Absolute Poker and UB Not Backing Down

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The owners of Absolute Poker and UB are not following the lead of Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker. All four online poker sites had their bank accounts seizured along with their domains by the United States Department of Justice. Absolute Poker and UB have decided not to agree with any offer from the U.S. Department of Justice including the return of player’s money because they are insisting that this seizure on their domain name and bank accounts is illegal.

Poker Sites Still Accepting Players from the USA

A spokesperson for Absolute Poker has stated that management is reviewing the offers made by the US government and has retained Blank Rome LLP as United States counsel to provide legal advice. They also have the backing of the Antigua Government if they choose to fight the charges brought against them. The Antigua Government has suggested that Absolute Poker and UB should not concede to the US Government so quickly and wait for the World Trade Organization to intervene.

Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker have signed an agreement with the US DOJ which includes the use of their domain name for returning players the funds that may be in their player accounts. The US DOJ is monitoring the sites so that no new players are registered or deposits taken. Absolute Poker and UB have so far refused to work with the DOJ and are looking for alternative solutions.

Absolute Poker Issues Statement Regarding Indictement

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Absolute Poker, including UB (formerly Ultimate Bet) brand, hereafter “Absolute Poker,” issued the following statement today:

“Absolute Poker has retained Blank Rome LLP as United States counsel to provide legal advice in relation to civil and criminal matters filed in federal court in Manhattan and made public on April 15, 2011. Absolute Poker is aware that on April 19, 2011, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York entered into separate agreements with FullTilt Poker and PokerStars. These agreements concern the use of the respective www.fulltiltpoker.com and www.pokerstars.com domain names. The US Attorney, in a press release dated April 20, 2011, stated that the government is willing to enter the same agreement with Absolute Poker and UB.

“At this time, Absolute Poker’s top priority is, and must be, the refund of balances to its and UB’s US players. However, given the far-reaching consequences of the US Attorney’s actions for Absolute Poker and for the entire poker community, Absolute Poker believes that the responsible course of action is to review with its attorneys the relevant court filings before taking any action.

“Absolute Poker believes that the US Attorney shares the view that refunds to US players are an immediate and pressing concern, and Absolute Poker wishes to make clear that it wants to work cooperatively with the US Attorney to safely and efficiently return its players’ funds. To that end, Absolute Poker’s counsel has initiated communications with the US Attorney’s office and plans to continue proactively advancing those discussions.

“Further information and timely updates will be provided to Absolute Poker/UB’s players as we move forward.”

Black Friday Online Poker Traffic Report

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As you know on April 15, 2011 “Black Friday” Pokerstars, Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker and UB were indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice and therefore left the U.S. market. The traffic stats below show the affect this has had on online poker sites throughout the world.

The big winners so far seem to be the sites that operate on the Merge Poker Network and Bodog Poker which are up 36% in online traffic and Party Poker whose seeing it’s European traffic up 10%. European sites seeing increased traffic is no shocker. Would you feel safe having your money on a poker site that has been accused of bank fraud, money laundering and tax evasion?

Click this link for Online Poker Sites Still Accepting US Players

Full Tilt Poker, UB and Absolute Poker are the big losers here with both being down near 50%.

Black Friday traffic stats (left US):
PokerStars -6885 (down 24%)
Full Tilt Poker -8528 (down 48%)
Cereus Network -1076 (down 53%)

Black Friday traffic stats (European):
PartyPoker +361 (up 10%)
iPoker Network +190 (up 5%)
Ongame Network -19 (down 1%)
888Poker +99 (up 7%)

Black Friday traffic stats (still in US):
Merge Network +331 (up 36%)
Bodog +213 (up 36%)
Cake Network +170 (up 31%)

UB Poker has Suspended Real Money Play in the US

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UB.comUB Poker just suspended real money play for US residents.  A statement regarding the suspension on play now pops up for players trying to connect from the USA.

This comes as a slight surprise to us as they had chosen to remain open for the last few days while Full Tilt Poker and Pokerstars had immediately suspended real money play on their poker websites. The UB website has been moved to www.ubpoker.eu for players outside the US. For customer support you can contact support@ub.net. They are being flooded with emails at the moment so please show some patience.

Here is the greeting that players from the US will see when and if they can connect to the UB client:

***Some players in the US are saying they can still log in and play for real money. I cannot even connect to the server.

Liv Boeree leaves UB

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Though the move has been rumored for some time, it is now official. Liv Boeree has left team UB.com. Rumors swirled as the 2010 WSOP Main Event began and Boeree was not wearing any UB.com logos. Still almost a month went by before anyone could nail down the truth. There is no mention of her on the UB.com site now.

Always attractive, Liv’s stock recently went up tremendously with her win in the EPT San Remo Main Event just before the WSOP. Since that victory she has been featured on industry publications and has been a prized interview for anything poker. She has come a long way from reality show contestant.

Liv gained fame initially on a UK television show called Ultimatepoker.com Showdown. Her looks and personality then led to a TV presenter job for GutShot TV. All the while the physics major from Manchester University was studying and learning the game of poker. She began to have mild success at the tables until her big breakout in San Remo.

Naturally, speculation as to which poker site she might sign with next has run rampant. No concrete news on that front is attainable at this time. She has tweeted about a deep run in a Pokerstars tournament recently, so do not be surprised if she lands on their doorstep.