierson, along with two of the company’s legal counsels, Sanford Millar and Daniel Friedberg.

Thanks to the audio recording, it came to light that after thorough brainstorming about specific ways to cheat as well as the suggested routes for covering up the problem, the men crafted an elaborate contingency plan on how they could avoid player refunds and enumerated specific reasons that will lead to such. 

In the recording, Hamilton had openly admitted to cheating and even revealed the names of some of the victims including Mike Matusow and Ben Affleck, who incurred a loss of around $500,000. As heard in the recording, Hamilton had told Friedberg, “I did take this money and I’m not trying to make it right, Dan, so we gotta get that out of the way right away, real quick.”

The 3-hour audio recording was turned over by Hamilton’s former computer expert Travis Makar, who released more crucial information to the authorities in an attempt to avoid implicating himself in the issue. According to other sources, although Makar is far from innocent, victims of the scandal are willing to absolve him if he continued to reveal information regarding the issue at hand.

Makar’s data dump included photo collections of the accounts that Hamilton used in cheating, screen captures of account information for several UltimateBet insiders, and more importantly, a computer program called “God Mode” which Makar set up to allow Hamilton breach UltimateBet’s fraud-prevention security. Although it still is unclear what Hamilton’s motive was for recording the meeting with the other three men, the audio tape clearly confirmed the reality of cheating in UltimateBet years ago.

Muchos Poker Suspended From The iPoker Network

Late last week, online poker affiliate Muchos Poker suffered a temporary ban and was prohibited access on the iPoker Network, forbidding its players from withdrawing, depositing and transferring funds across several other networks. As a result, players were then compelled to withdraw their funds through its normal payment processing methods. However, the company stressed that their player funds were not in danger.

iPoker issued the ban not long after it filed a temporary suspension throughout the entire network on player-to-player transfers and a recent lockdown of Winner Poker player accounts. Although iPoker has not divulged its reasons for implementing the ban, Muchos Poker is willing to heed the network’s requirements with the anticipation of getting fully reinstated as an affiliate.

From Muchos Poker’s perspective, the company has not violated any of iPoker’s rules and regulations. According to a Muchos Poker representative, “We will continue to assist iPoker in their investigations to the best of our ability and try to find an acceptable solution with them, so we can get back to marketing and bringing in new players to the great game of poker.”

Despite the ban, Muchos Poker has announced that its players will soon have access to their accounts this week where they can request withdrawals of their funds.

Full Tilt Has Launched 5-Card Omaha And Courchevel

Sister sites PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker are becoming closer than ever as these two online poker giants share two new game collections – 5-card Omaha and Courchevel – for their players’ added entertainment, with stakes ranging from .01/.02 to $400/$800.

As of May 13, 2013, Courchevel will become FTP’s “Game of the Week”, giving players a chance to double up their Full Tilt Points. Aside from that, the two new games will be added to its “New to the Game” line-up, allowing beginners a chance to learn them easily. Moreover, the site will set off a series of guarantee tournaments with a $10,000 “Big Game of the Week” culmination.

Ever since the site’s re-launching, FTP has been exhausting all of its resources to reel back in more of its players. In a thread on the famous 2+2 forums, FTP’s Poker Room Manager Shyam Markus stated, “We refuse to let any other site have a good poker game we don’t have.”

As for its new game collection, Full Tilt Poker promises its players a more action-packed experience.

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