Pitbull Poker employees arrested (important read)

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revelations123

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Hey Everyone!

It's been awhile since I have been on. Myself and 2 others have been in Costa Rica working with police on the Pitbull Poker scandel. I posted a previous thread in regards to this scandel when it was first revealed.

A poster by the name of chester on 2+2 was contaced by us when he created a thread starting to ask questions about pitbull poker. We requested that he stop posting as we did not want Dave Brenes or any other employee's of pitbull poker to get wind of this. He refused and continued on. Luckily, they did not take any of his posts or others seriously and did not rid of enough of the entire evidence.

Since then.

We hired two lawyers from canada, Ontario and showed them the study we have conducted over that while. They teamed up with other gaming lawyers in North America and things started to unwind from there. As they worked on the cases for quite sometime the study was put together that consisted of 124 pages and sent to authorities in Costa Rica.

Their authorites requested that the entire group fly to Costa Rica to help explain things and make it more clear. We spent 3 weeks there working with government officials and law enforcement.

The law enforcement agents were planning on making arrests on a certain date. 36 hours prior to the planned arrests Pitbull Poker Owner's attended the building where operations were held, drove a van onto the premises and started removing computers and loading them into the van. Certain employee's who were working with police contacted them immediatley. The police arrived on scene and arrests were made. They are currently being held by costa Rican authorities.

We were advised to return to Canada as it may not be safe for us there any longer. Our lawyers advised us we will have to return to testify against the company.

I will keep you updated on the details as they progress. I cannot reveal the entire facts but the basics should do fine for now.

If any previous players from that site hold any hand histories or evidence please contact me via PM. Also, if you recieve any emails from anything in regards to Pitbull poker I ask that you also contact me.

If the administrators can pin this, we would appreciate it. All information available is appreciated.



Many thanks


Kindly,

Shawn
 
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sharkyo01

sharkyo01

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So what where pitbull poker doing wrong? Whats was the scandel?
 
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triplebluffy

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thanks for that shawn,but i got one question,do you reckon theres any chance at all that the people with money in their pitbull account(myself included) will get it?
 
S93

S93

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So what where pitbull poker doing wrong? Whats was the scandel?
There had been some alleged insitences where it was believed that a player could see other peoples hole cards and pots beeing raked incorrectly.
Then it appears that the owners intended to close the site and take all the money with out paying players or the pitbull poker staff.
 
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StuUngarRIP

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wow. scandal after scandal in the online poker world. damn.

Have no idea why ya'll continue to play on-line poker for money. It's not regulated. Many people have trouble making deposits/withdrawals. It's kindasorta illegal. Why not just play in legal poker rooms? Is it worth all the hassle to play for money on-line?

For those that say YES, then I ask why do you put money and play on these rinkydink here today/gone to Maui websites? Why not just stick to the two biggest and most trusted sites..pokerstars and Full Tilt? Is it the bonuses that get you?

I can't wait for the day that on-line Poker becomes legal and regulated in the U.S. But until then, I'll stick to the brick and mortar Poker rooms, and Pokerstars Play Money/Free Rolls to "sharpen" my skills..
 
Debi

Debi

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Have no idea why ya'll continue to play on-line poker for money. It's not regulated. Many people have trouble making deposits/withdrawals. It's kindasorta illegal. Why not just play in legal poker rooms? Is it worth all the hassle to play for money on-line?

For those that say YES, then I ask why do you put money and play on these rinkydink here today/gone to Maui websites? Why not just stick to the two biggest and most trusted sites..Pokerstars and Full Tilt? Is it the bonuses that get you?

I can't wait for the day that on-line Poker becomes legal and regulated in the U.S. But until then, I'll stick to the brick and mortar Poker rooms, and Pokerstars Play Money/Free Rolls to "sharpen" my skills..

Ummm... it is at least a 6-7 hour drive for me to play live poker lol. I think you forget that not everyone has that option.

Even with that said I completely trust sites like Pokerstars and Full Tilt and have never had any of the issues you mention with either of them. So why would I not play from the convenience of my own home whenever I want to? Even if I had easy access to live poker I would continue to play online as well. It is no hassle at all -even less of a hassle actually.
 
Worak

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Have no idea why ya'll continue to play on-line poker for money. It's not regulated. Many people have trouble making deposits/withdrawals. It's kindasorta illegal. Why not just play in legal poker rooms? Is it worth all the hassle to play for money on-line?

For those that say YES, then I ask why do you put money and play on these rinkydink here today/gone to Maui websites? Why not just stick to the two biggest and most trusted sites..Pokerstars and Full Tilt? Is it the bonuses that get you?

I can't wait for the day that on-line Poker becomes legal and regulated in the U.S. But until then, I'll stick to the brick and mortar Poker rooms, and Pokerstars Play Money/Free Rolls to "sharpen" my skills..

There are only 2 casinos staging live poker in a 200 km radius from my place.

Live poker is prohibited in germany - only freezeout tourneys w/o rebuy are allowed, no cash games eather.

It takes me about 20 sec to get a game going so why should I drive 3 hrs to join a crappy game in a casino ?

I'm only playing at major sites (as mentioned) and can't see any problems there so far.
 
arahel_jazz

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wow. scandal after scandal in the online poker world. damn.

Go see Micheal Moore's new film "Capitalism, a Love Story". You won't feel so bad about all the poker site scandals. Your banker and stockbroker are worse, and they operate under the law.
 
Pothole

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Have no idea why ya'll continue to play on-line poker for money. It's not regulated. Many people have trouble making deposits/withdrawals. It's kindasorta illegal. Why not just play in legal poker rooms? Is it worth all the hassle to play for money on-line?

For those that say YES, then I ask why do you put money and play on these rinkydink here today/gone to Maui websites? Why not just stick to the two biggest and most trusted sites..Pokerstars and Full Tilt? Is it the bonuses that get you?

I can't wait for the day that on-line Poker becomes legal and regulated in the U.S. But until then, I'll stick to the brick and mortar Poker rooms, and Pokerstars Play Money/Free Rolls to "sharpen" my skills..

Not really sure why you play online at all? How a 3000 plus freeroll will sharpen your skills is a totally ridiculous excuse. There are no casinos in my province, minimum cost for me to go to one would be $500 plus in expenses, try dropping $500 in a drain before entering a casino and see if you come out ahead.:rolleyes:
 
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Pokerdude420

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This chester guy on 2+2 suspected that Pitbull had superusers who could see everyones hole cards...if u go on 2+2 forum there is a 150 page thread starting from his 1st post...Its sort of funny the poker manager at pitbull actually made a username to respond on the forum..or at least it looked that way
 
Stick66

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Ummm... it is at least a 6-7 hour drive for me to play live poker lol. I think you forget that not everyone has that option.
Do you and Joe ever play heads up at the kitchen table? I think that would be fun and good practice. I wish Mary was good at poker so we could do that. :(
 
Sysvr4

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Have no idea why ya'll continue to play on-line poker for money. It's not regulated. Many people have trouble making deposits/withdrawals. It's kindasorta illegal. Why not just play in legal poker rooms? Is it worth all the hassle to play for money on-line?

As you've already heard, yes, it is. There are many people making 6 figures or more annually playing online poker. As you may have noticed in late 2008, regulation does not necessarily equate to security of your investment.

For those that say YES, then I ask why do you put money and play on these rinkydink here today/gone to Maui websites? Why not just stick to the two biggest and most trusted sites..Pokerstars and Full Tilt? Is it the bonuses that get you?
IMHO, this is good advice. And it's exactly what I do. Those two organizations have earned my respect and trust over the years, something many other sites have failed to do.
 
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HomeBrewer

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Go see Micheal Moore's new film "Capitalism, a Love Story". You won't feel so bad about all the poker site scandals. Your banker and stockbroker are worse, and they operate under the law.

That guy is a hack.
 
ean

ean

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Go see Micheal Moore's new film "Capitalism, a Love Story". You won't feel so bad about all the poker site scandals. Your banker and stockbroker are worse, and they operate under the law.

Here here! I second this wholeheartedly.
 
ean

ean

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....
The law enforcement agents were planning on making arrests on a certain date. 36 hours prior to the planned arrests Pitbull Poker Owner's attended the building where operations were held, drove a van onto the premises and started removing computers and loading them into the van. Certain employee's who were working with police contacted them immediatley. The police arrived on scene and arrests were made. They are currently being held by costa Rican authorities.
...
Shawn

Shawn, thank you for the update. I hope you will be able to provide more details soon. I see no one here at this forum has questioned your validity, and my being new I'll go with the more experienced people's views, for now.

One thing, you seem to be aware of the 2+2 forums on this, and there the Dave Brenes claimed to report on this also, and that he was not implicated. Are you able to confirm that Dave was not one of the arrested/held?

The rest of public postings clearly name CEO Kevin Baronowsky and Operations Manager Jordan Nixon.
 
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revelations123

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Sorry guy's that I haven't been around in the last few days since I posted this. I am way behind on paperwork, I actually had to take a leave from work to attend to this matter.

To answer the questions.

#1. It is impossible to guarentee anyone their money back that was lost at this point. We would have to wait until further in. The owners could claim bankruptcy, they could deny it for quite sometime before any decisions are made by the courts. Appeals etc etc. It depends on what route they take. With that being said, we will be demanding the players be reimbursed fully.


On another note I was in the midst of players getting refunds from the omaha shavings that were set in place by pitbull. That is until they found out about our study and closed my account and any ties with me. It is proven that 75% of players who were affected by this "shaving" were not even told about it, let alone refunded.

#2. As for Dave Brenes, from what the lawyers are stating, he is taking the position of "I don't know anything about this, I was just the manager" standpoint. As far as I know he has been questioned and he is being investigated.

Please feel free to ask anymore questions and I will keep you all updated.
 
Agile Beauce

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Shawn, thanks for all the info and good luck with everything. Hope players can get their money back.

I played a few times on PitBull, but only had the $10 I got for signing up in my account. Never really liked the Flash interface. I know Eurolinx recently shut down too as well as at least one or two other sites.

I play on a lot of different sites besides Pokerstars and FTP. Are there other sites that are questionable? What about Ultimate Bet? They seem pretty legit. I know there were problems awhile back with Absolute and a superuser account. How does one know if the site they play on is legit or just one big scam?

I play some of the Cake sites as well as Merge and Microgaming. Is it best to stick to just the two or three major sites?
 
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revelations123

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Shawn, thanks for all the info and good luck with everything. Hope players can get their money back.

I played a few times on PitBull, but only had the $10 I got for signing up in my account. Never really liked the Flash interface. I know Eurolinx recently shut down too as well as at least one or two other sites.

I play on a lot of different sites besides Pokerstars and FTP. Are there other sites that are questionable? What about Ultimate Bet? They seem pretty legit. I know there were problems awhile back with Absolute and a superuser account. How does one know if the site they play on is legit or just one big scam?

I play some of the Cake sites as well as Merge and Microgaming. Is it best to stick to just the two or three major sites?

Honestly, in my opinion. Who knows anymore. I don't want to slander any sites not having claims agains them but you can't shy away from the fact, this is the third site being caught. How many others do we not know about?

UB/AP I wouldn't touch personally. Once you're caught red handed, they don't deserve second chances. This is just my opinion.

http://www.hundredpercentgambling.com/2009/03/microgaming-poker-scandal-licensee-in.htm
 
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The US needs to legalize and regulate online poker so jerks like these don't have the chance to run away with everyone's money. Not gambling as in sports betting, etc. just poker. It's a game of skill and luck and I don't see any of the states having problems having their own lotteries which are nothing but luck! Eventually it will come to pass but only because our scumbag politicians will undoubtedly see that they can make money from it.
 
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StuUngarRIP

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The US needs to legalize and regulate online poker so jerks like these don't have the chance to run away with everyone's money. Not gambling as in sports betting, etc. just poker. It's a game of skill and luck and I don't see any of the states having problems having their own lotteries which are nothing but luck! Eventually it will come to pass but only because our scumbag politicians will undoubtedly see that they can make money from it.

Does anyone know what the latest is on Barney Frank and the boys trying to get on-line poker legal and regulated?
 
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zingbust

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Hey Everyone!

It's been awhile since I have been on. Myself and 2 others have been in Costa Rica working with police on the Pitbull Poker scandel. I posted a previous thread in regards to this scandel when it was first revealed.
Shawn, who are you? A lawyer or what? What is your particular role in the Pitbull scandal?
 
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And this is why I don't play at pitbull poker. Some of these smaller sites seem kind of fishy...if there were superusers that is crap since then that would be like the ultimate bet scandal. Hamilton should get in trouble for that.
 
cardplayer52

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i'm glad chester put it out there atleast people had a shot of getting their money out. i mean how long were you going to let it go on before something was done? people lost money now that they may never get back. atleast a few people got thier money out before it was lost for good.
 
ean

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Sorry guy's that I haven't been around in the last few days since I posted this. I am way behind on paperwork, I actually had to take a leave from work to attend to this matter.
....
Please feel free to ask anymore questions and I will keep you all updated.

Shawn, is that same as Sean Gibson?

Also, I have it from a ground source in CR that Kevin and Jordan are NOT being held. Do you have much assurance that they won't be allowed to leave the country or flee, based on the pending actions you have?
 
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