UltimateBet Super-User Story - Part II

Editor’s Note: The following post is Part II of our UltimateBet super-user cheating scandal series. To reread Part I, go here. We will continue to update this post with new information/clarification as it is made available to us.

With the help of Greg Pierson’s team, and specifically a contractor who built the cheating tool that internally became known as going into “God Mode,” Russ Hamilton was now capable of stealing money from friends, business partners, and high-stakes pros on UltimateBet.

In Part I, we detailed the UltimateBet backstory and the “how” phase–as in, how did Russ Hamilton create a super-user tool that eventually caused the biggest scandal in online poker history.

In Part II, after talking to nearly a dozen sources, we will complete the “how” phase, as well as discuss the when and the where.

Unfortunately, until Russ Hamilton frankly and finally discusses the scandal, we may never know the “why?”

How Hamilton Cheated

“He knows it. He called me up, and took my money three or four times a week…” – Mike Matusow to RawVegas.tv, March 5, 2009

It started around the summer of 2003 and continued through December 2007.

From what we’ve learned, two basic patterns formed as to how Hamilton cheated.

First, Russ Hamilton, almost brazenly, would contact a poker pro or business associate to play him heads-up on UltimateBet. Before Full Tilt Poker became the place for nosebleed action, UltimateBet was where the biggest online cash games were played, so getting unsuspecting pros to his site wasn’t difficult.

If a pro was cash strapped, no problem. Hamilton would transfer a player money to battle heads-up, then win that money outright. Add it to the tab.

[click to continue…]

Tagged as: featured, Russ Hamilton, UltimateBet Scandal

{ 49 comments }