RawVegas.tv "interview" with Russ Hamilton

[BJ Nemeth]

Originally Posted by Airnick15

No, they became the sports memoribilia collection crew.

LOL!

Oh, and for the record, I *love* Wicked Chops Poker, and check their site just about every day. Even though on the surface they seem to be mainly about jokes and hot girls, they also do a *lot* of quality journalism.

But in my opinion, this story wasn't funny, wasn't journalism, and I didn't see any hot girls. Not up to the normally high standards of Wicked Chops.

[Imasmrtazz]

Originally Posted by BJ Nemeth

But in my opinion, this story wasn't funny, wasn't journalism, and I didn't see any hot girls. Not up to the normally high standards of Wicked Chops.

I don't know, it did sort of look like a perp walk. And watching the parachute fly out the back of Layne Flack's bag was funny.

[was831]

Originally Posted by BJ Nemeth
If anything, this footage reminded me of O.J. Simpson after he was acquitted. Does that mean the guys golfing with him were also murderers?

No but if your hanging out with O.J. i think your a scumbag.

Also, do i only buy products because someone endorses them. No, but when i buy a car and its a lemon i can sue them. When i buy a coke and t it gets me sick i can sue them. Casinos are audited every year by an outside source to make sure they are not cheating on the slot machines or at the tables. Personal property laws protect the individuals in this country but for some reason do not apply to online poker so the only reason we can believe they are run fairly is because someone like barryG1 says so.

[BJ Nemeth]

Originally Posted by was831

... the only reason we can believe they are run fairly is because someone like barryG1 says so.

I strongly disagree with this statement. Most players don't do a lot of digging on the sites they endorse. (This applies to celebrity endorsements in general, which is what these are.)

There are a few players (including Barry) who take a strong interest in the respectability of the sites they endorse, but you are probably overestimating their knowledge, access, and influence on the situation.

Personally, I trust both PokerStars and Full Tilt, but not because they're associated with Barry Greenstein, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, or any other famous players.

[was831]

Personally, I trust both PokerStars and Full Tilt, but not because they're associated with Barry Greenstein, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, or any other famous players.

The next question would be why do you trust them? Just because no scandal has been seen doesn't mean there isn't one. For all we know they could have superusers. the only reason i believe they don't is because someone with the reputation like barry says they don't. Even Phil being very good friends with Barry gives me trust in the site he owns. I don't believe Barry would be good friends with known cheaters. I like your insight but my reason for using a sight is that i trust the people involved when there is no regulation.

[Lon VanPatten]

The biggest Pokerstars scandal I know is Mark Teltscher, who allegedly took over her sister's account to win the 2007 WCOOP Main Event. Unlike UB, they Stars was upfront and move quickly and disqualified Teltscher for multiaccounting.

[Bammy Bound]

Originally Posted by BJ Nemeth

LOL!

Oh, and for the record, I *love* Wicked Chops Poker, and check their site just about every day. Even though on the surface they seem to be mainly about jokes and hot girls, they also do a *lot* of quality journalism.

But in my opinion, this story wasn't funny, wasn't journalism, and I didn't see any hot girls. Not up to the normally high standards of Wicked Chops.

I agree with most of what BJ is saying about the quality of journalism. It was such a distasteful way to handle this situation by sticking a mic in front of someone that will not talk!

On the other hand, You need to take yourself back to the knee-jerk reaction you got when all of this surfaced. I know I was ready to string this guy up for everyone to see in hopes that it would serve as a deterrent for future cheaters. No one would be allowed to get away with this! At least I thought so. Then, we heard nothing else about it.

And now, we see him living life as a free man. The "powers-that-be" have pulled the fleece over our eyes long enough to let this man have a "normal" life and in return he just has to keep his mouth shut! The sad thing is that this isn't the first time this has ever happened in U.S. history. This man gets to gon on like nothing ever happened while UB, PS, FTP and other sites have to suffer from the paranoia that came out of this.

So, the unnecessary and amateur "head hunting" done by the people at Wicked Chops is just what it is. But, the bigger picture is what has (or hasn't) happened to Russ and his cronies that actually makes this a deeper story than most people are willing to take into consideration! I would love to lend a hand to anyone that would love to dig a little deeper to find the real reason that this story has effectively died!.

[Brian]

"And for the 1% of people out there that don't view getting the one and only individual specifically implicated in the biggest online poker cheating scandal in history on camera for the first time since he was singularly named in the KGC report as newsworthy, there's always the Poker Road forum." WickedChopsPoker

to me this seems like a dis on PokerRoad or is it just me?

[BJ Nemeth]

Originally Posted by IlMaKeUfAMoUs

to me this seems like a dis on PokerRoad or is it just me?

Nah, I don't think they're hating on Poker Road -- that comment was directed squarely at me. Note their use of the word "newsworthy," which I've used five times in this thread.

When you're describing the fallout across six different forums, and you want something unique, funny, or interesting to differentiate them from each other ... I totally understand why they called me out like that. (Without specifically calling me out by name.)

I credit the Wicked Chops/Raw Vegas video with sparking renewed discussion about Russ Hamilton's transgressions, which is fine and valid. (Though I think there are better, more journalistic ways to do it.) But that video didn't *add* anything to the discussion, which is why I don't consider it newsworthy.

At the bottom of that same post, they claim to have some follow-up information developing that will hopefully be posted early next week. I doubt it'll be another video of Russ exercising his Fifth Amendment rights, so I'm looking forward to it.

[Viticus]

Originally Posted by tddykgb8

i think its newsworthy ...here is this guy enjoying the good life and driving off in a really nice car, who is a cheating doucebag who has largely gotten away with a massive fraud. Not only did he cheat the individuals involved, but he did real damage to the online gaming community at a time when it can ill afford it. right now while fckface is driving around in his luxury car some good dude who used to work at ub and absolute is out of a job.

+5,001