Printable View
To Blair Rodman and Chris Levick- The scam here is that not all players were paid back and that poker training was never really offered. Most players signed up to this site for training. If there's no real training isn't that a scam? You called it a "Academy" to indicate that they would learn something. What the hell did they learn?? I will tell you. Not to trust Blair Rodman, Chris Levick, and Mike Helm. I honestly don't care when this pyramid scheme took place. The fact is it did
Ok Mike,
You seem to have a problem answering simple questions. I don't recall ever seeing that email, or agreeing to do an interview with you. The only one I can find who I talked to abut interviews was Mark Hoke. I assume you're not connected to him. Maybe I did get it, but my memory isn't what it used to be, so I'll ask again---where did you send the email? Direct me to an email where I agreed to do an interview?
And then let's move on to the other questions you avoided:
You say all the facts were checked. Ok, tell me how you checked these things you present as facts:
-The site was taking money from poker players for years: Show me just one instance where the site took money from any player outside of July and August, 2011.
-The site was a casualty of Black Friday: Prove to me that the site was operational before April, 15. 2011.
-We already decided you were wrong about it being $25 and that it wasn't for training.
-You say you believe the site was launched in Jan or Feb of 2012, being directly affected by BF: That's not even close.
-You say people were never told what they would get for their $15: They were told exactly what the money was for, and that they didn't have to pay it to sign up.
-You say everybody trusted Mike Helm to repay people: I took care of my people myself, and I'm quite sure others did also.
-You say you know people who were wronged by the site. Have them come on here and tell their story.
The things that pisses me off about this whole thing is that I had absolutely nothing to do with the founding or management of this company. I never received a dollar from it. I was simply hired, along with the other named pros, to appear in the video and help promote the company. In fact, I spent a lot of time, allowed my name and image to be used, used up some personal scrip with my friends, and never got paid as I was promised. If anybody should be upset with the PPA it should be me!
And yet, mine is the lead name in the title of the thread that leads people to think that I was implicit in a scam. It's misleading and damaging to me. This is what I find offensive. I also hurts the credibility of this website, which claims to be the watchdog of the industry, yet seems to revel in smear tactics.
Don't you still play golf with Russ Hamilton?Quote:
Originally Posted by Blair Rodman
Can you let us in on any online poker cheating scandal discussions you've enjoyed on the back nine or will you deny that the subject ever came up?
Does Russ still keep that glob of Vaseline on his golf cart?
TODD IS DOMINATING this thread
Need Rodman to answer more on Russ and golfing, do you seriously still hang around with this scumbag thief?
Read the bolded parts in order. You were hired to promote the company & allowed your name & image to be used. The fact you didn't get paid is irrelavent to the discussion.Quote:
Originally Posted by Blair Rodman
You then go on to say "If anybody should be upset with the PPA it should be me!" A truer statement has not been uttered in this thread. That's exactly who you should be upset with. They are the ones responsible for dragging your name through the mud.
It looks like absolutely nothing was done after July 2011, when the company ceased operations, to ensure ALL the players were repaid their $15. Don't give us this smokescreen that you took care of the 20 or so you were personally responsible for because that is again irrelavent. You were admittedly one of the faces of the company & hold some responsibility to attempt to do something when it failed to ensure "investors" are reimbursed. After all, you had to have realized it might affect you as one of the faces of the company. If you had not realized it, then I guess you do now.
Did you even talk to Helms after it was apparent that this was going to fail & come up with a plan that would get all the "investors" paid back , if yes, was it followed up on to make sure it was done? If the answer was no to either, then you failed to protect your "good name" & I would suggest leaving message boards trying to claim you are somehow being defamed & get together with the other principles in this & sort it out.
In the meantime, I would be in favour of removing most of the names & the word scam from the title of this thread but you & everyone else involved should show you're doing something to make this right. Up until this thread happened it looks like absolutely nothing was done nor would anything have been done. You can't actually believe all the investors were given the oppurtunity to be repaid. That much is painfully obvious.
I think Blair Rodman is learning a valuable lesson.....
You lie down with dogs, you get fleas
http://www.gulfcoastpoker.net/russ%20hamilton.jpg
Even if you had zero to do with this particular scam, your choice of who to associate with will tarnish your reputation and you will never be given the benefit of the doubt.
You hang out with a known thief and scumbag who is responsible for one of the biggest crimes against poker players in the history of the game and you can expect that when your name gets thrown around everyone is convinced you to have some involvement.
At minimum you make horrible, disgusting decisions in your personal relationships... At maximum, you are a fellow scumbag thief...
either way
:whofuckingcares
:blackcock
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blair Rodman
You promoted a site that scammed players out of a minimal amount of money and you have the audacity to still hang out with Russ Hamilton. Nobody is smearing your name. You're smearing it yourself. Thanks to Druff and this site honest players in the poker world know to stay away from anything you touch. Who knows your next venture might be bankrolled by Hamilton? If so I'm sure it won't run out of funding. Keep up the good work Mr. Druff. Your take on things seems to be continually spot on. And let me give YOU a piece of advice Mr. Blair Rodman. If you want to sell football memorabilia you don't win over the community by hanging around with OJ. Hamilton is our OJ.
If Blair Rodman is still tight with Russ Hamilton , I wonder if he helped him cheat back in the day on UB or if he was ever approached about cheating. Did he play on UB ?
If Blair is friends with with Russ I would assume he at least had a UB acc
If Rodman is still hanging with Hamilton I would suspect he was never cheated
So if he did have a UB acc then there is a lot to speculate on based on their current friendship
I've gone to golf events for the past 20 years with the same large group of guys. Russ Hamilton occasionally shows up. That's the extent of our relationship.
That's the extent of your relationship? You've clearly had some sort of relationship with the guy going back to the UBT at the latest. I could be wrong, as its been a while since I was current with my Russ history knowledge, but wasn't it most likely blackjack that brought you guys together in the first place?Quote:
Originally Posted by Blair Rodman
Next time he turns up at a golf event, tell the filthy fat cheating thieving scumbag to gtfo.Quote:
Originally Posted by Blair Rodman
Then report back here, and you'll move a step closer to PFA redemption.
I'm still wondering why the simplest of things hasn't been done:
All 235 people e-mailed with instructions on how to claim their $15 back.
If you don't have the e-mail list, why haven't you contacted Mike Helm to get it?
And if Helm refused to give the list, why not publicize all of his info and call him a scammer?
Finkelstein's gonna have to make a call to mr helm, IMO.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blair Rodman
I played in a high stakes game years and years ago(probably 20) with Russ Hamilton, Scotty Nguyen, and Mike Matusow among others in Reno, Nevada. I still remember Russ talking about a golf tourney he was running for poker players and it was a yearly thing. So don't try and come off like it's a strange occurrence when you see Russ show up at one of these events. He's practically the founding father of poker player outings on the golf course. Sad to see that he's still welcomed with open arms by the community he has robbed millions. Also these outings are planned over an extent of time and the guest list is pretty much known. The poker community talks to each other. I'll guarantee that Matusow and Hamilton or Hamilton and Prahlad Friedman aren't playing in the same tournament. Plus Russ was always a charismatic guy. That fat bastard isn't sneaking around all quietly at these tournaments. He's probably running games like "Pin the tail on the donkey I cheated the most out of" after dinner and holding court. Don't pretend he's as noticeable as the furniture.
I'd like to know more about this previous business. I'm sure you questioned him about it if he stated he was using the same software/philosophy. What was the 'product'? Who lent their name to it? How did it turn out?Quote:
Originally Posted by LevDogs
Is this the Mike Helm? Since it's a 702 area code and he gives an email address to "learn more", maybe somebody can email him and ask for the email addresses for the people to get paid back from his other scheme....if it's him? Site is www.mikehelm.com
Whois details:Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob999
HELM, MIKE mikehelm@gmail.com
20613 145th St
Langley, BC V2Y 2Y4
CA
6045823357
no surprise to see Rodman vanish when Russ name comes up
We've never met, Blair, but that's crap. You've been the indirect beneficiary of Russ's largesse for a couple of decades, and I'll add to that: You were very likely UltimateBet's first massive multi-accounter. You were in control of 10 or so of the first several thousand or so accounts ever created at UB, and I can prove it. Only one other person came close to that, and that was another member of Russ's golf/poker/bookmaking inner circle.Quote:
Originally Posted by Blair Rodman
Actual account numbers at UltimateBet started at #10000; stuff lower than that was for testing only, while other records have been deleted even from this early file, which is not part of the publicly leaked "UB" files from last year. I think some of the e-addresses are still active, so I'll munge them. These are some of Rodman's (but not all), and I am withholding certain affiliate information attached to these records:
10019 UltimateBet mongo blairr@***.net Blair Rodman
10663 UltimateBet hackney blairr@***.net Blair Rodman
10790 UltimateBet rosey blairr@***.net Blair Rodman
11045 UltimateBet Blair blairr@****.com Blair Rodman
14924 UltimateBet booboo blairr@***.net Blair Rodman
15324 UltimateBet hack blairr@***.net Blair Rodman
15326 UltimateBet finewine blairr@***.net Blair Rodman
15723 UltimateBet bigbird BLAIRR0@***.com Blair Rodman
18087 UltimateBet YosemiteSam blairr@***.net Blair Rodman
49568 UltimateBet BROD brodman@*****.com Blair Rodman
The first nine of those accounts were created in 2000 and 2001, and it is clear that the concept of having many accounts was in use by UB insiders long before any actual hole-card cheating took place on the site.
This is great stuff, Haley.Quote:
Originally Posted by haleylh
Chance of Blair responding to the above:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V3CfD8TPac
Confirmed, Blair Rodman is a scumbag. This guy mentioned he has a publisher. What for? Is he good at poker? I would advise everyone to not buy books of a known associate of Russ Hamilton
Haley's the best.
http://www.kickasspoker.com/2012/12/...lti-accounter/
Various shout outs to the NSFW PFA, Todd, and Blair getting in early on the whole multi-accounting thing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crowe Diddly
I could have added this account, too:
30635 dunross Blair Rodman blairr@**************.com
What was sweet about this one is it had 100% rakeback. Some of the others might have had that as well (or might not), but this one did for sure. You know, it's really hard to not make money online when you can line up the secret edges like a shelf full of books.
Not to be that guy Haley.... but this is wrong
Bruce Buffer (the “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble” guy)
That would be his brother, Michael Buffer...
Bruce Buffer is the UFC ring announcer
:thisQuote:
Originally Posted by Jasep
is a true story
Thx. Updated. Not much for poker credentials, then?Quote:
Originally Posted by Jasep
He was on an MMA special episode of Poker After Dark and he got some coverage during the Main Event a few years ago, he plays a lot from what I understand but nothing super crazy, a quick search shows he has about 300k lifetime earnings with his only win being the Larry Flynt Spotlight Championship, whatever the hell that is.Quote:
Originally Posted by haleylhThx. Updated. Not much for poker credentials, then?Quote:
Originally Posted by Jasep
Without knowing his total buy-ins, that figure doesn't mean much other than to show he's played a few events with decent buy-ins. I don't follow MMA stuff at all. I wasn't even thinking about which or what Buffer it was when I brought up the Rodman stuff, which I also admit was a bit of a derail here. I just had to blast Rodman's crap out of the water, and if Druff wanted to put it in a separate thread, that's fine.Quote:
Originally Posted by JasepHe was on an MMA special episode of Poker After Dark and he got some coverage during the Main Event a few years ago, he plays a lot from what I understand but nothing super crazy, a quick search shows he has about 300k lifetime earnings with his only win being the Larry Flynt Spotlight Championship, whatever the hell that is.Quote:
Originally Posted by haleylh
I may be wrong, but the affiliate stuff Haley mentioned she held back is likely the RHP tag, which I believe stood for, rather simply, Russ Hamilton's people.Quote:
Originally Posted by haleylh
also, just for shits and giggles: http://archives1.twoplustwo.com/show...Number=7286542
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blair Rodman in 2004
This thread should make a late run for the Scams, Scandals and Shadiness thread of the year 2012.
A seemingly nothingness $15 ruse draws out the protaganists to put together quotes like:
Well guess what - those armies combine to out the scumbag shitstains that cause us little guys to get screwed over $15 at a time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Blair Rodman
We now now this is total horseshit as well. Full marks to Haley as usual for her insight.Quote:
Originally Posted by Blair Rodman
:thisQuote:
Originally Posted by Rob999
For sure,Quote:
Originally Posted by Belly Buster
I've always liked this guy,
He has credentials, over 2 mil in winnings and he is not just a poker player.
A well known gambler.
But what Haley showed, WOW!!!!
I know for a fact he was Blair Rodman on UB, (like hellmuth and Antonio were their own name), I remember doing the BJ tourney's w/him.
Crowe deserves some cred, too.
FWIW Bruce Buffer was a FTP pro, prolly the same way Mekhi Phifer was.
2 million in earnings don't mean much. Could easily be 4 million in buyinsQuote:
Originally Posted by JimmyG_415For sure,Quote:
Originally Posted by Belly Buster
I've always liked this guy,
He has credentials, over 2 mil in winnings and he is not just a poker player.
A well known gambler.
But what Haley showed, WOW!!!!
I know for a fact he was Blair Rodman on UB, (like hellmuth and Antonio were their own name), I remember doing the BJ tourney's w/him.
Crowe deserves some cred, too.
FWIW Bruce Buffer was a FTP pro, prolly the same way Mekhi Phifer was.
Chris Levick involved in a potential scam.. what a surprise.
http://c0013755.r32.cf1.rackcdn.com/x2_5e37215Quote:
Originally Posted by Chicks_dig_it
http://m.lockerz.com/s/98791957
I don't know if this thread is still active or not, but here's something that most of you don't know. Poker Player Academy also had investors buy into the company itself at a min $5,000 for shares. How many of these people were there? How much money was raised from them? Did any of them get their money back? I think the poker stars in the video's were just hired help with no intention on scamming people, they were just looking for a few extra bucks.