Breaking News: Kahnawake Appoints Independent Monitoring Team...By Hartley Henderson

[Rogthedodger]

According to Chuck Barnett, the below press release will be posted today at:

MCK / Press Releases

KAHNAWA:KE GAMING COMMISSION APPOINTS INDEPENDENT MONITORING-INVESTIGATION TEAM

Effective immediately, the Kahnawa:ke Gaming Commission (KGC) has appointed an independent monitor to investigate the KGC Licensee, Tokwiro Ent., parent company of both Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet, led by former New Jersey State Gaming Regulator, Frank Catania.

Mr. Catania is a former Director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), the regulatory and enforcement agency responsible for maintaining integrity and trust in all Atlantic City gaming operations. As division director, he was a driving force in updating the New Jersey Casino Control Act by fine tuning the balance between regulatory necessity and economic stewardship. After leaving the DGE, he served as the vice president in charge of compliance for Players International, Inc. where he was instrumental in resolving compliance issues the company had encountered in the State of Louisiana, prior to his appointment. He is a principal in Catania Gaming Consultants and the Law Offices of Catania & Associates LLC

The Independent Monitoring Team will be given the task of completing a full forensic audit/investigation of the online gaming business of both licensed entities. The main purpose of the investigation is to ensure that the games offered to the public are fair and honest and that all player protections as required by the Kahnawa:ke Gaming Regulations are being complied with, without exception. The monitoring team will also be charged with verification that all those involved in the fraudulent activities in any manner, no matter how slight, have been or are removed from the licensee company and verify that Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker have submitted to full compliance with the directives issued by the KGC and recommended by the independent monitor.

Furthermore, Mr. Catania's team will be empowered by the KGC to have full access to interview all employees, past or present, review all records, contact and interview all sub contractors and individuals whom the monitoring team believes necessary. Any failure by the licensees could result in immediate revocation of their license privileges with the KGC. In the event that any criminal activity is found to have occurred, such activity will be reported to the appropriate authorities for possible prosecution.

KGC License Holder, Tokwiro Enterprises has agreed to comply fully and submit to this independent monitor.

KGC Chairman, Dean Montour adds, "While the ongoing investigative process has dominated the attention of the KGC in recent months, we are fully confident in the ability of the Independent Monitoring Team to deliver results and assist the Commission in bringing this matter to a decisive conclusion."

As per the terms of the monitoring agreement, and at the conclusion of the process, the KGC will review the report of the monitoring team and enter the results into their final considerations at the time of ruling in the Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker investigations.

For further information contact

Murray Marshall Senior Advisor Kahnawa:ke Gaming Commission murray.marshall@mck.ca

07-28-2008
Hartley Henderson
MajorWager.com
henderson@majorwager.com

http://www.majorwager.com/frontline-681.html

[stevo]

Thx for the updates guys.

[drunkguy]

Tokwiro Releases Statement on UltimateBet Unfair Play | Poker News
July 29, 2008
Haley Hintze

Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG, described as the proprietors of UltimateBet, issued a summary statement on Friday as it turned over to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission the results of its internal investigation into unfair play that occurred over a lengthy period of time on the site.

In the statement, which PokerNews was able to authenticate with independent sources, Tokwiro turned over complete forensic evidence in the long-term cheating scandal, which involved the illicit viewing of other players' hole cards. A separate account, not seated at the table of the affected players but able to view all players' holdings, was used throughout the scheme, which dates to at least early 2005. The Tokwiro/UB summary statement follows preliminary statements issued on UB's behalf on May 29 and July 9, 2008.

According to the most recent statement, 19 accounts and 88 different screen names were involved in the scheme. Tokwiro has not publicly identified the perpetrators, but stated that in the summary statement, only additional accounts and/or screen names under the control of the already known perpetrators. Tokwiro's forensic evidence, in addition to the cheating itself, includes IP addresses, devices, transfer and withdrawal histories, and the names associated with the cheating accounts.

Paul Leggett, Tokwiro's Chief Operating Officer, said in the statement, "(O)ur management team is outraged that this cheating occurred on our site through illicit software placed on the UB servers prior to our purchasing UltimateBet. Tokwiro is aggressively pursuing legal avenues of redress in order to protect and compensate our players and the business. Rest assured that we will release more information to the poker community and to the public at large as we enforce our and our players' rights."

The statement continued by noting that due to the extent of the cheating involved, amounts due to affected players have not yet been fully determined. The illicit software that enabled the cheating, according to the Tokwiro statement, was installed before Tokwiro purchased the company in the fall of 2006.