Annie Duke has always been a controversial figure in the poker world for several different reasons. First off, some players like Daniel Negreanu have cited her alleged arrogance as a reason to dislike her. Being commissioner of the Epic Poker League certainly didn’t help Duke’s reputation either since she was paid a hefty amount to run the organization into the ground. The final insult was when she guaranteed a $1 million EPL freeroll, which never happened.

But the ultimate detraction from Duke’s character is how she proudly represented/owned shares in the rotten UB Poker. Not only did UB go down with millions of dollars in player deposits following Black Friday, but they also had a superuser scandal (see opponents’ hole cards) take place from 2003-2007. The scandal has resurfaced lately after tapes featuring Russ Hamilton, iovation CEO Greg Pierson, and lawyers Daniel Friedberg and Sanford “Sandy” Millar were released.

These men discuss how they can cover up the scandal while paying as few affected players back as possible. At one point, Hamilton claims that Duke used an “AuditMonster” account, which enabled her to see opponents’ hole cards on a 15-minute delay. Since hearing her name come up on the tapes, Duke has furiously defended herself through both Twitter and Facebook. Below you can see the tweet and an excerpt from the Facebook post:

(Twitter) I had access to the delayed viewing of cards only for a few UB tournament events where i was a radio commentator.

(Facebook) Listening to the leaked audio that describes an elaborate attempt by some of UltimateBet.com’s founders, including Russ Hamilton and Greg Pierson, to cover up cheating reminds me once again how much I regret having been associated with the people that were involved in this conspiracy. The release of this audio has spurred accusations and I want to make it clear that I have never used a tool on a delay or otherwise that gave me or anyone else access to hole cards for use during real money play nor was I aware that such a tool existed until the scandal broke.

What’s weird about the Twitter and Facebook posts is that they essentially contradict each other. In one Duke is saying that she didn’t even know about the AuditMonster account until the scandal broke. On Twitter, she claims to have only used the account when she was doing radio commentary.

So which is it? It’s hard to say what the truth is here because everybody involved with UB seems like a scammer. And it certainly doesn’t look good for Duke when she’s releasing two different versions of a story. It shouldn’t be long before Negreanu jumps all over this one.

For almost six years, Russ Hamilton has been hiding in the shadows of the poker world, rarely daring to show his face. The 1994 WSOP Main Event champ admitted to using a “God Mode” account from 2003-07, which allowed him to see opponents’ hole cards. But up until now, the public never truly knew about the disgusting extend to which Hamilton cheated players, as well as how top UB figures attempted to minimize the scandal.

Hamilton’s old computer expert, Travis Makar, released a series of audio tapes that feature iovation CEO Greg Pierson, Hamilton and two lawyers talking about how they could smooth things over. Furthermore, they talk extensively about how they can repay as few cheated players as possible, rather than making things completely right.

One of the most insane parts of the conversation is when Hamilton admits to winning around $16-$18 million from the God Mode account. The dirtbag also says that he only reported $5.2 million of this amount in taxes, which could easily draw attention from government authorities if reported.

The conversation discusses how a number of players lost six-figure amounts to Hamilton, and Prahlad Friedman was the biggest mentioned loser at $360,000. Friedman did eventually get reimbursed by UB Poker and even signed a sponsorship deal with the company – thus earning him the billing of turncoat.

Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke are also mentioned on the tapes. Hellmuth was basically said to have no involvement or knowledge about the God Mode account and was kept in the dark after the scandal broke. Hamilton claims that Duke occasionally used the superuser account, but only when it was on a 15-minute delay. This means that she would’ve benefited from seeing everybody’s hole cards in her hand histories. However, there is some speculation that Hamilton might not be telling the truth about Duke.

Whatever the case may be, the released tapes prove that Hamilton is an even bigger scumbag than people could’ve imagined. If you can make three hours to listen to the tapes, check them out below: