In a recent interview with Raw Vegas, Russ Hamilton refused comment on the cheating scandal that erupted on Ultimate Bet. In September, he was implicated by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC), the regulatory body for Ultimate Bet, as the “main person responsible for and benefiting from the multiple cheating incidents.” Hamilton refused comment when approached in Las Vegas after a game of golf.
The Raw Vegas segment was filmed by Dave Farra at a Las Vegas country club. Joining Hamilton as he departed from the golf course was poker player Layne Flack, who, upon seeing Raw Vegas personnel, departed the scene. Farra asked, “Are you associated in any way with the UltimateBet.net super user cheating scandal?” Hamilton did not respond, continuing to walk to his car, golf clubs in tow. Two other unidentified people were also with Hamilton at the time of the interview. Neither spoke on camera.
Farra then inquired, “Would you like to take this opportunity to apologize to the online poker community?” Hamilton once again continued walking, not making eye contact with Farra or the camera. Despite Hamilton failing to acknowledge the presence of Farra at any moment, the journalist asked, “When ‘60 Minutes’ requested an interview, you declined. Would there be guilt associated with that?” Hamilton’s Las Vegas home was traced to the Ultimate Bet user account Sleeplesss in 2008. It sent into motion a tidal wave of speculation that Hamilton may have masterminded the cheating, which was later confirmed by the KGC.
Farra then asked, “Do you have any remorse at all?” Hamilton began to look frustrated, occasionally shaking his head as he continued to walk towards his car. As he finally approached his vehicle, Hamilton was faced with the question, “After so many years in the poker community, don’t you feel you owe an answer to the fans and fellow players out there?” Hamilton nonchalantly packed his golf clubs into his trunk, refusing to utter a word. He then drove off into the night. The entire video is about three and a half minutes long.
Hamilton won the WSOP Main Event in 1994, earning $1 million. In that event, he defeated Hugh Vincent heads-up; John Spadavecchia was also at the final table of the tournament, which drew 268 players to Binion’s in Downtown Las Vegas. Hamilton took 59th in the 2005 WSOP Main Event for $145,000 and has a total of $1.2 million to his name. According to CBS News program “60 Minutes,” which ran an exposé about the super user scandals on Ultimate Bet and its sister site Absolute Poker, Hamilton continues to reside in Las Vegas. The address linked to the Sleeplesss account was 725 Glenview Drive in Las Vegas, although the name on it was listed as Lauren B. Makar. Its e-mail address was atease@vegasinbox.com.
In May of 2004, ten years after his Main Event win, Hamilton allegedly orchestrated a multi-million dollar cheating scandal on one of the world’s most popular online poker rooms. The cheaters used an antiquated auditing tool to see the hole cards of other players at the tables. Last July, Tokwiro, the parent company of Ultimate Bet that purchased the site in 2006, appointed former Director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement Frank Catania to oversee its investigation. Catania was also instrumental in formulating the gaming regulations of the KGC when it launched. Tokwiro is owned by Joe Norton, a former Grand Chief of the Kahnawake Tribe.
The issue came to a head on November 30th, when “60 Minutes” reporter Steve Kroft and Washington Post newspaper reporter Gilbert M. Gaul teamed up to bring the online poker cheating incidents into light. On multiple occasions during the piece, Kroft mentioned that online poker is illegal in the United States, a statement disputed by gambling law expert I. Nelson Rose and the Poker Players Alliance.