The Most Expensive Hacks in Poker History

The online poker industry has faced several high-profile hacking scandals over the years, with some incidents threatening to undermine confidence in virtual gaming. Two of the most notorious cases involved Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker.

In 2007, players began reporting suspicious activity on Absolute Poker, including high win rates and perfect play in every hand, suggesting that a super-user 'God Mode' was being used. The account 'POTRIPPER' was identified as the main suspect and was linked to Absolute Poker's Director of Operations, AJ Green. An internal audit identified seven accounts that had cheated over a 40-day period, beginning in August 2007. The scandal left thousands of players cheated out of more than $1.6 million.

The controversy started with suspicions of unfair play on Absolute Poker, and soon more players came forward with similar concerns about Ultimate Bet. The account 'NioNio' was identified as having suspiciously good results beyond statistical norms. In 2008, an internal investigation by Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG, the owners of Ultimate Bet, confirmed that cheating had occurred on the site from March 2006 to December 2007. The investigation found that six accounts and 18 screen names, including 'NioNio,' 'Sleepless,' 'NoPaddles,' and 'flatbroke33,' were involved in the cheating. Russ Hamilton, a consultant for Ultimate Bet, was found to be the primary offender, cheating players out of tens of millions of dollars. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission fined Ultimate Bet $1.5 million and ordered the reimbursement of $22 million to affected players.