- A new film about the UltimateBet scandal is about to be released.
- Funded by poker players and Kickstarter, UltimateBeat tells the story of the cheating, investigation and cover up.
Fascination with the UltimateBet scandal continues with the launch of UltimateBeat, a film about the fraud and how it was uncovered by poker players working together.
Completion funding for the film was raised using “crowdfunding” site Kickstarter. The bulk of the funding was provided by poker players. The Director is Scott Bell, known in the poker community as ElevenGrover, who has spent five years researching the scandal.
Private screenings are being held this week in Las Vegas, and on October 22 the film will go on general release. Download and purchase details will be released later.
The UltimateBet scandal came to public attention when players on 2+2 began to research suspicious accounts at high stakes cash games. An investigation discovered that Russ Hamilton had cheated players using a “God mode” backdoor into the software that let him see other players’ hands.
The movie makers allege that, although criminal charges are unlikely, at least four individuals “appear to have used inside knowledge of the crimes to enrich themselves after the cheating was discovered … If the film does nothing other than to force them to live with the public knowledge of their involvement, it will be a success.”
