Kahnawake Mohawks Seeing Red Over 60 Minutes Report
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC), a regulatory agency made up of Canadian Indians that oversees online gambling operations run by the Kahnawake tribe, was not too happy about the report on American television this week about two online poker rooms the KGC regulates.
The rooms, Absolute Poker (www.absolutepoker.com) and Ultimate Bet (www.ultimatebet.com), were the focus of a report titled "The Cheaters" that aired Sunday on the CBS-TV show "60 Minutes" and was about the recent cheating scandals in online poker.
The KGC was heavily criticized in the report for failing to prevent the cheating scandals, which robbed players of millions of dollars.
In its defense, the KGC says the report was biased, inaccurate and misleading.
In addition, the KGC claims the producers of the report purposely witheld pertinent information about the scandals that the KGC had provided.
In a statement released after the show aired and reproduced here in part, the KGC said: "The Kahnawake Gaming Commission and its agents, having viewed the CBS News item entitled ‘The Cheaters,' extends the following clarification and information which, although provided to the show's producers, had been left out of the storyline.
"The Ultimate Bet cheating was initiated while Ultimate Bet was owned and operated by (Canadian company) Excapsa (and not the Kahnawake tribe)...All players that were adversely affected by cheating (at Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet) were fully reimbursed. In the case of Ultimate Bet, these refunds amounted to over $20 million U.S....
"The KGC and its agents have reviewed Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet operations and systems and have confirmed that all necessary steps have been implemented to prevent against cheating in future...
"Contrary to claims made in the ‘60 Minutes' story, in addition to significant penalties levied under its regulations, the KGC has initiated a criminal complaint against at least one cheater and is cooperating with law enforcement authorities.=A0 Other such complaints may follow."
Thomas Somach, www.pokerhelper.com
