For the first time, one of the major players in the Ultimate Bet Superuser Scandal has spoken out about the case on a poker radio broadcast.
On Wednesday night, “The Cold Call Show” hosted by World Series of Poker bracelet winner Todd “DanDruff” Witteles and Bryan “The Icon” Micon on DonkDown Radio, featured an interview with a person who identified himself as Travis Makar.
Makar was identified by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) investigation into the Ultimate Bet scandal as one of its conspirators. Although Witteles and Micon went to great lengths to confirm that the person they were speaking to was Makar, there is no confirmation that it was him.
During the course of the one-hour discussion, Makar repudiated many of the accusations that have been lodged against himself and his family. In detailing how he became friends with former WSOP Main Event winner Russ Hamilton, who is the mastermind behind the Ultimate Bet scandal according to the KGC, Makar said, “I owned a computer servicing store for several years and I serviced the computers of several top players.” In mentioning this, he simply used the first names of players such as “Phil,” “Annie,” and “Scotty” and mentioned Freddy Deeb’s full name.
Makar stated that he never worked for Ultimate Bet: “[I] never earned a penny from them, never worked for them.” When it comes to his participation in Ultimate Bet’s operation, Makar said he “100%, never used the (superuser) program once” and never took part in any of the cheating or money laundering involved in the scam.
Makar said in the DonkDown Radio interview that he has physical information in the form of documents, e-mails, computer records, and the actual computer program that was employed by “superusers.” Makar asserted that this information is currently under review to see if any charges in state or Federal court can be filed. He went on to allege that Hamilton’s scandal was perhaps just the tip of the iceberg.
“They released [the information] that they wanted to release,” Makar said in the wide-ranging interview. “There were other scandals going on that [Ultimate Bet] wanted to cover up. There was so much other cheating going on that they didn’t want out there.” He also alleged that there were people involved in the conspiracy who have walked away cleanly and that the “new ownership” status of the company isn’t true.
“There are people that mostly did the scam that walked away clean from this. Their names were never mentioned and they never faced any charges,” Makar alleged. He believed that the names released in the KGC investigation were “just a fraction” of those involved in the case. He also stated that he “knows where” the “missing” hand histories critical to proving the case fully are located.
As to where the nearly $20 million that was taken in the Ultimate Bet scandal went, Makar alleged that several other entities in the online poker world were involved. “Ultimate Bet money was traded for other companies’ money all the time,” Makar claimed. Pushed for further information by Witteles and Micon, Makar wouldn’t name any of the other companies involved. He stated, however, that the program used by those cheaters at Ultimate Bet was used in a similar superuser scandal at Absolute Poker.
The aftermath of the DonkDown Radio interview has electrified the poker forums. A large thread has developed at TwoPlusTwo, with many posters stunned by the new information. Poster “R*R” wrote, “You seriously have to listen to this thing,” while poster “baphomet” pondered, “I wonder if anything will come of this.”
An anonymous poster on a story on Poker News Daily about Hamilton commented, “Maybe Hamilton is right, we don’t know s**t about what went on. He could have very well been the scapegoat in all this.” Makar believed this is the case, as when asked by Witteles if Hamilton is “fully guilty, not guilty, or not as bad as portrayed,” Makar picked the latter.
“Hamilton’s covering for people and I don’t know why,” Makar said in the DonkDown Radio interview. “I can’t tell you why he won’t come forward [and speak out]. Maybe he feels some kind of loyalty. I know those that walked away with the bulk of the money [from the scandal] are still out there.”
so UB, when do I get my money back?
Indeed, I quit playing this site, it cost me to much money.
Well if you have money at UB/AP you better cash out and find a new place to play. Just think, the old owners are still there and they could well be still cheating but on a smaller scale! Dont trust them and they make online poker look bad. Shut them down and then they could legalise the USA again.
love to cash out, can’t with a balance of $73.00! No games left,so money just sits there. No surprise there, Kahnawake always in Canadian news re: illegal cigarette smuggling etc.