Cheating in the 2008 World Series of Poker won't work but in Online Poker sites, it will...

Just the kind of news these online poker sites want to hear with the WSOP here eh?

While professional poker players are getting their hands wet at the 2008 World Series of Poker, the company that owns Absolute Poker and UltimateBet confirmed that cheating took place in the online poker site UltimateBet.

Tokwiro Enterprises said that former employees who worked for UltimateBet prior to the sale of the business to Tokwiro in October 2006 took advantage of an unauthorized software code that allowed them to see their opponents' holecards. The cheating took place from March 7, 2006 to December 3, 2007 which meant that the cheaters had 21 months to rip off online poker players.

The lengthy investigation was triggered by several complaints from other poker players about an account named, ''NioNio.'' There are other usernames that have been identified as being corrupted. The usernames include Sleepless, NoPaddles, nvtease, flatbroke33, ilike2win, RockStarLA and stoned2nite.

Not surprisingly, the cheaters targeted the highest limit games on the site. The exact amount of money that was stolen from online poker players is yet unknown.

The good news is, Tokwiro has promised to refund players their losses once the investigation is complete. The bad news, this leaves an indelible mark on online poker as this is the second cheating incident to hit Tokwiro.

It was discovered not too long ago that several players at Absolute poker also had access to software that enabled them to see their opponents' holecards. He he... Imagine if you can do that at the 2008 WSOP tournament.

According to Tokwiro and Gaming Associates, an independent auditor, the software code no longer exists. Furthermore, all accounts related to the activity have been disabled and individuals permanently banned.

It is likely that poker players will continue to play at UltimateBet and Absolute Poker. Let's see if Tokwiro will finally get its act together. They have survived two cheating allegations. They can't afford a third.

Which player will last the longest at the 2008 World Series of Poker?

Doyle Brunson 7.00

Daniel Negreanu 5.50

Phil Ivey 5.50

Chris Ferguson 8.50

Want more odds? Visit Bodog for more poker betting odds and the best betting lines on some of today's biggest sporting events.

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