AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

Okay, in the process of speaking with a number of people involved in the AP situation over the last week, I made a few contacts who think it's a good idea to bring me down to Costa Rica for a week. I'll explain...

First, I am not going to audit the company. I do not have the resources, expertise or power to audit the company. They have Gaming Associates there doing an audit on the admitted cheating accounts.

Second, I am receiving compensation. I am not going to say exactly what it is right now, but I probably will later on. I will say that I am getting a fee+travel/expenses and that the fee is substantial, but not enough to compromise my judgment. The money I'm receiving has no impact on me as I make plenty of money elsewhere in the poker world. On the advice of my lawyer, I was told to ask for a certain amount and they said okay.

Also, I plan on giving 25% of what I receive to someone else or possibly multiple people. I originally planned on giving it to the guy who sent out the file, but for reasons that I cannot explain, I may not do that. Either way, 25% of it will go to people who were instrumental in this process.

Third, I am mainly going as a representative for 2p2, P5s and the rest of the online poker community. I am going to ask questions, view data, get explanations, etc. I will be writing a detailed "trip report"-style writeup when I return home.

Okay, with that out of the way, here's what I need:

1. If you have AP HHs that you feel are shady, please send them to me as a text attachment at natarem@gmail.com. I will not open word, excel, etc type files. Text only. I will probably not respond to emails to confirm receipt.
2. If you know something that has not been posted, please email me the story at natarem@gmail.com. I will be putting together a list of things that I am going to ask and more info is always helpful.

Also:

1. Please do NOT send me PMs.
2. If you have sensitive info, please do not post it in the thread.
3. Do not send me all of your AP HHs. One of the reasons I'm asking for text is because I don't want ZIP/RAR archives of someone's entire AP HH folder. I am not going to look for cheating in your specific HHs. I want help identifying any other possible accounts, so suspect HHs only please.

Lastly:

1. Post any non-sensitive info questions in this thread. I will ultimately decide what I will actually ask and report back on, but teddyfbi asked for a forum to ask questions. I can do that for 2p2 and P5s.
2. Once again, do not PM me. Use my email natarem@gmail.com to send information that is sensitive.

I am not going with the plan of finding some smoking gun of a further cover up. I am going to ask questions, look around, etc. I will give everyone my honest opinion of what I think of AP, their management, their day-to-day operation, etc.

Thanks,

Nat

PS - Please keep discussions of things like my safety out of this thread. I've been assured of my safety and while I am obviously taking some level of risk, it's over and done with. Just keep this thread on point with what I should be looking for, looking at, etc.

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

shotgun?

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

tarp?

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

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tarp?

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Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

Go, Nat, Go! You are a gentleman and a scholar.

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

Your being paid by AP for this visit??

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

Its not really in the OP:

What are you hoping to accomplish in Costa Rica?

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

[ QUOTE ]
Your being paid by AP for this visit??

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes.

One thing I should also note -- I am not going to put a word of my "trip report" online before being paid in full.

They are not receiving any promise of a positive report. I'm going to be honest and fair.

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Your being paid by AP for this visit??

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes.

One thing I should also note -- I am not going to put a word of my "trip report" online before being paid in full.

They are not receiving any promise of a positive report. I'm going to be honest and fair.

[/ QUOTE ]

Anyone who doesnt believe Nat on this is just a conspirtard.

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

Has AP contacted you to come visit them? On what specific terms are you allowed to acces their office? Do you have full access to data etc.?

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

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Your being paid by AP for this visit??

[/ QUOTE ]

significantly, it would seem.

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

[ QUOTE ]
Its not really in the OP:

What are you hoping to accomplish in Costa Rica?

[/ QUOTE ]
I'm hoping to bring back a detailed report for online poker communities explaining my thoughts on the cheating that went on (they have promised to show me details of how it happened), the current management, the effectiveness of the audit, etc.

And even though I am not auditing them, I will have access to anything that is not related to the known cheating accounts. I will, in fact, be performing some audit-like functions but I'd rather not lay out my plan publicly.

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

I really don't see what you stand to gain from this visit, other than your fee.

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

awesome. good luck nat - thanks for doing all this work. hopefully the compensation will allow you to keep working on this until it's resolved - i completely understand how you want to pass this on to someone else, but you really are the best guy for this.

thanks again.

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

A couple of things I forgot to mention...

1. The known cheating accounts are the exclusive domain of the auditors. I cannot access that data. Other than that, I've been told I can see whatever I want.

2. AP wanted it to be known that they are committed to keeping auditors around for at least 6 months.

3. If people don't know much about me, they might think I can be swayed by money. I can't. I have all of the money that I need. If you don't believe it, ask anyone who knows me and they will vouch for my credibility and integrity.

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

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I really don't see what you stand to gain from this visit, other than your fee.

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i dont even understand why they are paying him

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

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I really don't see what you stand to gain from this visit, other than your fee.

[/ QUOTE ]
Okay, I'm done responding on this matter. If people want to help, let's get focused on questions for AP.

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

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I made a few contacts who think it's a good idea to bring me down to Costa Rica for a week.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yikes. Does your lawyer have a copy of your will?

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

Nat,

Im not sure that whatever you end up saying will be believed fully since you are being paid for it.

Im not saying I personally wont believe you, however if AP thinks that a blessing by you will clear there name they are sadly mistaken.

I dont see why the amount wont be shared now either. Withholding any info on this process will prob fuel the doubters.

So you are staying there a for a week to observe day to day?

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

Surely the more publicity AP receive, the worse it is for them (i.e. why are they paying you??).

Honesty should be the best policy but AP must be mad if they think 'outing' the problems to the somewhat ignorant 'joe public' will allow them to move on..

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

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[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Your being paid by AP for this visit??

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes.

One thing I should also note -- I am not going to put a word of my "trip report" online before being paid in full.

They are not receiving any promise of a positive report. I'm going to be honest and fair.

[/ QUOTE ]

Anyone who doesnt believe Nat on this is just a conspirtard.

[/ QUOTE ]

Has anyone said they didn't?

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

When is your trip planned for? Be safe/careful, and bring back some good info!

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

so, basically, you scored one hell of a boondoggle. My favorite part so far:

[ QUOTE ]
On the advice of my lawyer, I was told to ask for a certain amount and they said okay.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you allowed to take pictures?

I am assuming your role is to be a disinterested observer and report back on your impression of how rigged/honest the AP and the Audit team is. Do you have to sign anything restricting what you can and cannot say, and if so, can you post the non disclosure you have to sign? (Not that signing a limited NDA is anything big here, it just depends on what it covers).

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

Edit: Actually, nevermind.

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

[ QUOTE ]


3. If people don't know much about me, they might think I can be swayed by money. I can't. I have all of the money that I need. If you don't believe it, ask anyone who knows me and they will vouch for my credibility and integrity.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not to be paranoid (but I had to sit through an NCIS brief this morning, so this sort of thing is fresh in my mind) are you married or do you have an SO?

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

To the ppl question Nat's reliablility -

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s.../MarioGTFO.gif

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

Yea if money isn't an issue either

a) donate it all to charity
b) give it to people who lost to the cheaters

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

[ QUOTE ]
1. The known cheating accounts are the exclusive domain of the auditors. I cannot access that data. Other than that, I've been told I can see whatever I want.


[/ QUOTE ]

This seems interesting. Are the "auditors" looking at accounts other than the known cheaters, or is AP relying on 1 guy to look around for a week, find nothing due to lack of resources, then tell us that everything is ok?

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

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To the ppl question Nat's reliablility -

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s.../MarioGTFO.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

quiet shill

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

Actually, there's a lot more initial negativity here than I thought there would be. I thought people would know that I will not compromise my report because of a fee.

I want to get a feeling for what people really think because I am open to the idea of calling it off if people aren't going to believe the report that I write. I don't care about the money, it isn't nearly enough for me to want or need it.

I did say let's end discussion about it, but I'm simply not going to go down there and commit a ton of time and energy for free. I'd be happy to bring Adanthar along (and chop up the fee) or even let him go for the full amount. I don't care.

Let's hear your thoughts...

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

Nat,

Can you ask them something like "Why did you continually lie to the public and cover things up when you knew there was cheating going on?" and make sure you get it word for word on record from the highest person at AP you can find.

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

Good luck, don't let them holloway you.

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

Good luck. Watch your back.

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

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Yea if money isn't an issue either

a) donate it all to charity
b) give it to people who lost to the cheaters

[/ QUOTE ]

he deserves compensation for his time.

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

Nat - Thanks for doing this. I know that you'll be impartial and thorough with your investigation and line of questioning.

I'd be curious to know the following:

1. Are UB operations now combined with AP?
2. If so, what is the management structure of UB?
3. Does UB utilize the same core code, policies, servers, etc. as AP or will they in the future?
4. The audit will surely uncover the first obvious use of the super-account (or whatever is the PC term). What was the date of that occurrence?
5. What is their policy now in regards to employees, etc. playing on their site(s).

Thanks again for all you have done and are doing. Looking forward to the trip report. SMcF

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

[ QUOTE ]
Nat,

Im not sure that whatever you end up saying will be believed fully since you are being paid for it.

Im not saying I personally wont believe you, however if AP thinks that a blessing by you will clear there name they are sadly mistaken.

I dont see why the amount wont be shared now either. Withholding any info on this process will prob fuel the doubters.

So you are staying there a for a week to observe day to day?

[/ QUOTE ]

If he were going to lie, he likely wouldn't tell us he was being paid.

Anyway, it would seem to me that Nat should try to find out why the logs are generated in play rather than after the hand and what measures they have taken to stop this.
Unfortunately for AP they can never prove a negative, but maybe they could at least explain in detail what they've done and I'd imagine Nat's BS detector is pretty well tuned by now.

Edit: To those who haven't done something like this, I'd have LOVED to have gone to the KGC when I first looked into who they were and what they did. After you've spent a huge chunk of time researching something, it's nice to get a proper feel for what you've invested the time in.

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

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[ QUOTE ]
I really don't see what you stand to gain from this visit, other than your fee.

[/ QUOTE ]
Okay, I'm done responding on this matter. If people want to help, let's get focused on questions for AP.

[/ QUOTE ]

I just think you might end up regretting this visit, and not in a "violence/fear for your life" kind of way.

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

[ QUOTE ]
Nat,

Can you ask them something like "Why did you continually lie to the public and cover things up when you knew there was cheating going on?"

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought the latest wisdom was that AJ Green was the one who did most of the stonewalling (or authorized others to do so). If so, that pretty much explains "why".

Re: AP Visit: I\'m going to Costa Rica
 

[ QUOTE ]
Yea if money isn't an issue either

a) donate it all to charity
b) give it to people who lost to the cheaters

[/ QUOTE ]
I was planning on giving away part of it. But I am putting off a number of business deals because of this whole thing and the trip would probably push everything of mine back at least three weeks. I won't do that for free. But anyone else who is suitable (such as Adanthar) can definitely take my place if AP and the replacement agrees. Then I can get back to working on my businesses that I run.