Poker Perambulation

We’ve a great article by G.L. Hodges about just who Joe Norton is. Joe isn’t your average Grand Chief of the Mohawks. The article details his somewhat painted history. And, it makes us consider all of our online relationships more closely. Joe went from a high school dropout to wealth beyond the norm and a 100% ownership of Absolute Poker.

Mark Seif in his blog states he holds a minority interest in Absolute. Just how we reconcile that information with Joe’s claims is just another “Say what?” that faces us.

The Securities and Exchange Commission works to establish transparency in business relationships. You can’t operate on insider information to the detriment of others. You can’t hold a majority position that punishes other investors. You must have an audit system to maintain the integrity of both the books and the operation. But, none of that applies because our government doesn’t regulate or license online poker.

It seemed helpful that the Kanhawake site called in outside auditors. We seemed to have a break between ownership of Absolute and an impartial body taking action. Now we learn that there isn’t a separation. Joe is an officer of Kanhawake and the supposed 100% owner of Absolute Poker. So, the audit is in the hands of one individual. How will that play out?

Well, we’re likely to get selected quotes from this audit at some future date. The report will be a long and tedious document and many of us will opt to go with the ‘executive summary’ of the findings. That means that we won’t have the full picture and it will be held in the hands of a person with conflicting interests.

However reputable the auditors are, the document will be suspect. There will be a tenancy to accommodate the people writing the check for same with the ability to define/limit scope. Even if that is anything but the case, the auditors are in a morass of conflicts. How they can reputably continue the audit is at question.

But, lets go back a bit to Joe – our high school dropout and Iron Workers member. He’s had a meteoric rise in life. It seems the perfect Horatio Alger dime novel. Joe rose from insignificant to what his cousin says is a million a year salary with his Mohawk Internet Technologies (MIT) – which appears to be what the Internet refers to as The Kahnawake Gaming Commission. That is closely couple to Joe’s other interest – Absolute Poker. The fox is guarding the hen house.

It seems I become more confounded and disappointed at every new turn. Ultimate Bet is part of the package. It was the second site I funded on the Net. I have really enjoyed playing and using that site. And, I have pulled my $527 from that site and don’t have a plan to refund there soon. That is disappointing. What would be more disappointing is to continue to pay rake to the site. There are comments and statements that Absolute Poker has, if anything, increased its player count. I cannot fathom the how or why of that.

Angle shooting abounds. Always has. Always will. If you let it happen to you and accept it, you are the fish. Sweet and simple.

It has been reported but, of course, must be called unconfirmed that this situation has gone on for a number of years and the number 7-million is being thrown around as the actual take with those already named as long term participants.

ADDENDUM:

The fellows from G-vegas are media savvy guys. One of the thing Otis or the gang keeps pounding into are puny intellects is that it is all about eyeballs. As a result many important stories slip through the cracks. That has happened with the AP fiasco overshadowing another. Mark Teltcher is an English pro that plays a lot in Europe. He finished first in the EPT main event in ‘05 and has a number of other nice places. As Thev0id, either he or his sister won the WCOOP main event for a 1.2 mil payday. Or it would have been that if PokerStars hadn’t DQ’d him/her/them. It is rumored that he played up to 8 accounts in that tournament and his novice sister’s account seems to have won. We’ve had these occurrences in the past. Under normal circumstances, this would be the undieing story for bloggers. But, that’s turned into small potatoes. It shouldn’t have but it did. If things work out as they should, he’ll be announced as a new Absolute Poker or Ultimate Bet pro. I imagine both sites will be looking for new pros as their current crop jump ship – with Helmuth among the more famous. Mark and AP should be a great fit.

Sites using the AP network: Absolute Poker, BigChipPoker, Goal Poker

Sites sharing the Ultimate Bet network: UltimateBet, Benefit Poker, DevilfishPoker, DV8 Poker, GreenTiePoker, Magic Palace, UpperClassPoker

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 at 4:03 am and is filed under Pols and other Crooks. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.