When the television show “60 Minutes” presented their investigation of the scandals at Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet, they were assisted by the investigative arm of one of the preeminent newspapers in the United States, the Washington Post. Their investigative team, led by writer Gilbert Gaul and assisted by ESPN poker writer Gary Wise, presented a more in-depth story than could be broached by “60 Minutes”. In fact, the Post gave the online gaming issue two days of coverage, with another interesting story looking into the background of how the Kahnawake Mohawk tribe of Canada became a part of the online poker scene.
According to Gaul’s story in the Washington Post, the Kahnawake Mohawk tribe – a sovereign nation located just outside of Montreal – had been looking for ways to increase revenues beyond cigarette sales and government subsidies. Their grand chief, Joseph Tokwiro Norton, had promoted the idea prior to 1996 to create a tribal casino that was voted down by the tribe on two occasions. It was at this point that Norton and the Kahnawake shifted their focus to concentrate on Internet gaming.
1996 saw the creation of the Kahnawake Gaming Commission – although no member of the tribe was well versed in running a gaming operation – and the start of their licensing and operation of online gaming and poker sites. This included both Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet and, according to Gaul’s article, the entire operation generates millions of dollars in revenues for the Kahnawake Mohawks, mainly stemming from online gaming companies that must have their servers stored on the reservation for a minimum of three years.
What was most interesting about the article was the drive of Joe Norton. As grand chief of the Kahnawake tribe, he oversaw the operation of the KGC and its computer operations under the name of Mohawk Internet Technologies. After his retirement as grand chief in 2004, Norton ran MIT for two years before purchasing two of the online sites that the Kahnawake license and operate.
In 2006, Norton purchased Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet, but kept this purchase under wraps for nearly a year. The scandals that erupted earlier this year took place after Norton purchased the sites but, as stated in articles on the Washington Post and on “60 Minutes,” were allegedly due to prior management and staff that was still operating the rooms. It isn’t known how much Norton makes from the operations, and he refused to be interviewed for any of the articles presented by the Washington Post.
The Kahnawake look to make even more inroads into Internet gaming, according to Gaul. They have recently purchased a 40% stake in Continent 8 Technologies, an online gaming (and other businesses) server farm that is located on the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea. From this location, the Kahnawake are looking to enter even further into the European gaming market and should see even more Internet gaming related revenues.
Gaul’s work in the Washington Post fills out many of the issues that were brought up in the “60 Minutes” piece and gives online poker players greater knowledge of the operations of the mysterious Kahnawake Gaming Commission and, to some point, its former leader Norton. For a full look at the articles written by Gaul and his team, visit the Washington Post and read more.
