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With a bit of time to think about the Kahnawake Gaming Commission’s lengthy investigation of Absolute Poker, I have a few thoughts and some unanswered questions. Maybe you do too.How did the data file detailing the entire tournament history get sent out in the first place? It was supposedly “sent out in error.� But for that to happen, security must have been so lax as to allow a customer service representative—a relatively low paid cog in Absolute’s wheel—to have access to this kind of information. Whether it was sent out inadvertently, or as a “signal� to the poker playing community, there is no security whatsoever if a customer service representative can access this kind of information. It’s sort of like a customer service representative at your local bank having the ability to wire transfer funds out of your account without proper safeguards. It just doesn’t happen. Or it shouldn’t!Why doesn’t the report name names?We’ve all heard that Scott Tom and Alan John Grimard—or A.J. Green, his chosen alias—were allegedly the guilty parties who perpetrated the scam, so why aren’t they identified in the audit. The online site Gambling911 even uncovered Grimard’s (Green’s) home address, although they didn’t released it out of concern for his safety. I emailed Grimard (Green) at his email address: peptona@hotmail.com, asking him to come on my radio show to tell his side of the story, but of course he didn’t reply. If A.J. Green and Scott Tom are the guilty parties who perpetrated the scam, why aren’t they identified in the audit? According to the audit report, “Beginning on August 14 for a period of six weeks, the accounts listed below were used to compromise AP’s systems by using software that enabled users to view hole cards of other players, resulting in unfair play.� The players in question are:GRAYCATPAYUPSTEAMROLLERPOTRIPPERXXCASHMONEYXX, also known as SUPERCARDSMSSDOUBLEDRAGRONFALDOXXB also known as ROMNALDOWho are these players? Please identify them. The entire poker playing world wants to know.Why was the fine levied against Absolute Poker so very small?The fine of $500,000 was very small, compared to the seriousness of the offenses and the money Absolute makes. At most, it amounts to a slap on the wrist. I’m not sure how large the fine should have been, but it needs to be a lot larger than a mere half a mil.Who deleted the logs and records?If logs and records were deleted, how did the Kahnawake Gaming Commission conduct its investigation in the absence of this information, and more importantly, how were these records deleted? And who deleted them? Did they delete them before or after the investigation began? Are Grimard (Green) and Tom suspected of destruction of evidence in addition to the fraud they perpetrated, or were others involved too?Why haven’t arrests been made?Suspects have been identified. At least one (Grimard/Green) is reportedly back in Canada, where he could be indicted for fraud, for the destruction of evidence, and probably a few other crimes too.The fact that this took place in the Kahnawake Territories shouldn’t mitigate against Canadian authorities taking action. In any event, the perpetrators committed crimes in Canada, the Kahnawake Territories, Costa Rica, and possibly other jurisdictions too.The bottom lineSo far no one has been arrested and brought to justice. As a result, Absolute Poker paid a small fine of $500,000 which amounts to a licensing fee to steal who knows how much, while the guys who did the crime are walking around, free as you and me, with their pockets lined in ill-gotten gains and—apparently—no fear of prosecution, trial, and punishment.Something really stinks here. The stink has been with us since Day One. It's just getting worse.

A casino in Pennsylvania has begun feeling the effects of a struggling economy, the casino has cut workers hours in response to dwindling business.

Everyone’s talking about online poker network Digital Gaming Solutions (DGS), an online poker network that includes Wingows Poker and others has cut and run, folding their tents in the dead of night and scarpering with nary a word or announcement.If the Shoe Fits, Steal it!Sports Book Review reported that DGS closed with licensee funds as well as poker player account balances, and comments on public forums have been saying that several poker rooms on this network withheld payments from poker account holders for several weeks.How Wingows Gave Me $300...I have my own funny, Wingows story. Some time ago, when they were talking about having me represent their site, they put $300 in an account so that I could try out their software—which I did. The deal never came to fruition, and I’d forgotten about it entirely....Then Snatched it Away From MeA couple of weeks ago I was noodling around my computer desktop and saw a Wingows shortcut that I’d stuck in a file of seldom-used shortcuts and decided to play at the site for an hour or two, then withdraw the balance of the account. To my surprise, Wingows beat me to the punch. They snatched the money ostensibly given to me right out from under my nose. I don’t know when they did that. It could have been any time in the last year.So all I have from my short flirtation with Wingows is a nice, collared polo shirt with their logo on it. I used to like wearing it; in fact, it was one of my favorite poker shirts. But as of today it’s been relegated to one I wear when I degrease, clean, and lubricate my bike.Nothing Ventured, Nothing GainedEasy come, easy go, and I'm a polo shirt to the good in my Wingows account balance.

SINGAPORE: MediaCorp News has appointed Debra Soon as the Chief Editor of its TV News and Current Affairs Division for the English, Malay and Tamil units.