PokerWorks

The more time that elapses between updates might lead to the idea that the Absolute Poker scandal may be close to a resolution. Instead, it seems to get more controversial each time an involved party makes a statement.

In the last Absolute Poker update, rumors circulated about the whereabouts and true identity of A.J. Green, the alleged former Absolute Poker executive who cheated online under the name "POTRIPPER." In addition, a war of words - on RawVegas.tv - had begun between Absolute Poker-sponsored player Mark Seif and online player/scandal investigator Todd Witteles.

The latest significant development involves a statement released by Absolute Poker on Thursday, November 8th. Admitting that the investigation is ongoing, Absolute Poker claims that the security breach has been resolved and the site is now secure. In addition, they provide a bit of additional information, such as the time frame during which the breach supposedly occurred and the account names used. Most significantly, though, the statement only acknowledges the amount of money to be reimbursed would be $1,600,000 and denies that any superuser account was ever used and that no player has access to hole cards. This information is contrary to the majority of accusations put forth thus far.

The statement, in full, is as follows:

As Former Grand Chief Joe Norton , the 100% owner of AP, previously stated, Absolute Poker will, when appropriate, issue periodic updates concerning the recent security breach in its system. Because the Kahnawake Gaming Commission's (KGC's) investigation is on-going, the information provided in this interim statement is subject to the completion of the final KCG inquiry. Gaming Associates (GA) is in the process of auditing AP's systems as part of the KGC inquiry. AP continues to cooperate fully with these investigations.

First and foremost, we would like to assure our players, once again, that the security breach, which resulted in unfair play, was resolved immediately after it was discovered and confirmed, and AP's sites are absolutely secure.

At this point, all players known to have been adversely impacted by the security breach have been fully reimbursed with interest. The amount reimbursed to players by AP as a result of the security breach was approximately US $1,600,000.

Thus far, our internal audit has uncovered the following additional information:

a) The known period of unfair playing was approx. 40 days in length, beginning on 14 August 2007.

b) A known perpetrator was immediately terminated upon discovery of the scheme and no longer has access to AP. AP's internal investigation continues.

c) The system breach was the result of a recent internal software release impacting internal reporting. The breach was the result of a recent exploitable only by an authorized AP person that manipulated the internal reporting software, together with the AP gaming software. The security breach was not, therefore, the result of an external action, and no individual outside AP could exploit the breach.

d) There is no evidence of the current or past existence of a "super-user" account. There is no player account in the AP system with the ability to see other players' hole cards.

e) The names of the accounts known to have cheated are: potripper, graycat, steamroller, doubledrag, payup, supercard55 and romnaldo. These accounts have been closed. All players that played hands and lost funds during the period in question, against these accounts have received refunds, plus internest, for the amounts lost.

f) All accounts associated with the perpetrating accounts are under investigation. If any other accounts are deemed to have engaged in illicit activities, AP will refund all affected players in the same manner.

g) AP can confirm that not every hand played by the perpetrating accounts during the said period was comprimised by the tool enabling the unfair advantage. Nonetheless, AP has refunded players for the net loss resulting from every hand played against the perpetrating accounts during the affected period.

h) All hand histories with respect to the affected period were retained by AP and were made available to both the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and the Internal auditor for detailed review.

All registered accounts in the AP database are under investigation to ensure that there are no other comprimised accounts with links or associations to the closed accounts. If the on-going investigation determines that there are any further accounts that were used in connection with the unfair play, all affected players will be reimbursed in full, with interest.

AP regrets the damage that has been done to its players and to its own reputation by this incident. We are absolutely focused on doing the right thing for our loyal customers, employees, consultants, and business partners, and we will continue to work with the KGC and Gaming Associates to bring this incident into the full light of day and to right any wrongs done to innocent victims of this unfair play.

Currently, thousands of people are playing on AP both for real money and for free. AP is a safe, secure and fun place to play poker.

In a related story, Haley Hintze interviewed Nat Arem, one of the primary rogue investigators of the Absolute Poker scandal, for a multi-part article on PokerNews.com . While much of what Arem discussed has already been made public on his own blog, it should be noted that he actually met with the auditors in Costa Rica last week. He said, "...I found them to be credible and independent. I did some background research on the people that I met with and my personal opinion is that they are truly looking for holes in the AP story. They were genuinely interested in my take on things and I found them to be among the most credible people that I've talked to about this whole subject."

Arem also stated that it was his impression that November 9th was the final scheduled day of the on-site audit, and final report should be forthcoming within the upcoming weeks.