The two biggest names at Ultimate Bet during the cheating scandal spoke out over the weekend. Annie Duke gave a brief statement over a few tweets. Phil Hellmuth released a statement through Kevin Mathers, a moderator of the Two Plus Two News, Views and Gossip forum.
Annie Duke had this to say on Twitter:
I had access to the delayed viewing of cards only for a few UB tournament events where i was a radio commentator.
— Annie Duke (@AnnieDuke) May 12, 2013
This delayed viewing was made this public during those broadcasts and is standard practice for WSOP commentators for live events also.
— Annie Duke (@AnnieDuke) May 12, 2013
Annie Duke’s statements were mostly regarded as laughable from the online poker community. Her name was mentioned in the Hamilton Tapes multiple times. Hamilton stated that Duke used the ‘God Mode’ feature on several occasions, though he stated she only used it on a fifteen-minute delay. This would still give her an unfair advantage as she would see hole cards of players still at the table. This would be more information than other players had. Hamilton accuses her of using the God Mode cheating software on a five minute delay in the second tape.
Duke, who had previously denied knowing about any cheating software in the past, admitted that she had used the software to commentate Ultimate Bet events. One of the events Duke announced was won by her boyfriend. This certainly caused some concern among players. Few players defended Duke’s statement.
It was also not common practice at the time for commentators to have access to hole cards. Duke has not responded to the number of questions presented to her on Twitter.
Duke’s reputation was already destroyed in the poker community. She was a member of Epic Poker’s upper management. The company went bankrupt and stiffed employees, contractors and companies of an estimated $5 million.
Phil Hellmuth’s Statement
Phil Hellmuth’s statement was taken better by the online poker community. It reads:
I’ve made a living off of reading people at the poker table and in the business world. Trusting my gut has allowed me to be at the top of my profession and develop a lifetime of friends and great experiences.
Unfortunately, I made a horrible read regarding my relationship with the founders of the now defunct online poker site Ultimate Bet.
I trusted their team and believed in their ability to run a first class website and business. Most importantly, I allowed them to convince me that they were honest and forthright. I’ve never been more wrong about anything in my life.
When I became aware of the cheating scandal, I immediately insisted that everyone be paid back and whoever was responsible be banished from the company. At the time, I was led to believe that if I left UB right away the business would be impacted and then less likely to pay it’s obligations to the victims. As such, I made the decision to believe the leaders of UB and stayed on in the hopes that they would make right to anyone cheated.
Listening to the recently released audio tapes of the UB founders has brought this situation back into the forefront of my thoughts. To hear them discussing this situation and actively deciding to keep me in the dark disgusts and infuriates me. They lied to me about their activities and I made a big mistake in trusting them for way too long.
I should have said something about this long ago, but until I heard the voices on the tapes myself I never really knew how wrong and misled I really was. I empathize deeply with the players who were taken advantage of through UB. Whether it is this or Black Friday, too many of my fellow poker players have lost confidence and their financial savings simply by playing the game they love. I hope that in the near future we have a strong, regulated online poker environment in the US so that we can all get back to playing the game we love. In the meantime, I want to pass along my support to everyone affected negatively through UB and my apologies for my initial support of people who didn’t deserve anyone’s trust in the first place.
Some players considered this to be too little too late, though Hellmuth did receive some support from the community. Many of the questions involved how Hellmuth admitted the financial condition of Ultimate Bet might crumble if he left but he stayed anyway, telling players their funds were safe. Others are unhappy that he was paid with what appears to be stolen funds.
Another concern is that Hellmuth continues to receive payments for his equity in the previous Ultimate Bet company. There is also concern that he may still own stock in Iovation. The company is private so this information cannot be confirmed.
One major difference between Duke and Hellmuth is that it is clear in the recordings that Ultimate Bet intentionally tried to hide the truth from Hellmuth, while at the same time Hamilton clearly implicates Duke’s knowledge and use of the cheating software.
Ultimate Poker Drops Iovation
One bit of good news came out of the tapes being released. Ultimate Poker announced that they had dropped the use of Iovation, the company allegedly founded with stolen money. There have been many instances of tampering within the Iovation system and its ties to Ultimate Bet’s cheating software are clear to the online poker community. The Las Vegas Review-Journal has reported that the Nevada Gaming Control Board is looking into Iovation’s unlicensed activities in the state.
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