Online Poker Players Expose Alleged Fraud

Them's Cheatin' Electrons: Players Root Out Alleged Fraud at AbsolutePoker.com
By RUSSELL GOLDMAN
ABC News
Oct. 22, 2007

You've gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em -- and know when to turn to the collective intelligence of the Internet to root out an alleged online poker gambling scandal.

A network of professional gamblers turned amateur sleuths followed the money in what appears to have been a series of rigged online poker games, gathering what they say is enough evidence to accuse a part-owner and former executive of the Web site Absolutepoker.com of cheating by looking at other players' digital cards.

The allegations have the $9 billion to $12 billion online poker industry abuzz. The Internet gambling business, which is illegal in the U.S., is built on the trust that the games, based on offshore servers, are being run on the up and up.

AbsolutePoker is headquartered in a semi-autonomous Mohawk Indian territory outside of Montreal. Both the Quebec provincial police and officials at the Kahnawak Territory told ABCNEWS.com that they have launched investigations into the allegations.

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