|
It was the poker-world's equivalent to Hulk Hogan joining
the nWo or baseball's equivalent if Derek Jeter decided to retire as a Red
Sock. A few months ago, Prahlad Friedman
shocked everyone by signing with UltimateBet - the organization that had stolen
millions from the community and somehow remained afloat.
Mahatma was rumored to be the largest victim whose pockets
were raped by Russ Hamilton and Potripper.
Along with dozens, and presumably hundreds of others on the UB network,
Friedman lost hundreds of thousands (if not millions) as a result of playing
the superuser accounts. Mike Matusow and
Brad Booth famously talked about how these losses to the superusers crushed
their confidence and affected their lives both at and away from the tables and
lead to stress, depression, and a shrinking bankroll. It was greed and theft in its most malicious
form - and yet UB lived.
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission investigated the site and
hand histories were collected and analyzed.
Despite not achieving full transparency and withholding/"losing" some of
the data, UB issued refunds and considered the matter closed. People cried that the refunds weren't 100%
accurate and money was still owed. These
demands fell on deaf ears. It was
blatant dishonesty - and yet UB lived.
So a few months ago, Prahlad Friedman, one of the last
standing free agents of poker, decided to align with the company and become the
face of the poker room. He reemerged as
the heads-up nosebleed specialist and regularly played the highest games
available on the site, clearly displaying his newfound trust and faith in the
company.
So it's May 4 and rumors and evidence suggesting that AP/UB
are filing for bankruptcy are flooding the internet forums amid concerns and
doubts that UB has the liquidity to repay player balances. Apparently their offices have been vacated
and 95% of their staff reduced.
It's easy to sympathize with those who have large sums of
money on UB, a place where they assumed their balances were safe and that their
money was in safe hands, but it's difficult not to think express special
sympathy toward Prahlad.
He presumably deposited or kept a six-figure+ bankroll on UB
as a sponsored player and put his reputation on the line. Given his high-standing in the community, I
can only assume he was duped or mislead by management regarding the 'new'
company, a clear lie. Instead it is
pretty amazing to see one singular person get screwed-over in such a magnitude
by the same company twice within a few years for such large sums of money.
Meanwhile, Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth are off sipping Mai
Tai's and getting tramp stamps...
|
